Gina Yashere

Gina Yashere
Gina Yashere at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2018
Born Gina Obedapo Yashere
(1974-04-06) 6 April 1974
Bethnal Green, London, England, United Kingdom
Residence New York, U.S.
Comedy career
Medium Stand-up, television, film
Nationality British
Years active 1996–present
Genres Social satire, character comedy, observational comedy
Subject(s) Culture, race, stereotypes, current events

Gina Obedapo Iyashere (born 6 April 1974) is a British comedian who changed her name to Gina Yashere due to many who mispronounced her surname. [1][2][3]

Early life

Yashere was born in Bethnal Green in London. Her parents came from Nigeria. She grew up in London.

Before becoming a comedian, Yashere worked as a lift maintenance technician and engineer.[4][5]

Career

Yashere was a finalist in the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year competition in 1996. She has appeared in many television programmes. She may be best known for appearing in the comedy series The Lenny Henry Show, where she played Tanya and Mrs Omokorede, the pushy Mum. She voiced Keisha on the animated series Bromwell High. In 2005, she appeared in the reality television series, Comic Relief does Fame Academy, in aid of Comic Relief, and she co-hosted the 2006 and 2007 MOBO Awards alongside 2Baba and Coolio. She has made numerous appearances on Mock the Week, and appears on the CBBC show Gina's Laughing Gear.

In 2007, Yashere was featured on the reality show Last Comic Standing, auditioning in Sydney. She was among the ten finalists, but on 1 August 2007, she and Dante were the first two finalists eliminated.

In 2008, she became the first Briton to perform on Def Comedy Jam. On 3 September 2009, she appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and performed a stand-up comedy routine. On 24 December, she appeared on Live at the Apollo. She appeared twice on the short-lived primetime show The Jay Leno Show: on 21 October 2009, a video of Yashere showed her giving free fortune-telling readings to passers-by, and on 25 November 2009, she operated a walk-in psychic booth. Since 2010, she has appeared semi-regularly on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, in a sketch comedy series called Madame Yashere: The Surly Psychic. In the sketches, she continues to give fake psychic readings to unsuspecting people on the street.

In 2010, Yashere appeared as Flo in several episodes of the ITV drama Married Single Other.[6] In April 2010 Yashere's one-hour comedy special, Skinny B*tch, premiered on Showtime, a US cable channel.

In 2010, she appeared on Watch TV show Scream If You Know the Answer with contestant Emily Green from Portsmouth. She helped Emily win the show with a prize fund of £2,000.

In 2013, Yashere appeared in an advert for Tesco Mobile.

In 2015, Yashere was featured as a selected comic on Gotham Comedy Live, which airs on AXS TV (season 4-Judah Friedlander).

On 8 January 2016 she appeared on The Nasty Show with Artie Lange, which aired on Showtime.

Starting on 16 March 2017, Yashere became the newest British Correspondent for The Daily Show.[7]

Personal life

Yashere currently lives in New York, but spends a significant part of the year travelling to do shows in the UK, Australia and the Far East.[8][9][10][11][12]

She lives in New York with her girlfriend. Yashere has said she is a lesbian, but she has dated men in the past.[13]

