Sharon Blackwood was reared in the small town of Greensboro, Georgia. This upbringing served her well in her first television guest roles, on I'll Fly Away and In the Heat of the Night.

She has been fortunate to work opposite Sidney Poitier, Kenneth Branagh, Ellen Burstyn, Tom Wilkinson, Joel Edgerton, Ruth Negga, Jason Bateman and Diane Keaton. Her feature films include Robert Zemeckis' "Flight" and Boaz Yakin's , "Remember the Titans" both starring Denzel Washington; Ross Katz's The Choice; Gregory Jacobs' Magic Mike XXL; Andy Tennant's Sweet Home Alabama. She also appeared in Terence Davies' The Neon Bible and as Lola Loving in "Loving", both of which were nominated for the Palm D'or at the Cannes Film Festival.