Sonequa Martin-Green

Sonequa Martin-Green was born and raised in Russellville, Alabama, to Vera Lynn and Charles Winston Martin. Growing up, Sonequa originally wanted to pursue a career as a psychologist but, in the tenth grade, chose to pursue acting after participating in a rehearsal. She says acting and psychology are similar because they both allow for the exploration of human behavior.

Sonequa graduated from the University of Alabama in 2007 with a degree in theatre. A year after graduating, she booked her first role – a guest appearance on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. That same year, she made her feature film debut in Blind Thoughts (2008).

The following year, she appeared in two films. She booked her first lead role in Toe to Toe (2009), a film about a determined scholar student who seeks to build a brighter future for her neighborhood in Washington. She also played a supporting role in Rivers Wash Over Me (2009).

In the years that followed, Sonequa established herself on television. She booked recurring roles on several shows, including Army Wives, The Good Wife, and Once Upon a Time. In 2012, she was cast as Sasha on the hit series The Walking Dead. Sonequa had originally auditioned for the character of Michonne — played by Danai Gurira — but showrunner Glen Mazzara wanted Sonequa on the show, so he created the character of Sasha just for her. She debuted in season three in a recurring role before being elevated to a series regular in season four. She played the character from 2012 to 2018.

In 2017, she debuted her role as Michael Burnham on the CBS series Star Trek: Discovery. Commander Burnham is the central character of the series and Sonequa played the role for 65 episodes, all the way until the end of the fifth and final season. Sonequa says she grew up watching Star Trek because her parents watched it, and she was drawn to the character of Uhura, played by Nichelle Nichols. She reprised her role in other projects such as Star Trek: Discovery Logs and the video game Star Trek Online.

In 2020, she appeared in the film The Outside Story with Brian Tyree Henry. The following year she played the wife of LeBron James in Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021) Her character, Kamiyah, was a stand-in for James’ real wife, Savannah.

Sonequa was the lead in the film My Dead Friend Zoe (2025), co-starring Natalie Morales, Ed Harris, and Morgan Freeman. The film premiered at South by Southwest and won the Audience Award for Narrative Spotlight.

Filmography:

My Dead Friend Zoe (2024)
Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)
The Outside Story (2020)
Holiday Rush (2019)
Shockwave: Darkside (2014)
Yelling to the Sky (2011)
Rivers Wash Over Me (2009)
Toe to Toe (2009)
Blind Thoughts (2008)