Selected filmography

  • 1996–2000: Blouse and Skirt TV series – 21 episodes, as Herself / Regular Panelist
  • 1999: The Richard Blackwood Show TV series – writer
  • 2000: Lenny Henry in Pieces TV series
  • 2001: Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang) – as Polythene Pam
  • 2001: Mr In-Between – as Dancing Woman
  • 2005: The Crouches TV series – episode: "No Place Like Home," as Mrs. Ubakema
  • 2005: Bromwell High TV series – 13 episodes, as Keisha Marie (voice)
  • 2005, 2006, 2013, 2015: The Wright Stuff TV series – 4 episodes, as Herself / Guest Panelist
  • 2008: The Time of the End short film – as The Messiah
  • 2008: Brits Abroad: Gina's Got the Ticket TV movie – Host
  • 2008: Def Comedy Jam TV series – episode: "Episode #8.1," writer
  • 2009: Just for Laughs TV series – episode: "Martin Short," writer
  • 2009: Live at the Apollo TV series – episode: "Episode #5.5," as Herself
  • 2010: Married Single Other – 4 episodes, as Flo
  • 2010: 1st Amendment Stand Up TV series – episode: "Darren Carter/Gina Yashere/Damon Williams," writer
  • 2013, 2014: Gotham Comedy Live TV show – 2 episodes, as Herself / Comedian
  • 2014: Comics Unleashed TV series – 2 episodes, as Herself / Guest
  • 2015, 2016, 2017: @midnight TV series – 5 episodes, as Herself representing the United Kingdom
  • 2015: The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore TV series – 2 episodes: "Bill Cosby Fights Back & Controversial Humor" and "Soul Food Sit-Down with Lincoln Chafee," as Herself / Panelist
  • 2015: Just for Laughs: All-Access TV series – episode: "Episode #3.9," as Herself
  • 2015: The Nasty Show Hosted by Artie Lange TV show – as Herself
  • 2016: Sir Patrick Stewart: A Knight of Comedy TV show – as Herself
  • 2016: Go 8 Bit TV series – episode: "Episode #1.2," as Herself
  • 2016: Debate Wars TV series – episode: "Babies Vs. Old People," as Herself / Team Babies
  • 2016: The Comedian's Guide to Survival – as Herself
  • 2016: Black Is the New Black TV show – as Herself
  • 2016: Live at the Apollo TV series – episode: "Episode #12.3," as Herself / Host
  • 2017: Crashing – episode: "Artie Lange," as Gina
  • 2017: Celebrity Chase TV series – episode: "Episode #7.7," as Contestant
  • 2017: What's Your F@#King Deal?! TV series – episode: "Dante Nero, Gina Yashere and Eddie Pepitone," as Herself
  • 2017–present: The Daily Show with Trevor Noah – Commentator
  • 2018: Early Man – as Gravelle (voice)
  • 2018: West:Word TV series – episode: "Vanishing Point," as Herself

Stand-up specials

  • 2008: Gina Yashere: Skinny B*tch, Showtime – written and performed by
  • 2014: Gina Yashere: Laughing To America, Starz – written and performed by
  • 2018: The Standups with Gina Yashere, A Netflix Original Comedy Special – written and performed by

References

  1. ↑ Maxwell, Dominic (27 May 2008). "Gina Yashere at Fairfield Halls, Croydon". The Times. London. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
  2. ↑ Gina Yashere at The New York Times
  3. ↑ Arthur, Tim. Interview at Time Out London, 28 May 2008.
  4. ↑ "Comedy lovers – you'll want to pull over for Gina Yashere". Q. 4 December 2015.
  5. ↑ Williams, Ben (11 July 2017). "Heard the one about the standup who built lift shafts? Comedians on their previous careers". The Guardian.
  6. ↑ Married Single Other Archived 23 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine. at ITV.com
  7. ↑ Mahdawi, Arwa (11 June 2017). "The Daily Show's Gina Yashere: 'In England, I'd still be the token black face on Mock the Week'". The Guardian.
  8. ↑ Leijon, Erik. "Colon comedy", Montreal Mirror, Vol. 25 No. 5, 16–22 July 2009.
  9. ↑ Pool, Hannah. "Question time", The Guardian, 15 May 2008.
  10. ↑ Freak, Dave. "Comedy: Comic Gina Yashere on why she moved to America", Birmingham Mail, 17 September 2010.
  11. ↑ "Loose Ends", BBC Radio 4, October 2013.
  12. ↑ Lester, Charly (21 May 2014). "The Dating Interview – Gina Yashere, Comedian – Guardian Soulmates Blog". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  13. ↑ Lester, Charly (21 May 2014). "The Dating Interview – Gina Yashere, Comedian". The Guardian Soulmates Blog.
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