Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor on Playing ‘Literary Indiana Jones’ in ‘Origin’ and Why She Changed Her Professional Name
variety.comClayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor has made some changes in her life. We’ve all grown to know her as the two-time Emmy nominated actress from “When They See Us” and “Lovecraft Country” and her Oscar-nominated performance in “King Richard,” all of which came under her initial professional name: Aunjanue Ellis.
When the first promotional materials were released for her new film “Origin” from writer and director Ava DuVernay, a natural question began circulating regarding the hyphenated addition of “Taylor” to her professional name.
What prompted the name change? Turns out, she wanted to honor the most important person in her life posthumously: her mother. “The love of my life, my mother, gave me my Daddy’s name,” she tells Variety. “I was like, wait a minute, lady, I want your name.
This past birthday, I said, ‘What am I doing? I want to carry her with me every day.’ So, how do I do that and not have to do that on a conscious level?
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