Trey Anthony (born February 18, 1974) is a British-born Canadian playwright, actor, and producer, best known for her award-winning play and television series '' Da Kink in My Hair''. As a producer, she worked for the Women's Television Network and the Urban Women's Comedy Festival. She founded Trey Anthony Studios, a television and theatre production company dedicated to producing new works of theatre.

Personal life

Born in

London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to Jamaican parents, Anthony arrived in Canada at 12 years old with her mother. They lived in the working class district of

Rexdale Rexdale is a neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located north-west of the central core, in the district of Etobicoke. Rexdale defines an area of several official neighbourhoods north of Highway 401 and east of Highway 427. Rexdale was ori ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

before moving to suburban

Brampton Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...

. Anthony's mother had left for Canada ahead of her, leaving her from the ages of 6 to 12 to be raised by her grandmother. Anthony's grandmother had in turn left her mother in Jamaica when leaving for the UK. Anthony's grandmother had been part of the Domestic Scheme Act, allowing her to go to a first world country if she proved she had no family ties. She has a brother, Darren Anthony, who is also a writer.

Career

She is a regular on the Canadian comedy circuit. She began doing stand-up comedy during African Nubian Comedy Nights where she honed her comedic wit and timing. She soon became a crowd favourite and began writing and producing her own sketch comedy shows at Second City. These shows sold out monthly and Anthony moved her monthly shows to a bigger venue, growing her audience, and creating more demand for her theatrical work and projects. She is a recipient of the prestigious Harry Jerome Award for the arts and the recipient of an Eve Ensler Award of the Arts. In 2017, Anthony launched her new brand, ''Black Girl in Love'', which features the first lifestyle planner/organizer geared at professional black woman and also includes merchandise, workshops and retreats. She has performed at

The Second City The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise. It is the oldest improvisational theater troupe to be continuously based in Chicago, with training programs and live theaters in Toronto and New York. Since its debut in 1959, it has b ...

, the Urban Womyn's Comedy Festival and Toronto's St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. She was also a writer and performer for Kenny Robinson's sketch comedy show ''After Hours with Kenny Robinson'' and a writer for '' The Chris Rock Show''. In 2017, her play ''How Black Mothers Say I Love You'' debuted at the Factory Theatre, Toronto. In 2020, Anthony appeared in CBC Gem's '' Queer Pride Inside'' special.

'Da Kink in My Hair

Her hit play and television series, '' 'Da Kink in My Hair'', has received tremendous critical acclaim, and was named one of the top ten plays in Canadian theatrical history and the winner of four NAACP and received several

Dora Mavor Moore Awards The Dora Mavor Moore Awards (also known as the Dora Awards or the Doras) are awards presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA), honouring theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moor ...

. Originally set as a one-woman show, '''Da Kink'' documents the lives of women in a Caribbean style Jamaican hair salon in Toronto. Starting out at the Toronto French Festival in 2001 '''Da Kink'' has been produced in California, New York, London, and was the first Canadian play to be produced at the Princess of Wales Theatre. '' '' Anthony is the first Black Canadian woman to write and produce a television show on a major prime time Canadian network. A television series version of Da Kink in My Hair'' began airing in 2007 and Anthony was a cast member before the show was cancelled in 2009.

Trey Anthony Studios

Trey Anthony Studios was founded by Anthony with the mission to "produce television and theater for urban audiences." It has produced and continuous to produce Anthony's works and has also produced ''Secrets of a Black Boy'', a play written by her brother Darren.

Selected works

* '''Da Kink in my Hair'' * ''I Am Not a Dinner Mint, The Crap Women Swallow to Stay in a Relationship!'' * ''How Black Mothers Say I Love You'' * ''Black Girl in Love (with Herself)'' * ''Brampton Walk of fame''

Awards

* ''Eve Ensler Vagina Warrior Award'' 2005 * ''NAACP Theatre Award'' 2007 * ''Gemini Award'' 2008 * ''Harry Jerome Award'' 2009 * ''Egale Canada – Queering Black History Award'' 2009

References

External links

* , for Trey Anthony Studios * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anthony, Trey 1974 births Living people Black Canadian actresses Black Canadian dramatists and playwrights Canadian women comedians Canadian women dramatists and playwrights British emigrants to Canada Canadian people of Jamaican descent Canadian lesbian actresses Lesbian comedians Canadian LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights Canadian lesbian writers Lesbian dramatists and playwrights Canadian expatriate actresses in the United States 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian women writers Writers from Ontario Black Canadian LGBTQ people Canadian LGBTQ comedians 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people Black Canadian women writers Harry Jerome Award winners Comedians from London