Gina Yashere

Last updated

Gina Yashere
Gina Yashere (82006).jpg
Yashere at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2018
Born
Regina Obedapo Iyashere

(1974-04-06) 6 April 1974 (age 51)
Bethnal Green, London, England
Comedy career
Years active1996–present
Medium
  • Stand-up
  • television
  • film
Genres
Subjects
  • Pop culture
  • race
  • stereotypes
  • current events
Website ginayashere.com

Regina Obedapo Iyashere (born 6 April 1974) [1] is a British comedian, actress and writer who has made numerous appearances on British and American television. [2] She co-created the American sitcom Bob Hearts Abishola , on which she played a supporting role.

Contents

Early life

Yashere was born and raised in Bethnal Green, London to Nigerian parents. [3] [4] Before becoming a comedian, she worked as a lift maintenance technician and engineer - becoming the first woman to reach this position in the company - all of which she mentions in her stand-up routine. [5] [6]

She uses the surname "Yashere" due to encountering common mispronunciation of her original surname. [7] [8] [9]

Career

Yashere was a finalist in the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year competition in 1996.[ citation needed ] She has appeared in a number of television programmes, including in the comedy series The Lenny Henry Show , where she played Tanya and Mrs Omokorede, the pushy mum. She voiced Keisha on the animated series Bromwell High . In 2005, she appeared on the reality television series Comic Relief Does Fame Academy , in aid of Comic Relief, and she co-hosted the 2006 and 2007 MOBO Awards alongside 2Baba and Coolio. She made numerous appearances on Mock the Week , and appeared on the CBBC show Gina's Laughing Gear .[ citation needed ]

In 2007, Yashere was featured on the reality show Last Comic Standing , auditioning in Sydney.[ citation needed ] She was among the ten finalists, but on 1 August 2007, she and Dante were the first two finalists eliminated.

In 2008, she became the first Briton to perform on Def Comedy Jam .[ citation needed ] On 3 September 2009, she appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and performed a stand-up comedy routine. On 24 December, she appeared on Live at the Apollo . She appeared twice on the short-lived primetime show The Jay Leno Show : on 21 October 2009, a video of Yashere showed her giving free fortune-telling readings to passers-by, and on 25 November 2009, she operated a walk-in psychic booth. Starting in 2010, she appeared semi-regularly on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno , in a sketch comedy series called Madame Yashere: The Surly Psychic.

In 2010, Yashere appeared as Flo in several episodes of the ITV drama Married Single Other . [10] In April 2010, her one-hour comedy special, Skinny B*tch, premiered on Showtime, a US cable channel. She appeared on the Watch TV show Scream If You Know the Answer with contestant Emily Green from Portsmouth. She helped Green win the show with a prize fund of £2,000. In 2012, she was featured on the second season of the Comedy Central series Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand Up Revolution . In 2013, Yashere appeared in an advert for Tesco Mobile. In 2015, she was featured as a selected comic on Gotham Comedy Live, which airs on AXS TV (season 4-Judah Friedlander) where she referred to the City of Cleveland, Ohio as "shit." [11] On 8 January 2016, she appeared on The Nasty Show with Artie Lange, which aired on Showtime.

Starting on 16 March 2017, Yashere began a brief stint as the British correspondent for The Daily Show . [12]

In September 2019, Yashere began appearing in a supporting role on the 2019 Chuck Lorre CBS sitcom, Bob Hearts Abishola , which Lorre created with Yashere. [13] Yashere wrote and was a co-showrunner for the program [13] and played Folake Olowofoyeku's character, Abishola's best friend, Kemi. [14] Bob Hearts Abishola was the first American sitcom to feature a Nigerian family. [15] [16]

Personal life

Yashere is a lesbian. [17] She currently lives in Altadena, California, with her partner Nina Rose Fischer. [18] [19] [20] [21] [22]

Filmography

Below is an incomplete filmography:

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2001 Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang) Polythene Pam
Mr In-Between Dancing Woman
2008The Time of the EndThe MessiahShort film
2016 The Comedian's Guide to Survival Herself
2018 Early Man GravelleVoice
2022 Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration Herself

