Sonja Denise Plack ( Williams), known professionally as Sonja Sohn, (born May 9, 1964) is an American actress, filmmaker, and activist, best known for portraying Baltimore detective Kima Greggs in the HBO drama The Wire (2002–2008). She is also known for having starred in the 1998 independent film Slam, which she co-wrote, and appearing as Samantha Baker in the ABC series Body of Proof and as GBI Chief Amanda Wagner in the ABC series Will Trent. She is also the founder and CEO of the Baltimore-based outreach program, ReWired for Change, which focuses on the rehabilitation of at-risk youth who have engaged in criminal behavior.
Early life Sohn was born Sonja Denise Williams in Fort Benning, Georgia. Her mother was Korean and her father was American. Her parents met when her father was stationed in South Korea after the Korean War.
Sohn grew up in Newport News, Virginia, and graduated from Warwick High School there.Life Servers Sohn Well; Actress Graduated from Newport News School, Richmond Times-Dispatch, November 7, 1998, B4, by Mike Holtzclaw
Career
Williams became professionally known as Sonja Sohn. Before she was an actress, Sohn was a slam poet. While performing her work on stage, she was spotted by Marc Levin who offered her a role in his film Slam. She also wrote lyrics and co-wrote the script for the film. It went on to win the Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic Film at the Sundance Film Festival. After debuting in Slam, Sohn appeared in minor roles in films such as Shaft and Bringing Out the Dead. She also starred in independent films Perfume, G and The Killing Zone.
Through the five seasons of the HBO series The Wire, she held a starring role as Detective Kima Greggs. She also guest-starred on many episodes of Cold Case as "Toni Halstead". She won the supporting television actress award at the 2008 Asian Excellence Awards for her character on The Wire.
She had a supporting role in the Hollywood film Step Up 2: The Streets. In 2008-09, she was a guest star in the ABC series Brothers & Sisters, and in 2010 she appeared in an episode of CBS series The Good Wife. In 2011, she was a guest star on the show Bar Karma. She played Detective Samantha Baker in the first two seasons of the medical drama television series Body of Proof with Dana Delany and Jeri Ryan, which premiered on ABC on March 29, 2011.
Sohn joined season 2 of The Originals in a recurring role as the witch Lenore a.k.a. Esther Mikaelson.
Sohn made her directorial debut with the 2017 HBO documentary Baltimore Rising about the 2015 Baltimore protests and community organizing that arose in response to police violence. In 2021, Sohn directed The Slow Hustle, a documentary about the death of Baltimore Homicide Detective Sean Suiter, which was fictionally portrayed in the HBO miniseries We Own This City.
Sohn was cast as a series regular in ABC's police drama Will Trent. Sohn plays Amanda, the head of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Trent's (Ramón Rodríguez) boss. The pilot episode aired January 3, 2023.
Activism Previously involved in political activism (she campaigned in North Carolina in support of Barack Obama's 2008 presidential bid), Sohn took a break from acting in 2009 to concentrate on social issues. She is the founder and CEO of the Baltimore-based ReWired for Change, an outreach program intended to communicate with (and ultimately rehabilitate) at-risk youth involved in criminal activity.Phil Zabriskie, "After 'The Wire' ended, actress Sonja Sohn couldn't leave Baltimore's troubled streets behind", Washington Post, January 27, 2012."After 'The Wire', Sonja Sohn couldn’t leave Baltimore’s troubled streets behind" Article, ReWired for Change web site
The program is run out of the University of Maryland School of Social Work and uses episodes of The Wire as a teaching tool, encouraging the participants to examine and query their lives and past actions.Sonja Sohn's Road to Redemption - story on Sohn's community activism with reWIRED for Change in B (Baltimore online newspaper), accessed January 1, 2010 Other actors and writers involved with The Wire serve as board members.Members page reWIRED for Change, accessed January 1, 2010
In 2011, she was presented with the Woman of the Year award from the Harvard Black Men's Forum.
Personal life Sohn has two daughters with her first husband, photographer Harvey Wang. In 2003, Sohn married didgeridoo player Adam Plack, but the couple divorced in 2011. (subscription required)
On July 21, 2019, Sohn was arrested in North Carolina and charged with felony possession of cocaine.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 1996 Work June 1998 Slam Lauren Bell 1999 Getting to Know You Lynn Bringing Out the Dead Kanita 2000 Shaft Alice 2001 Perfume Dandy 2002 G Shelly 2003 The Killing Zone Jennifer 2004 The Industry Narrator (voice) Video 2008 Step Up 2: The Streets Sarah 2012 The Wire: The Musical Shakima 'Kima' Greggs Short 2015 The Missing Girl Franny 2016 Domain Atlanta 2019 High Flying Bird Myra 2023 Big George Foreman Nancy Foreman Breakwater Bonnie
Television Year Title Role Notes 2002–2008 The Wire Shakima 'Kima' Greggs 56 episodes (Season 1–5) 2006–2007 Cold Case Toni Halstead 5 episodes (Season 4–5); 4 episodes in Season 4 1 episode in Season 5 2008–2009 Brothers & Sisters Trish Evans 4 episodes (Season 3) 2010–2013 The Good Wife Sonya Rucker 2 episodes (Season 1 & 5) 2011 Bar Karma Lucy Borden Episode: "An Open Mind" 2011–2012 Body of Proof Samantha Baker 29 episodes (Season 1–2) 2012 Drop Dead Diva Judge Vivian Holston Episode: "Jane's Getting Married" Burn Notice Agent Olivia Riley 5 episodes (Season 6) 2013 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Lisa Carter Episode: "American Tragedy" 2014–2015 The Originals Lenore Shaw 8 episodes (Season 2) 2015 Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Police Officer Episode: "Public Defenders" 2016 Luke Cage Captain Betty Audrey 3 episodes (Season 1) Shut Eye Detective Gabriella 5 episodes (Season 1) 2017 Incorporated Chairman Fisher 2 episodes 2018–2021 The Chi Laverne Johnson 11 episodes (Season 2–4); 9 episodes in Season 1 1 episode each in Season 3 & 4 2019 Godfather of Harlem Nell Episode: "Rent Strike Blues" 2019–2021 Star Trek: Discovery Dr. Gabrielle Burnham 5 episodes (Season 2–4); 3 episodes in Season 2 1 episode each in Season 3 & 4 2020 Interrogation Marjorie Thompson Episode: "L.A. County Psychologist Marjorie Thompson vs. Eric Fisher 1984" Utopia Agent Katherine Milner 3 episodes 2023 See It Loud: The History of Black Television Herself Documentary miniseries; 3 episodes 2023–2026 Will Trent Amanda Wagner 58 episodes (Season 1–4)
Director Year Title 2017 Baltimore Rising 2021 The Slow Hustle
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Film or series Result1998 Gotham Awards Breakthrough Actor Slam1998 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize Slam1998 Independent Spirit Awards Best Debut Performance Slam2005 Image AwardsOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama SeriesThe Wire2008 Asian Excellence Awards Outstanding Television Actress The Wire2009 Image AwardsOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama SeriesThe Wire2022 News and Documentary Emmy Awards Outstanding Crime and Justice Documentary The Slow Hustle2024 Astra Awards Best Supporting Actress in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, Drama Will Trent
References
External links
reWIRED for Change homepage, rewiredforchange.org; accessed December 8, 2014. ReWired and Reading Liverpool Philharmonic, liverpoolphil.com; accessed December 8, 2014. ReWired and Reading The Reader Organisation, thereaderonline.co.uk; accessed December 8, 2014.
C-SPAN Q&A interview with Sohn, c-span.org; accessed December 8, 2014.