Gina Yashere

Gina Obedapo Iyashere (born 6 April 1974) is a British comedian who has made many appearances on British and American television.

Gina Yashere
Yashere at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2018
Born
Gina Obedapo Iyashere

(1974-04-06) 6 April 1974
London, England
NationalityBritish
Comedy career
Medium
  • Stand-up
  • television
  • film
Years active1996–present
Genres
  • Social satire
  • character comedy
  • observational comedy
Subject(s)
  • Pop culture
  • race
  • stereotypes
  • current events
Websiteginayashere.com

Early life

Yashere was born and raised in London, to Nigerian parents.[1] Before becoming a comedian, Yashere worked as a lift maintenance technician and engineer (all of which she mentions in her stand-up routine).[2][3]

She uses the surname "Yashere" due to encountering common mispronunciation of her original surname.[4][5][6]

Career

Yashere was a finalist in the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year competition in 1996. 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 in 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 has made numerous appearances on Mock the Week, and appears on the CBBC show Gina's Laughing Gear.

In 2007, Yashere was featured on the reality show Last Comic Standing, auditioning in Sydney. 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. 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. Since 2010, she has appeared semi-regularly on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, in a sketch comedy series called Madame Yashere: The Surly Psychic. In the sketches, she continues to give fake psychic readings to unsuspecting people on the street.

In 2010, Yashere appeared as Flo in several episodes of the ITV drama Married Single Other.[7] In April 2010, Yashere's one-hour comedy special, Skinny B*tch, premiered on Showtime, a US cable channel. She appeared on Watch TV show Scream If You Know the Answer with contestant Emily Green from Portsmouth. She helped Emily win the show with a prize fund of £2,000. In 2013, Yashere appeared in an advert for Tesco Mobile. In 2015, Yashere was featured as a selected comic on Gotham Comedy Live, which airs on AXS TV (season 4-Judah Friedlander). On 8 January 2016, she appeared on The Nasty Show with Artie Lange, which aired on Showtime.

Starting on 16 March 2017, Yashere became the newest British Correspondent for The Daily Show.[8]

In September 2019, Yashere appears in a supporting role on the 2019 Chuck Lorre CBS sitcom, Bob Hearts Abishola, which Lorre created with Yashere. Yashere writes for the show and plays Folake Olowofoyeku's character Abishola's best friend, Kemi.[9] Bob Hearts Abishola is the first American sitcom to feature a Nigerian family.[10][11]

Personal life

Yashere identifies as lesbian.[12] Yashere currently lives in North Hollywood, California, with her partner.[13][14][15][16][17]

Selected filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2001Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang)Polythene Pam
2001Mr In-BetweenDancing Woman
2008The Time of the EndThe MessiahShort film
2016The Comedian's Guide to SurvivalHerself
2018Early ManGravelleVoice

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1996–2000Blouse and SkirtHerself / Regular Panelist21 episodes
1999The Richard Blackwood ShowN/AWriter
2000Lenny Henry in PiecesN/A
2005The CrouchesMrs. UbakemaEpisode: "No Place Like Home"
2005Bromwell HighKeisha Marie (voice)13 episodes
2005–2015The Wright StuffHerself / Guest Panelist4 episodes
2008Brits Abroad: Gina's Got the TicketHostTV movie
2008Def Comedy JamN/AWriter/Episode: "Episode #8.1"
2009Just for LaughsN/AWriter/Episode: "Martin Short"
2009Live at the ApolloHerselfEpisode: "Episode #5.5"
2010Married Single OtherFlo4 episodes
20101st Amendment Stand UpN/AWriter/Episode: "Darren Carter/Gina Yashere/Damon Williams"
2013–2014Gotham Comedy LiveHerself / Comedian2 episodes
2014Comics UnleashedHerself / Guest2 episodes
2015–2017@midnightHerself representing the United Kingdom5 episodes
2015The Nightly Show with Larry WilmoreHerself / Panelist2 episodes: "Bill Cosby Fights Back & Controversial Humor" and "Soul Food Sit-Down with Lincoln Chafee"
2015Just for Laughs: All-AccessHerselfEpisode: "Episode #3.9"
2015The Nasty Show Hosted by Artie LangeHerself
2016Sir Patrick Stewart: A Knight of ComedyHerself
2016Go 8 BitHerselfEpisode: "Episode #1.2"
2016Debate WarsHerself / Team BabiesEpisode: "Babies Vs. Old People"
2016Black Is the New BlackHerself
2016Live at the ApolloHerself / HostEpisode: "Episode #12.3"
2017CrashingGinaEpisode: "Artie Lange"
2017Celebrity ChaseContestantEpisode: "Episode #7.7"
2017What's Your F@#King Deal?!HerselfEpisode: "Dante Nero, Gina Yashere and Eddie Pepitone"
2017–presentThe Daily Show with Trevor NoahCommentator
2018West:WordHerselfEpisode: "Vanishing Point"
2019–presentBob Hearts AbisholaKemiAlso executive producer and writer

Stand-up specials
  • 2008: Gina Yashere: Skinny B*tch, Showtime – written and performed by
  • 2014: Gina Yashere: Laughing To America, Starz – written and performed by
  • 2018: The Standups with Gina Yashere, A Netflix Original Comedy Special – written and performed by

References
  1. "Gina Yashere – BIOGRAPHY". ginayashere.com. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  2. "Comedy lovers – you'll want to pull over for Gina Yashere". Q. 4 December 2015.
  3. Williams, Ben (11 July 2017). "Heard the one about the standup who built lift shafts? Comedians on their previous careers". The Guardian.
  4. Maxwell, Dominic (27 May 2008). "Gina Yashere at Fairfield Halls, Croydon". The Times. London. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
  5. Gina Yashere at The New York Times
  6. Arthur, Tim. Interview at Time Out London, 28 May 2008.
  7. Married Single Other Archived 23 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine at ITV.com
  8. 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.
  9. Framke, Caroline (23 September 2019). "TV Review: 'Bob Hearts Abishola' From Chuck Lorre". Variety.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. Lester, Charly (21 May 2014). "The Dating Interview – Gina Yashere, Comedian". The Guardian Soulmates Blog.
  13. Leijon, Erik. "Colon comedy", Montreal Mirror, Vol. 25 No. 5, 16–22 July 2009.
  14. Pool, Hannah. "Question time", The Guardian, 15 May 2008.
  15. 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.
  16. "Loose Ends", BBC Radio 4, October 2013.
  17. 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.
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