Tessa Thompson was born on October 3, 1983, in Los Angeles, California, and raised between Los Angeles and Brooklyn, New York. Her father, Marc Anthony Thompson, is Afro-Panamanian and the founder of the musical collective Chocolate Genius, Inc., while her mother is half Mexican and half white.

Tessa Thompson has a younger half-sister, Zsela, who is a singer and songwriter. She attended Santa Monica High School and later studied cultural anthropology at Santa Monica College.

Tessa Thompson began her professional acting career with the Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company while studying at Santa Monica College, appearing in productions of "The Tempest" and "Romeo and Juliet".

Her breakthrough came with leading roles in "Mississippi Damned" (2009) and "For Colored Girls" (2010). She gained mainstream attention for her roles in franchise films, playing Bianca Taylor in the sports dramas "Creed" (2015), "Creed II" (2018), and "Creed III" (2023), and as Valkyrie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero films, including "Thor: Ragnarok" (2017) and "Thor: Love and Thunder" (2022).

Tessa Thompson has also been recognized for her television roles, including the drama series "Copper" (2012-2013) and the science fiction series "Westworld" (2016-2022). She received Emmy and BAFTA nominations for "Sylvie's Love" (2020) and "Passing" (2021), respectively.