Yasmine Akram (born 11 March 1981) is an Irish-Pakistani actress, writer and comedian. She has written comedy sketches for the BBC and Channel 4, and played Janine Hawkins in the third series of '' Sherlock''.

Early life and education

Akram was born in

Sharjah Sharjah (; ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is the capital of the Emirate of Sharjah and forms part of the D ...

in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. Her family settled in

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

, Ireland when she was 18 months old. Her father is originally from

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. Her Irish mother Mona is from

and still lives in the town. She has a sister called Masooma. From the age of 14, Akram collaborated with the Calipo Theatre and the Picture Company. She graduated from the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

where she studied acting.

Career

After graduating from drama school, Akram wrote comedy sketches for 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 ...

and

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

, and hosted for

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

. She wrote her first play, ''10 Dates with Mad Mary'', a monologue about a young woman's struggles after leaving prison, and performed the play at

Project Arts Centre Project Arts Centre is a multidisciplinary arts centre based in Temple Bar, Dublin, which hosts visual arts, theatre, dance, music, and performance. History Project Arts Centre was founded by Jim FitzGerald and Colm O'Briain in 1967 after a th ...

in Ireland in 2010. This was adapted into the feature film ''

A Date for Mad Mary ''A Date for Mad Mary'' is a 2016 Irish drama film directed by Darren Thornton. It won two 14th Irish Film & Television Awards, Irish Film & Television Awards, including Best Film. Thornton and his brother Colin adapted it from Yasmine Akram's on ...

'' in 2016. She writes and performs as half of London-based comedy duo ''Ford and Akram'' with English comedian Louise Ford. The duo's live show in 2011 was directed by

Alistair McGowan Alistair Charles McGowan (born 24 November 1964) is an English impressionist, BAFTAaward winning comic, actor, pianist, poet, and writer. He starred in '' The Big Impression'' (formerly '' Alistair McGowan's Big Impression''). He has also wor ...

for the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe 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 2013, she co-wrote and co-presented BBC Radio 4's ''Irish Micks and Legends'' with

Aisling Bea Aisling Clíodhnadh O'Sullivan (born 16 March 1984), known professionally as Aisling Bea ( ), is an Irish comedian, actress and screenwriter. She created, wrote and starred in the comedy series '' This Way Up'' on Channel 4. As a stand-up comedi ...

, with whom she worked on the Channel 4 sketch comedy ''LOL''. In 2014, she portrayed Janine Hawkins opposite

Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Benedict Cumberbatch, various accolades, including a BAFTA TV Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurenc ...

's Sherlock Holmes in two episodes of the third series of '' Sherlock''. She reprised the role in the 2016 special, " The Abominable Bride", in which her character's name was Janine Donlevy.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Akram, Yasmine 1981 births Living people 21st-century Irish actresses 21st-century Irish women writers Actresses from County Louth Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Irish comedy writers Irish people of Pakistani descent Irish television actresses Irish women comedians People from Drogheda