Akosua Busia.

Akosua Busia was born on 30 December 1966 in Accra, Ghana, to Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia, who served as Prime Minister of Ghana from 1969 to 1972. She is a member of the Royal Family of Wenchi, making her a princess in her native Ghana. She was educated at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London and also studied at Oxford University, following in her father’s academic footsteps. Her sister Abena Busia is an associate professor of English at Rutgers University.

Akosua Busia’s breakout role came in 1985 when she played Nettie in Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple, a performance that earned her an NAACP Image Award. She went on to appear in films such as Tears of the Sun 2003 as Patience and Low Blow 1986. On television, she guest-starred in Knight Rider 1982 as a nurse, St. Elsewhere as Debra Etting, and The Twilight Zone 1985 in the segment Lost and Found. She also appeared in The Seventh Sign 1988, New Jack City 1991, uncredited, and the miniseries Dead Man’s Walk 1996 as Emeralda. Busia has also worked as a director and producer.

Akosua Busia was married to director John Singleton from 1996 to 1997. The couple had a daughter, Hadar Busia-Singleton, who is a child actress. Her sister Abena Busia is an associate professor of English at Rutgers University. Busia is the daughter of Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia, former Prime Minister of Ghana, and is a member of the Royal Family of Wenchi, a princess by birth.

Akosua Busia is best remembered for her role as Nettie in The Color Purple, a film that remains a cultural touchstone. Her performance helped bring Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel to life, and she received an NAACP Image Award for her work. She also directed films, continuing her family’s legacy of public service and education, as her father was a prime minister and her sister an academic. Busia’s work in film and television spans decades, from the 1980s to the 2000s.