Introduction
Celeste O'Connor (born December 2, 1998) is a Kenyan-born American actor. They are known for playing Paloma Davis in the Amazon original film Selah and the Spades.
Early life and education
Celeste O'Connor was born on December 2, 1998, in Nairobi, Kenya, to an American father and Kenyan mother. O'Connor and their younger brother were raised in Baltimore, Maryland by their parents. They attended Notre Dame Preparatory School and studied the violin and singing at Peabody Preparatory. As of April 2020, O'Connor was attending Johns Hopkins University majoring in public health and pre-medicine. They also took a courses in Islamic studies. O'Connor is interested in the social determinants of health including food security, housing insecurity, and education.
Career
O'Connor played the younger version of Gugu Mbatha-Raw's character in the 2018 Netflix film, Irreplaceable You. They appeared in the 2019 film, Wetlands. In 2019, O'Connor played Paloma Davis in the film, Selah and the Spades. Reporter Anagha Komaragiri of The Daily Californian praised O'Connor's "subtle" and "pensive presence" until the "tense finale".
O'Connor was cast in July 2019 for the film Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), and reprised their role in the 2024 sequel. In May 2022, they were cast as one of the co-leads in the superhero film Madame Web (2024).
Personal life
O'Connor is an advocate for improving diversity and representation in the entertainment industry. O'Connor uses they/them pronouns.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Wetlands | Amy Johnson | |
| 2018 | Irreplaceable You | Teen Abbie | |
| 2019 | Selah and the Spades | Paloma Davis | |
| 2020 | Freaky | Nyla Chones | |
| 2021 | Ghostbusters: Afterlife | Lucky Domingo | |
| 2022 | The In Between | Shannon | |
| 2023 | A Good Person | Ryan | |
| 2024 | Madame Web | Mattie Franklin | |
| Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire | Lucky Domingo |