Sonja Sohn Biography

Sonja Sohn is a community activist and actor from the United States. Her most well-known roles were Detective Kima Greggs on HBO's "The Wire" and Detective Samantha Baker on ABC's "Body of Proof." She is also well-known for her role in the indie film "Slam," which she also co-wrote. Her time on "The Wire" paved the way for her present position as the director of the Baltimore community program "ReWired for Change." Sohn was born in the Virginia town of Newport News. Her father, an African-American soldier in the United States Army, met her Korean mother after the Korean War while stationed in South Korea. Sohn's mother opted to go to the United States after the birth of her older brother, believing that a kid of mixed Korean and African-American parents would face discrimination in Korea. Sohn had a rough upbringing; she was frequently taunted because of her mixed background, her schizophrenic father physically beat her mother, and her elder brother was murdered when she was a teenager. She went to and graduated from Warwick High School in Newport News, where she suffered with a cocaine and pill addiction that lasted into her thirties. Sohn was a slam poet before she became an actress. Marc Levin saw her while she was doing her art on stage and offered her a role in his film "Slam." She also penned the film's lyrics and co-authored the narrative. It went on to win the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic Film. Sohn followed his breakthrough in "Slam" with minor appearances in "Shaft" and "Bringing Out the Dead." In addition, she appeared in the indie films "Perfume," "G," and "The Killing Zone." Throughout the five seasons of HBO's "The Wire," she starred as Detective Kima Greggs. She struggled throughout the first season of "The Wire," considering quitting because she couldn't remember her lines. She has also appeared as Toni Halstead in many episodes of "Cold Case." She earned the prize for best supporting television actress for her role in "The Wire" at the 2008 Asian Excellence Awards. She appeared in the Hollywood film "Step Up 2 the Streets" as a supporting actress. She featured as a guest star in an episode of ABC's "Brothers Sisters" in 2008-09, and in an episode of CBS's "The Good Wife" in 2010. She appeared as a guest star on the program "Bar Karma" in 2011. She starred as Detective Samantha Baker (Seasons 1-2) in the medical drama television series "Body of Proof," which aired on ABC on March 29, 2011. Sohn took a hiatus from acting in 2009 to focus on social concerns after previously being active in political action (she campaigned in North Carolina in favor of Barack Obama's 2008 presidential run). She is the creator and CEO of reWIRED for Change, a Baltimore-based outreach program aimed at communicating with (and ultimately rehabilitating) at-risk kids engaging in criminal activities. The program is administered by the University of Maryland School of Social Work and employs "The Wire" episodes as a teaching tool, prompting participants to evaluate and question their life and previous behaviors. Members of the board include other "The Wire" actors and writers. The Harvard Black Men's Forum honored her with the Woman of the Year award in 2011.

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