Gbemisola Ikumelo is a British actress, comedian and writer. She has won a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

award for her short ''Brain in Gear'' and best female comedy performance from the

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

for her role in her show '' Famalam''.

Life and career

Ikumelo aspired to be a serious actress and at fifteen she was in the

National Youth Theatre The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and charity in London, created with the aim of developing young people's artistic skills via theatrical productions and other creative endeavours. Founded in 1956 as the world ...

. She went on to study and train in Acting in Scotland at the

Queen Margaret University Queen Margaret University is a public university located wholly within the county of East Lothian on the outskirts of Musselburgh, Scotland. It is named after the Scottish Queen Saint Margaret (1045–1093). The university can trace its ...

School of Drama in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, graduating in 2003. Her break came when she was cast in ''Sunny D'' in 2015, playing the main character ( Dane Baptiste)'s twin sister. She came to notice when her sketch show '' Famalam'' appeared on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. In 2021, she received an award for best female comedy performance in ''Famalam'' from the

. Ikumelo was awarded a TV

for her short film, titled ''Brain in Gear'', in July 2020. Ikumelo is a main cast member on the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

series ''

A League of Their Own ''A League of Their Own'' is a 1992 American sports comedy drama film directed by Penny Marshall that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). It stars Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Ma ...

''. It concerns the creation of a women's American baseball team during the Second World War and it is adapted from the 1992 film of the same title. It was announced in 2022 that Ikumelo would be starring in a new BBC series titled ''

Black Ops A covert operation or undercover operation is a military or police operation involving a covert agent or troops acting under an assumed cover to conceal the identity of the party responsible. US law Under US law, the Central Intelligence Ag ...

'' with actor Hammed Animashaun and ''Famalam'''s producer Akemnji Ndifornyen. Ikumelo plays a woman who signs up to be a community police officer to improve her community, but she and her partner get involved in complication over six episodes. The series is destined for terrestrial channel BBC1 and streaming via

BBC iPlayer BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available Over-the-top media service, over-the-top on a wide range of devices, including Mobile phone, mobile phones and Tablet computer ...

. Ikumelo was also named in 2022 for the cast of a remake of the 1989 film ''Road House'' with

Jake Gyllenhaal Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal ( , ; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor who has worked on screen and stage for over thirty years. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of film director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi ...

, Daniela Melchior and

Billy Magnussen William Gregory Magnussen (born April 20, 1985) is an American actor. He has been featured in the films '' Into the Woods'' (2014), '' Bridge of Spies'' (2015), '' Birth of the Dragon'' (2016), '' Game Night'' (2018), and '' Aladdin'' (2019), and ...

. For her performance in '' Clyde's'' at the

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit Off-West End theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage, Josie Rourke and Michael Longhurst have all served as artistic direc ...

, London, Ikumelo was described by Sarah Hemming of the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' as "spectacularly scary" in the title role.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ikumelo, Gbemisola Living people 20th-century British actresses 20th-century British comedians 21st-century British actresses 21st-century British comedians Alumni of Queen Margaret University Black British actresses Black British women comedians Black British comedians English people of Nigerian descent Year of birth missing (living people) Best Female Comedy Performance BAFTA Award (television) winners