Adesuwa Oni | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Adele Oni |
| Citizenship | British |
| Education | Millfield |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2016–present |
Adesuwa Oni is a British actress. She is known for her roles as Queen Njinga in the Netflix docudrama series African Queens: Njinga and Ngozi Okoye in the BBC medical drama series Casualty .
Oni attended Millfield in Somerset, where she studied drama for her A-levels. Oni had a passion for acting since the age of five, which she accredits to watching Singin' in the Rain as a child in Nigeria. Despite this, she did not believe she was on the road to an acting path, feeling as though she was one of the least favourites in her drama class at Millfield. She has instead credited her dance teacher for instilling confidence in her, stating: "She saw something in me I did not see in myself, and she pushed me harder than the other dancers in Bazique to do more ballet exams in a year than anyone else at the time. So, she and I had a lot of private lessons over break and lunch times." [1]
Oni then attended the University of Southampton, where she studied economics. Whilst there, she was part of various dance and threatre groups, as well as being the president of the Jazz dance society. She went on to study at the London School of Economics, where she studied economic history, as well as participating in their drama society. [2] She then worked at Deloitte for three years as a management consultant. [1]
In 2016, Oni made her professional acting debut in the film Housefull 3 . She continued to make various film and television appearances, including roles in Years and Years , The Witcher and Hanna . [1] Then in 2023, she was cast in the Netflix docudrama series African Queens: Njinga . [3] [4] She portrayed Queen Njinga. [5] [6] A year later, she was cast in the BBC medical drama series Casualty . [7] [8] She made her first appearance as Ngozi Okoye, a staff nurse, on 6 January 2024. [9] [10] Oni was the centre of a high-profile storyline in which her character was revealed to be an alcoholic, suffering various relapses, as well as her tumultuous relationship with Nicole Piper (Sammy Dobson). [11]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Housefull 3 | Margarett | Film |
| 2016 | Simana | Applicant | Film |
| 2018 | My Mother's Stew | Narrator | Short film |
| 2018 | The Killer Beside Me | Kelli Harris | Episode: "The Evil Inside" |
| 2018 | Prototype | Aurelia | Film |
| 2018 | No Shade | Jade | Film |
| 2019 | The Cloaking | Agent Okoye | Film |
| 2019 | Years and Years | Nigerian Woman | 1 episode |
| 2019 | The Witcher | Téa | Episode: "Rare Species" |
| 2020 | Hanna | Guard | Episode: "A Way to Grieve" |
| 2020 | The Suit Weareth the Man | J | Short film |
| 2020 | Talia Versus | Celeste | Episode: "Talia Versus Wedding" |
| 2021 | 400 Bullets | Espinosa | Film |
| 2023 | Operation Napoleon | Julie Ratoff | Film |
| 2023 | African Queens: Njinga | Queen Njinga | Main role |
| 2024–present | Casualty | Ngozi Okoye | Main role |