‘Orange Is the New Black’ Star Uzo Aduba Reflects on Her Red Carpet Looks

By Jasmin Rosemberg

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – At the beginning of “,” Uzo Aduba related to her character Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren’s desire for love. “Now, that’s something that I have for myself first, rather than looking for it outside of myself,” says the two-time Emmy winner. “And with our last season, we really get to watch her choose ‘Suzanne.’” When it comes to fashion choices, Aduba aims to feel confident and most like herself — though she’s learned to experiment and have more fun. “I’m pretty laid-back when it comes to most things, so I think, or I hope, that’s become more [a] part of my style.”

2014

“I know fairy tales aren’t real, but that came pretty darn close,” says Aduba of her first Emmy experience. This red Christian Siriano dress began with a sketch, which now hangs in Aduba’s house. “I just remember being so enchanted by the color and the cut,” she says. “I was like, ‘Whoa, yes, that’s exactly how I want to feel.’ It felt hopeful, and it felt strong; it felt bold. And I remember, without even having seen it, thinking, ‘I think I’m going to feel really beautiful in that.’” Morgan Freeman awarded her the guest comedy actress trophy at the Creative Arts Emmys the week prior. “It was surreal,” she says.“A year before that, I was trying to figure out how I was going to pay my rent.”

2015

Both Aduba and “Orange Is the New Black” received Globe noms for Season 2. “There still hasn’t been a show led by women, with so many women of different types represented on a single show: white women, black women, Latina women, Asian women, gay, trans, straight,” says Aduba, whose family hails from Nigeria. “We were all just trying to mine this new landscape, and I think that’s what really drew people.” Aduba’s publicist and manager attended the fitting at which she tried this “really fun” sequin Randi Rahm dress. “And everyone was like, ‘Yes!’” Aduba took her older sister, who’d always loved the Globes, to the ceremony. “It was amazing to be there for me, but really cool was like, ‘My sister’s dream is coming true right now.’”

2018

“I love the Tonys — I came up in the theater,” says Aduba. “That was my first awards show before ‘Orange,’ when I did a show called ‘Godspell’ and we performed there. And that was, and is still, for me, one of the highlights of the awards season.” A presenter, she worked with stylist Cristina Ehrlich and designer Cristina Ottaviano on this marigold dress. “We started with a color,” says Aduba, who found the fabric “gorgeous,” despite its inconveniences. “I live in Brooklyn, and the Tonys are in Midtown, and I wound up getting a hotel room around the corner because it would have been all wrinkled! It was really the right decision, because the cleanliness is what I thought brought some of that elegance.”