Adjoa Andoh is an English actress, writer and voice actor. She is known for her work in British theatres such as the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, the Royal Court Theatre and the Almeida Theatre. She is also known for her roles in the television series ER (1993, 2000-2003) and Doctor Who (2006), and in the Hollywood film Invictus (2009).
Wiki/Biography
Adjoa Andoh was born as “Adjoa Aiboom Helen Andoh” on Monday, January 14, 1963 (57 years old in 2020) and her birthplace is Clifton, Bristol, United Kingdom. Her star sign is Capricorn. She grew up in Wickworth, Gloucestershire. She went to school at Lady Catherine Berkeley School in Gloucestershire. She began studying law at Bristol Polytechnic but dropped out of college after two years to pursue an acting career.
appearance
Height (approximate): 5′ 4″
Eye color: dark brown
Hair color: Black
Family and Race
Adjoa’s mother is British and is a teacher, and her father is a Ghanaian musician and journalist who worked for British Aerospace. She has an older brother, Yeofi. In 2001, she married lecturer Howard Connel and has three children; two daughters, Jesse and Daisy, and a son, Liam (a transgender male).
Profession
In the theater
After dropping out of college, Adjoa began her acting career as a theatre artist at a young theatre company called Drama Centre in Islington. She has worked in theatres many times and her most notable productions include His Dark Materials trilogy, What Happens, Tragedy of the Avengers, A Streetcar Named Desire, Troilus and Cressida, Julius Caesar, Tamburlaine, The Odyssey, Dangerous Liaisons, A Night at the Circus, Dissension and Pericles, The Vagina Monologues, Star-Spangled Glitter and In the Red and Brown Water.
Adjoa Andoh as Theatre Artist
She has worked at theatres such as the Royal Shakespeare Company, Lyric Theatre Hammersmith, Derby Theatre, Birmingham Playhouse, Manchester Connection Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre, Royal Court Theatre, Almeida Theatre and Young Vic Theatre.
Television, Film and Radio
She was a member of the BBC Radio Drama Company and appeared in several radio shows such as Prisoner’s Blade (1991), Planet B (2009) and The Archers (2019). She made her television debut as “Karen” in the TV series EastEnders (1990-1991).
She has appeared in many British TV series such as Waiting for God (1992), ER (1993, 2000-03), The Tomorrow’s Child (1995), Close Relationships (1998), Jonathan Creek (1999), Doctor Who (2006), Blood Ties (2007), Law & Order: UK (2011), Wizards vs Aliens (2014), Line of Duty (2016) and The Mystery of Paradise Island (2018). She has also appeared in the web series Silent Witness (2020) and Bridgerton (2020). She made her screen debut in 1991 as Marianne in the film South West London. She has appeared in several films such as What My Mother Told Me (1995), Whenever You Look at Me (2004), Shadows in the North (2007), Brotherhood (2016), and Shattered (2019). She made her Hollywood debut in the film Invictus (2009), playing the role of Nelson Mandela’s chief of staff, “Brenda Mazibuko”.
Adjoa Andoh Invictus (2009)
Other works
She has narrated many audiobooks including The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith, Imperial Radch trilogy by Ann Leckie, The Imperial Radch Series trilogy by Ann Leckie, Lagoon with Ben Onwukwe by Nnedi Okorafor, Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and The Power by Naomi Alderman (former US President Barack Obama’s favourite book of 2017). She has also voiced many video games, including Fable, Canon Age, Dante’s Inferno, The Secret World, Dreamfall, and Horizon Zero Dawn. She is also a writer, having written scripts for films and many radio programs. She wrote the screenplay for the film What My Mother Told Me (1995); she also starred in the film.
sign
Adjoa Andoh Signature
Awards and Achievements
- 2018 Audie Science Fiction Award for Origins audiobook (written by Ann Leckie)
- Audiobook of the Year Award: “Traditional Architecture Tea Break” (2009)
Favorite things
- Book: Meridian by Alice Walker
- Singers: Stevie Wonder, Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway
- Screenplay: Jesus Jumped on the ‘A’ Train, by Stephen Adly Guirgis
Facts/Trivia
- In her free time, she enjoys going to the theatre, movies, cooking and going to bars to listen to jazz concerts.
- She became interested in becoming an actress when she saw David Hare’s play Plenty when she was 16.
- After completing her A-levels, she got a one-year job at Lloyds Bank; she got tired of the job and applied to study law at Bristol Polytechnic. While studying law, she joined a group of black women and began taking drama and acting classes.
- In November 2019, she signed a letter of support for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and endorsed him in the 2019 UK general election.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education