Profile Page 7 of 9
In-depth profiles of the entertainers, entrepreneurs, creatives and personalities making headlines — who they are and how they got here.
Celebrity Buzz Under apartheid, his birth was illegal. Trevor Noah called his memoir Born a Crime
Trevor Noah was born in Johannesburg in 1984 to a Xhosa mother and a Swiss father, a relationship that was illegal under apartheid. He hosted The Daily Show from 2015 to 2022 and wrote the bestselling memoir Born a Crime.
Celebrity Buzz The first African-born UFC champion: how Kamaru Usman went from Auchi to the top of the welterweight division
Kamaru Usman, born in Nigeria and raised in Texas from the age of eight, beat Tyron Woodley at UFC 235 on 2 March 2019 to become the first African-born UFC champion. He held the welterweight title until Leon Edwards's last-minute head kick in August 2022.
Celebrity Buzz The son of Nigerian immigrants sold sunglasses on the streets of Athens. He scored 50 to win an NBA title
Giannis Antetokounmpo, born in Athens to Nigerian parents, helped his family survive by selling goods on the street. He won back-to-back NBA MVP awards and, in July 2021, scored 50 points in the deciding game of the NBA Finals.
Celebrity Buzz “I don’t know if I’m going to have a career after this”: John Boyega’s Hyde Park speech
On 3 June 2020, Star Wars actor John Boyega spoke at a Black Lives Matter protest in London's Hyde Park, saying he did not know whether he would still have a career afterwards. The Nigerian-British actor went on to work more, not less.
Celebrity Buzz A Tony, an Emmy and a Grammy before her first Oscar nomination: Cynthia Erivo, one award short of EGOT
Cynthia Erivo, the British actress and singer of Nigerian heritage, won a Tony, an Emmy and a Grammy for The Color Purple on Broadway. Her roles as Harriet Tubman and Elphaba in Wicked brought Oscar nominations. An Oscar would complete her EGOT.
Movies & TV Chiwetel Ejiofor survived the car crash that killed his father. He became the face of 12 Years a Slave
Chiwetel Ejiofor, the British actor of Nigerian heritage, was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for 12 Years a Slave and won the BAFTA. As a child he survived a car crash in Nigeria that killed his father. He later directed The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.
Movies & TV Uzo Aduba nearly quit acting the day she got the call for Orange Is the New Black. She won three Emmys
Uzo Aduba, the Nigerian-American actress who played Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren in Orange Is the New Black, won Emmys in both the comedy and drama categories for the same role, then a third for Mrs. America in 2020.
Celebrity Buzz Stormzy headlined Glastonbury in a stab vest designed by Banksy. His mother is from Ghana
On 28 June 2019, Stormzy became the first Black British solo artist to headline Glastonbury's Pyramid Stage, wearing a Union Jack stab-proof vest that Banksy later revealed he had designed. The British-Ghanaian rapper also funds Cambridge scholarships for Black students.
Celebrity Buzz Born in Kumasi, champion at WrestleMania: Kofi Kingston waited 11 years for his WWE title shot
Kofi Kingston, born Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah in Kumasi in 1981, beat Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 35 in April 2019 to become the first African-born WWE Champion, after 11 years with the company.
Celebrity Buzz Lupita Nyong’o won an Oscar for her first feature film role. She was a year out of drama school
Lupita Nyong'o was born in Mexico City to Kenyan parents and graduated from the Yale School of Drama in 2012. Her first feature film role, Patsey in 12 Years a Slave, won her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in March 2014.