Yaa Asantewaa I was the Warrior Queen Mother of Ejisu in the Ashanti Empire – now part of modern-day Ghana – appointed by her brother Nana Akwasi Afrane Opese, the Edwesuhene, or ruler, of Edwesu. In 1900 she led the Ashanti war known as the War of the Golden Stool, also known as the Yaa Asantewaa War of Independence, against the British Empire.
Guy Warren of Ghana, also known as Kofi Ghanaba, was a Ghanaian musician, best known as the inventor of Afro-jazz — "the reuniting of African-American jazz with its African roots" — and as a member of The Tempos, alongside E. T. Mensah. He also inspired musicians such as Fela Kuti. Warren's virtuosity on the African drums earned him the appellation "The Divine Drummer". At different stages of his life, he also worked as a journalist, DJ and broadcaster.
The War of the Golden Stool, also known as the Yaa Asantewaa War, the Third Ashanti Expedition, the Ashanti Uprising, or variations thereof, was a campaign in 1900 during the series of conflicts between the United Kingdom and the Ashanti Empire, an autonomous state in West Africa that fractiously co-existed with the British and its vassal coastal tribes.
Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings is a Ghanaian politician who was the First Lady of Ghana from 4 June 1979 to 24 September 1979 and from 31 December 1981 to 7 January 2001. Both times under President Jerry John Rawlings. In 2016 she became the first woman to run for President of Ghana.
Phillippa Yaa de Villiers is a South African writer and performance artist who performs her work nationally and internationally. She is noted for her poetry, which has been published in collections and in many magazines and anthologies, as well as for her autobiographical one-woman show, Original Skin, which centres on her confusion about her identity at a young age, as the bi-racial daughter of an Australian mother and a Ghanaian father who was adopted and raised by a white family in apartheid South Africa. She has written: "I became Phillippa Yaa when I found my biological father, who told me that if he had been there when I was born, the first name I'd have been given would be a day name like all Ghanaian babies, and all Thursday girls are Yaa, Yawo, or Yaya. So by changing my name I intended to inscribe a feeling of belonging and also one of pride on my African side. After growing up black in white South Africa, internalising so many negative 'truths' of what black people are like, I needed to reclaim my humanity and myself from the toxic dance of objectification." She has also said: "Because I wasn't told that I was adopted until I was twenty, I lacked a vocabulary to describe who I am and where I come from, so performing and writing became ways to make myself up." As Tishani Doshi observes in the New Indian Express: "Much of her work is concerned with race, sexuality, class and gender within the South African context."
Juliet Yaa Asantewa Asante is a Ghanaian film actress, producer and director, and philanthropist. Her latest film, Silver Rain, was nominated for "Best Film in West Africa" and "Best costume" for 2015 in the Africa Magic viewer's choice awards (AMVCA) and also 2015 "Best Overall Film In Africa". In 1999, Asante started the production house Eagle House Productions.That same year she also started "Save Our Women International", a non-profit entity focussing on female sexual education and launched an innovation that makes short movies for the mobile phone in Africa in 2014 called Mobile Flicks. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of Black Star International Film Festival. Eagle Productions has helped train some actors and actresses in Ghana through its training arm, the Eagle Drama Workshop.
Yaa Asantewaa Girls' Senior High School (YAGSHS) is a public high school for girls in Tanoso in the Atwima Mponua District in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.
Bertha Bridget Kankam, better known by her stage name Yaa Yaa, is a Ghanaian singer-songwriter, recording artist and actress. Prior to her current stage name, she performed under her first name, Bertha.
Ruth Eno Adjoa Amankwah Nyame Adom, known professionally by her stage name Eno Barony, is a Ghanaian rapper and songwriter. Born in Tema, Accra, she released her debut single, "Wats Ma Name" and also "Tonga", the remix of the track "Tonga" by Joey B ft Sarkodie in 2014 that lifted her into the limelight. It was claimed she was the first female rapper to hit a million views on YouTube.
Christie Quincyna Quarcoopome also known in showbiz as Cina Soul is a Ghanaian singer-songwriter and recording artist. A finalist at the 2014 Vodafone Ghana Music Icons competition held in Accra, Ghana.
Victoria Michaels is a Ghanaian-Nigerian model, fashion icon, actress, brand ambassador and philanthropist. She is the recipient of several accolades, including Ghana Models Awards, Glitz Style Awards, and the City People Entertainment Awards.
Audrey Maame Esi Swatson is the youngest Ghanaian female pilot who has obtained a commercial license.
Nikoletta Samonas is a Ghanaian actress and a freelance model. She is known as Nikki Samonas in the entertainment industry and has had roles in a number of feature films. She is an alumna of both Holy Child High School and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
Emelia Brobbey is Ghanaian actress, television presenter and musician. She won the Best Indigenous Actress of the Year and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress of the Year at the City People Entertainment Awards in 2016. She won Best Gallywood Actress and Best Philanthropist at the 3G Awards in New York in 2018. She won the 2019 Best Actor Female indigenous at the ZAFAA Global Award which was presented by the African Film Academy Awards.
Belinda Naa Ode Oku is a Ghanaian actress popularly known in showbiz as "Adwoa Smart". She was born at Abossey Okai, a suburb of Accra in Ghana. Adwoa has acted in numerous movies and drama episodes over several decades. She was very popular and highly sought after during the heyday of Akan drama from 1980 to the year 2000 and beyond. She has also featured in several music videos. Adwoa came into prominence as a cast member of the long-running Akan drama series "Obra" (Life) which aired on GTV during the 80s and 90s.
Ellen Boakye is a Ghanaian cardiologist for children. She is known for winning 18 awards for distinguishing herself in her course of study.
Ivor Agyeman-Duah is a Ghanaian academic, economist, writer, editor and film director. He has worked in Ghana's diplomatic service and has served as an advisor on development policy.
Nana Yaa Serwaa Sarpong is a Ghanaian award-winning media personality and entrepreneur who was a programs and channels manager at Crystal TV and Multimedia Group.
Yaa Asantewaa Festival is an annual festival celebrated by the chiefs and peoples of Ejisu Traditional Area in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is usually celebrated in the month of August.
Nathaniel Mensah, known by the stage name Ajeezay is a Ghanaian comedian, actor and musician. He is a one-liner comedian referred to as the Nonfa King or King of Nonfa, nonfa is a Ghanaian jargon for ambiguity.
