Ololade "Lolly" Adefope (born ) is an English stand-up comedian and actress, specialising in character comedy. She is known for playing the role of Fran in the

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

comedy series '' Shrill'', and as Kitty, the ghost of a Georgian noblewoman in 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 ...

comedy ''

Ghosts In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

'', for which she was nominated for a National Comedy Award in 2021.

Early life and education

Adefope was born in

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

to Nigerian parents. She went to

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public university, public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university sinc ...

to study English literature. While at university, she started performing with a sketch comedy group.

Career

After university Adefope applied to drama school but was rejected, so she began working in an office. She began her career as a stand-up comic and transitioned into acting after receiving positive attention for solo shows at the

Edinburgh Fringe Festival The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

in 2015 and 2016. Also in 2015, she was selected for the BBC Writersroom comedy programme, and in 2016 she was nominated for two

Chortle Award The Chortle Awards were set up in 2002 by the comedy website Chortle to honour the best of established stand-up comics currently working in the UK. A panel of reviewers draw up a shortlist, which is presented for public vote at the Chortle webs ...

s. As an actress, Adefope has appeared on ''

Together ''ToGetHer'' (, aka Superstar Express) is a 2009 Taiwanese drama starring Jiro Wang of Fahrenheit, Rainie Yang and George Hu. It was produced by Comic International Productions ( 可米國際影視事業股份有限公司) and directed by Linzi ...

'', ''

Josh Josh is a masculine given name, frequently a diminutive (hypocorism) of the given names Joshua or Joseph, though since the 1970s, it has increasingly become a full name on its own. It may refer to: People A–J *Big Josh, stage name for America ...

'', ''

Plebs In ancient Rome, the plebeians or plebs were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of the gro ...

'', '' Rovers'', ''

Sick Note ''Sick Note'' is a British black comedy television series starring Rupert Grint and Nick Frost. It was created and written by Nat Saunders and James Serafinowicz and directed by Matt Lipsey. It first aired on 7 November 2017 on Sky One. In April ...

'', ''

'', ''Miracle Workers'', and '' Shrill''. She has also participated as a guest on '' Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled'', ''

The Last Leg ''The Last Leg'' (known during its first series as ''The Last Leg with Adam Hills'' and in Australia as ''Adam Hills: The Last Leg'') is a British late-night television humorous talk/sketch show that originally ran alongside the 2012 Summer Par ...

'', ''

Don't Ask Me Ask Britain ''Don't Ask Me Ask Britain'' is a British television comedy panel game show that has aired on ITV (TV network), ITV from 18 April until 23 May 2017 and is hosted by Alexander Armstrong with Frank Skinner and Jonathan Ross as the team captains. T ...

'' and '' QI''. She appeared on the fourth series of the panel show '' Taskmaster'' and the 100th anniversary suffragette special of ''

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown ''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown'' is a British comedy panel show on Channel 4. The show follows the game of '' Countdown'', but presented in a comedy panel show format seen on ''8 Out of 10 Cats'', with the show being a crossover of the two. ...

''. ''Shrill'' star and co-creator

Aidy Bryant Aidy Bryant (born May 7, 1987) is an American actress and comedian. Bryant is most notable for being a cast member on the NBC late-night sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' for ten seasons, joining the show for its 38th season in 2012, ...

has praised Adefope's acting for "how much she can convey with just the slightest movement of her eyes." Her performance in that show introduced her to wider audiences, and she began to receive a flood of offers for new roles. As of May 2021, she was working on developing a new television show that she would also star in, as well as a podcast. In October 2021, it was announced that Adefope will be appearing in an upcoming American television series, ''Girls Can't Shoot (& Other Lies)'' based on

Scarlett Curtis Scarlett Kate Freud Curtis (born 21 June 1995) is an English activist and writer. Biography Curtis was born on 21 June 1995 in London. She is the daughter of screenwriter Richard Curtis and broadcaster Emma Freud. In 2003, she made a brief cameo ...

's anthology, ''Feminists Don't Wear Pink (& Other Lies)''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * Black British women comedians Black British comedians English stand-up comedians Living people English people of Nigerian descent 21st-century English comedians Comedians from London English television actresses English voice actresses 21st-century English actresses Actresses from London Alumni of Loughborough University Year of birth missing (living people) {{UK-comedian-stub