Uzo Aduba was born in Medfield, Massachusetts to parents who are from Nigeria who are of Igbo origin. Her full name is Uzoamaka which means ¨The road is good¨. She was raised along with Rick,Obi (brother) and Chioma (sister). She graduated from Medfield High School in 1999 and attended Boston University, where she studied classical voice and competed in track and field. She describes her family as a "sports family". Her younger brother, Obi, played hockey at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and went on to play six seasons professionally.
After graduating from Boston University, she moved to New York City to pursue her career in a stage. In 2003 she made debut performance in an act, Translations of Xhosa at the Olney Theatre Center. Further, she received a Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in the play. She made her Broadway debut in 2007 portraying the role of Toby in “Coram Boy”. From 2011 to 2012 she played in the theatre show “Godspell” at the circle in the Square Theater. Moreover, Uzo also played the mother of the title character of ¨Venice¨at The Public Theatre. Further, she made her first television appearance in 2012 by the Tv series ¨Blue Bloods¨. She suddenly came into the spotlight after she portraits the role of Suzanne Warren (Crazy Eyes) in the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black. After that, she became the permanent part of the series from 2013 to 2019.