Amma Asante

Amma Asante (born 13 September 1969) is a British filmmaker, screenwriter, former actress, and Chancellor at Norwich University of the Arts, who was born in London, England, to parents from Ghana. Her love for the film industry started when she received her first role in BBC's children's television drama series Grange Hill. Asante wrote and produced the 1998 BBC Two television series Brothers and Sisters, starring David Oyelowo. She was a childhood friend of model Naomi Campbell, whom she met when they were seven years old. Early and personal life Amma Asante was born in Lambeth, London, to Ghanaian parents: her mother was an entrepreneur who owned her own African cosmetics and grocery shop, and her accountant father received qualifications to work in the United Kingdom. Asante attended the Barbara Speake Stage School in Acton, where she trained in dance and drama. She appeared in the "Just Say No" anti-drugs campaign of the 1980s and was one of nine Grange Hill children to take it to the Reagan White House. She gained credits in other British television series, including Desmond's (Channel 4) and Birds of a Feather (BBC 1), and was a Children's Channel presenter for a year. Asante was previously married to producer Charlie Hanson. She is now married to Søren Pedersen, former spokesman for European police in The Hague. Writing and directing career Asante's career started when she first attended a performing arts school that allowed her to draft her first sitcom script. Later, she became a child actress and made her first appearances on television in Grange Hill and Desmond's. In her late teens, Asante left acting and worked in screenwriting with a development deal from Chrysalis. She founded a production company, Tantrum Films, where she wrote and produced two series of the BBC Two drama Brothers and Sisters (1998).