Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson may have had another calling: Acting

While promoting her new memoir, “Lovely One,” Ketanji Brown Jackson shares she once out-acted college scene partner Matt Damon.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has had major career successes, rising to become the first Black woman ever appointed to the Supreme Court. However, it seems she had a potential backup: acting. 

While appearing on “CBS Sunday Morning” to promote her new memoir “Lovely One,” published today by Penguin Random House, she confirmed two lesser-known facts about her college years. First, she had dabbled in theater — and once shared a scene with future Oscar winner Matt Damon.

“He’s not going to remember this, of course,” said Jackson, adding, “The reason why I remember it is because he was already kind of well-known around campus and off campus, so it was kind of exciting to be his scene partner for a particular class.”

Jackson, turning 54 this month, said she and the “Good Will Hunting” star, 53, were tasked with memorizing scenes from the play “Waiting for Godot.”

“At the end, the professor said, ‘Ketanji, you were very good. Matt, we’ll talk,’ ” she said. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, I was better than Matt Damon in a scene.’”

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Jackson went on to graduate from Harvard undergrad and Harvard Law. Damon began his collegiate career at Harvard but did not finish.

When Jackson first received her nomination in 2022, an AP News story noted that the two had overlapped and were even in a scene together. At that time, Damon confirmed he didn’t recall the scene. However, he was excited to learn about the chance encounter.

A rep for the actor-director told the publication his response had been: “That’s so cool!”

According to AP News, while studying government at Harvard, Jackson also took drama and musical theater courses and was even part of an improv group called On Thin Ice.

During her appearance on “CBS Sunday Morning,” Jackson said her memoir will delve into her family’s rise from segregation to her historic confirmation as the first Black woman appointed to the Supreme Court. The book reportedly spans her college years and her life to date, balancing motherhood and her career.

“It is the story of the promise of America,” she said of the book, which she began work on shortly after joining the court.

The book’s title is a play on the English translation of her name: “Lovely one.” Her parents got the name from a list her aunt — who was working for the Peace Corps in West Africa at the time — had sent them.

“My parents really wanted to honor our heritage and asked her to send them a list of African names. And they picked that one, ‘Lovely One,’ Ketanji Onyika, which is my given middle name,” she explained to CBS.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s debut memoir, “Lovely One,” is available now wherever books are sold.

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