Adjoa Andoh is a British actress, writer, and voice-over artist. She is also famous for her roles in the TV series, Casualty (1993, 2000-03), and Doctor Who (2006), and the Hollywood film, Invictus (2009). She is also known for her works in many popular UK theatres, such as the RSC, the National Theatre, the Royal Court Theatre, and the Almeida Theatre.
Wiki/Biography
Adjoa Andoh was born as ‘Adjoa Aiboom Helen Andoh’ on Monday, January 14, 1963 (age 57 years; as in 2020), in Clifton, Bristol, England and was brought up in Wickwar in Gloucestershire. She did her schooling from Katharine Lady Berkeley’s School, Gloucestershire. She studied law at Bristol Polytechnic but abandoned her college after two years to pursue her acting career.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5’ 4”
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Dark Brown
Family & Ethnicity
Adjoa’s mother was an English woman and worked as a teacher. Her father was a Ghanaian musician and journalist who worked for British Aerospace. She has a brother, Yeofi. She got married to Howard Connel, a lecturer in 2001, and they both are parents of two daughters, Jesse and Daisy, and a son, Liam (trans man).
Career
In Theatres
After dropping out of her college, she started working as a theatre artist at a young theatre company called Theatre Centre, Islington. She has worked extensively in many theatres across the UK, including Royal Shakespeare Company, the Lyric Hammersmith, Derby Playhouse, Birmingham Rep, Manchester Contact RSC, the National Theatre, the Royal Court Theatre, the Almeida Theatre, and The Young Vic. Some of her famous works include, His Dark Materials, Stuff Happens and The Revenger’s Tragedy, A Streetcar Named Desire, Troilus and Cressida, Julius Caesar, Tamburlaine, The Odyssey, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Nights at the Circus, The Dispute and Pericles, The Vagina Monologues, Starstruck, and In The Red and Brown Water.
Adjoa Andoh as a Theatre Artist
In Television, Films & Radio
She was a member of the BBC’s Radio company and has done a few radio programs, such as The Blade of the Prisoner (1991), Planet B (2009), and The Archers (2019). Adjoa made her television debut in the series, EastEnders (1990-1991) as ‘Karen’ and went on to act in various TV series, such as Waiting for God (1992), Casualty (1993, 2000-03), The Tomorrow People (1995), Jonathan Creek (1999), Doctor Who (2006), Law & Order: UK (2011), Wizards vs Aliens (2014), Line of Duty (2016), and Death in Paradise (2018).
She has also acted in the British web series, Silent Witness (2020), and Bridgerton (2020). She made her film debut with the 1991 film ‘London South West’ in the role of ‘Marion’ and has played major roles in the films, What My Mother Told Me (1995), Every Time You Look at Me (2004), The Shadow in the North (2007), Brotherhood (2016), and Fractured (2019). She made her Hollywood debut with the film Invictus (2009) as Nelson Mandela’s Chief of Staff ‘Brenda Mazibuko.’
Adjoa Andoh in Invictus (2009)
Other Works
She has narrated many audiobooks, including Alexander McCall Smith’s The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, Ann Leckie’s Imperial Radch trilogy, Ann Leckie’s Imperial Radch Series trilogy, Nnedi Okorafor’s Lagoon with Ben Onwukwe, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah, and Naomi Alderman’s The Power (former US President Barack Obama’s favorite book of 2017). She has also lent her voice to many video games, such as Fable, Age of Canon, Dante’s Inferno, The Secret World, Dreamfall Chapters, and Horizon Zero Dawn. Apart from being an actress and a voice-over artist, she has also written for many films and radio shows; she acted in and wrote the film What My Mother Told Me (1995).
Awards & Achievements
- Audie Award for Science Fiction for the audiobook, Provenance with Ann Leckie in 2018
- Audio Book of the Year Award for Tea Time for the Traditionally Built (2009)
Signature
Adjoa Andoh Signature
Favorite Things
- Cuisine: Thai
- Singers: Stevie Wonder, Roberta Flack, Donnie Hathaway
- Musician: Marvin Gaye
- Author: Arundhati Roy
- Book: Meridian by Alice Walker
- Play: Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train by Stephen Adly Guirgis
Facts/Trivia
- In her leisure time, she likes to go to the theatres, watch films, cook, and go to jazz sessions at pubs.
- When she was sixteen years old, she went to watch David Hare’s play, Plenty, which inspired her to become an actress.
- After completing her A-levels, she worked with Lloyds TSB Bank for a year. Soon, she got bored with her job and enrolled herself for a law program at Bristol Polytechnic. While studying law, she became a member of a group of black women and began attending drama and acting classes.
- In November 2019, she signed a letter, showing her support for the Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn; she also endorsed him in the 2019 UK general election.