Dr. Tess Osonye Onwueme was born on September 8, 1955 in Ogwashi-Uku (now Delta State, Nigeria). She received her Bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1979, Master’s degree in Literature from the University of Nigeria in 1982, and PhD in English (dramatic literature) from the University of Benin Nigeria in 1987. She is the named University Professor of Global Letters at the University of Wisconsin, following her years of service as Distinguished Professor of Cultural Diversity and Professor of English.

Dr. Onwueme is the winner of several international awards, including the prestigious Folon-Nichols Award (2009), the Phyllis Wheatley Distinguished Award (2007), The Martin Luther King, Jr. Distinguished Writers Award (1989/1990), the African Distinguished Authors Award (1988), a four-time winner of the Association of Nigerian Authors Award (ANA) in 2003, 2001, 1995, and 1985. She was appointed to the US Department of State Public Diplomacy Speaker and Specialist Program for Northeast, and West India in 2007. On October 18, 2014, as part of the event celebrating the creation of an archival collection dedicated to Tess Onwueme, the Wisconsin State Legislature declared a proclamation in honor of Tess Onwueme; Wisconsin congressman Ron Kind also honored Tess Onwueme and President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria in a presidential address specially recognized Tess Onwueme’s contributions to world literature and the nation.

Dr. Onwueme has published over twenty creative dramas, including such provocative plays as No Vacancy (2005), What Mama Said (2004), Then She Said it (2003), Shakara: Dance-Hall Queen (2001), Tell it to Women (1997; 1995), The Missing Face (2006; 2002), Riot in Heaven (1996; 2002), Legacies (1989), The Reign of Wazobia (1988), Mirror for Campus (1987), Ban Empty Barn and Other Plays (1986), The Desert Encroaches (1985), The Broken Calabash (1984), and Why the Elephant Has No Butt (2000). Her plays have been performed internationally, including performances in the USA, Canada, Europe, the Caribbean, India, Nigeria and other parts of Africa. Dr. Onwueme’s plays have been performed at Off-Broadway venues and translated into the medium of film. In 2004 and 2005, as part of their World Drama Serivce, the BBC broadcast Onwueme’s Shakara. It is said that Dr. Onwueme’s literary soul-mates are Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, and Ngugi wa Thiong’o. Her literary works focus on conflict between rich and poor, modern and traditional, and the conflict of inner-self. The plays highlight basic human rights of nationality, age, sex, race, and sheds light on African life.

In addition to her successes as a scholar and playwright, Dr. Onwueme is also the mother of five children. Some of her work reflects the influence of her family life.