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1996–2000 Blouse and Skirt Herself21 episodes
1999 The Richard Blackwood Show —Writer
2000 Lenny Henry in Pieces —
2005–2015 The Wright Stuff Herself / Guest Panelist4 episodes
2005 The Crouches Mrs. UbakemaEpisode: "No Place Like Home"
Bromwell High Keisha Marie (voice)13 episodes
2006–2009 Mock the Week Herself8 episodes
2007 Gina's Laughing Gear Gina10 episodes
2008Brits Abroad: Gina's Got the TicketHostTV movie
Def Comedy Jam WriterEpisode: "Episode #8.1"
Gina Yashere: Skinny B*tchHerselfStand-up special, Showtime
2009 Just for Laughs WriterEpisode: "Martin Short"
Live at the Apollo HerselfEpisode: "Episode #5.5"
2010 Married Single Other Flo4 episodes
1st Amendment Stand UpWriterEpisode: "Darren Carter/Gina Yashere/Damon Williams"
2013–2014Gotham Comedy LiveHerself2 episodes
2014Gina Yashere: Laughing To AmericaHerselfStand-up special, Starz
Comics Unleashed Herself2 episodes
2015–2017 @midnight Herself5 episodes; representing the United Kingdom
2015 The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore Herself / Panelist2 episodes
Just for Laughs: All-AccessHerselfEpisode: "Episode #3.9"
The Nasty Show Hosted by Artie LangeHerself
2016Sir Patrick Stewart: A Knight of ComedyHerself
Go 8 Bit HerselfEpisode: "Episode #1.2"
Debate WarsHerselfEpisode: "Babies Vs. Old People"
Black Is the New BlackHerself
Live at the Apollo Herself / HostEpisode: "Episode #12.3"
2017–2018 The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Commentator4 episodes
2017 Crashing GinaEpisode: "Artie Lange"
Celebrity Chase ContestantEpisode: "Episode #7.7"
What's Your F@#King Deal?!HerselfEpisode: "Dante Nero, Gina Yashere and Eddie Pepitone"
2018The Standups with Gina YashereHerselfStand-up special, Netflix
West:WordHerselfEpisode: "Vanishing Point"
2018–2019 Laff Mobb's Laff Tracks Herself2 episodes
2019–2023 The Rubbish World of Dave Spud Gareth84 episodes
2019–2024 Bob Hearts Abishola Kemi82 episodes (as of 2023); also co-creator, executive producer and writer
2021 The Barbarian and the Troll Axe12 episodes
2022 The Neighborhood ChikaEpisode: "Welcome to the Ring" [23]
2024 Would I Lie to You? HerselfSeries 17, Episode 5 [24]
2026 Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Lura ThokRecurring role

References

  1. ↑ "Gina Yashere: Comedian, Actress". TV Insider. n.d. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  2. ↑ Hattenstone, Simon (12 July 2021). "Gina Yashere on riches, racism, and US success: 'I Don't Like to Boast, but I'm Doing Very Well'". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  3. ↑ "Gina Yashere - National Portrait Gallery". www.npg.org.uk.
  4. ↑ "Gina Yashere – BIOGRAPHY". ginayashere.com. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  5. ↑ "Comedy lovers – you'll want to pull over for Gina Yashere". Q . 4 December 2015.
  6. ↑ Williams, Ben (11 July 2017). "Heard the one about the standup who built lift shafts? Comedians on their previous careers". The Guardian .
  7. ↑ Maxwell, Dominic (27 May 2008). "Gina Yashere at Fairfield Halls, Croydon". The Times . London. Retrieved 15 February 2010.[ dead link ]
  8. ↑ Gina Yashere at The New York Times
  9. ↑ Arthur, Tim. Interview Archived 18 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine at Time Out London, 28 May 2008.
  10. ↑ Married Single Other Archived 23 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine at ITV.com
  11. ↑ Bobby Lee | Gotham Comedy Live, 15 September 2021, retrieved 14 August 2022
  12. ↑ Mahdawi, Arwa (11 June 2017). "The Daily Show's Gina Yashere: 'In England, I'd still be the token black face on Mock the Week'". The Guardian .
  13. 1 2 Graham, Seven (16 September 2022). "Commentary: L.A.-based British creatives need a new queen -- Gina Yashere deserves the throne". Los Angeles Times . Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 16 September 2022.
  14. ↑ Framke, Caroline (23 September 2019). "TV Review: 'Bob Hearts Abishola' From Chuck Lorre". Variety .
  15. ↑ Udodiong, Inemesit (17 May 2019). "Folake Olowofoyeku: Nigerian actress plays lead role in new CBS show – here's why this is such a big deal". Pulse Nigeria.
  16. ↑ Lorre, Chuck; Higgins, Al; Yashere, Gina; Gardell, Billy; Olowofoyeku, Folake; Frazier, Kevin (12 September 2019). "Bob Hearts Abishola – Creating a Sitcom About Immigrants" (Video interview). Paley Center for Media . Archived from the original on 13 December 2021.
  17. ↑ Artavia, David (24 July 2019). "Gina Yashere Is Black, British, Gay and Very Funny". The Advocate (LGBT magazine) .
  18. ↑ "Why Won't You Date Me? with Nicole Byer: Lesbianity (w/ Gina Yashere) on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts.
  19. ↑ Leijon, Erik. "Colon comedy", Montreal Mirror , Vol. 25 No. 5, 16–22 July 2009.
  20. ↑ Pool, Hannah. "Question time", The Guardian , 15 May 2008.
  21. ↑ Freak, Dave (17 September 2010). "Comedy: Comic Gina Yashere on why she moved to America". Birmingham Mail . Archived from the original on 23 December 2015.
  22. ↑ Lester, Charly (21 May 2014). "The Dating Interview – Gina Yashere, Comedian – Guardian Soulmates Blog". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  23. ↑ Watch The Neighborhood: Welcome to the Ring (Sneak Peak 3) (Television production). 23 May 2022. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022.
  24. ↑ "Would I Lie To You" (Television production). Retrieved 28 January 2024.
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