Adjoa Andoh | |
|---|---|
 Andoh in 2009 | |
| Born | Adjoa Aiboom Helen Andoh (1963-01-14)14 January 1963 (age 62) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Spouse | Howard Cunnell |
| Children | 3 |
Adjoa Aiboom Helen AndohHonFRSL (born 14 January 1963) is a British actress. On stage, she has played lead roles with theRoyal Shakespeare Company, theNational Theatre, theRoyal Court Theatre, and theAlmeida Theatre. On television, she appeared in two series ofDoctor Who asFrancine Jones, 90 episodes of the BBC's long-running medical dramaCasualty, and BBC'sEastEnders. Andoh made herHollywood debut in autumn 2009, starring asNelson Mandela'schief of staff Brenda Mazibuko alongsideMorgan Freeman as Mandela inClint Eastwood's drama filmInvictus. From 2020, she portrays Lady Danbury in theNetflix Regency romance seriesBridgerton. In July 2022, Andoh became an honorary fellow of theRoyal Society of Literature.
Adjoa Aiboom Helen Andoh was born on 14 January 1963[1] inClifton, Bristol.[2] Her mother, a teacher, was English, and her father was a journalist and musician fromGhana. She has a brother.[3] Andoh grew up inWickwar inGloucestershire, where her family moved after her father got a job withBritish Aerospace.[3][4]
She attendedKatharine Lady Berkeley's School and then started studying law atBristol Polytechnic, but left after two years to pursue an acting career.[2]
In film, Andoh appeared inNoel Clarke's 2008 filmAdulthood and its 2016 sequelBrotherhood as the mother of Clarke's character, Sam Peel. She played Chief of Staff Brenda Mazibuko oppositeMorgan Freeman'sNelson Mandela inClint Eastwood's 2009 drama filmInvictus.[5][6]
Her television credits includeCasualty (she played Colette Griffiths (née Kierney) from 2000 until 2003),Jonathan Creek,EastEnders (where she played jazz singer Karen, the lodger ofRachel Kominski, in 1991), She played a doctor in the 1992 Series 3 episode "Sleeping Pills" ofWaiting for God andThe Tomorrow People (where she played Amanda James in the storyThe Rameses Connection in 1995).
She has appeared inDoctor Who a number of times: in 2006 as Sister Jatt in series 2 episode "New Earth" and as Nurse Albertine in the audio dramaYear of the Pig. In 2007, she appeared in several episodes of the third series ("Smith and Jones", "The Lazarus Experiment", "42", "The Sound of Drums", and "Last of the Time Lords") asFrancine Jones, the mother ofMartha Jones (Freema Agyeman). She reprised her role in the finale of series 4 ("The Stolen Earth" and "Journey's End"). Andoh's other television work includes playing the head ofM.I.9 in Series 3 to Series 5 ofM.I. High and D.C.I. Ford inMissing. In the Americanstreaming television drama seriesBridgerton (2020) she plays Lady Danbury. She played the guest role of Mother Nenneke in the second season of the Polish - Americanfantasydramastreaming television seriesThe Witcher (2021). In April 2023,The Real Crown: Inside the House of Windsor, an ITV television documentary series on theBritish royal family, aired. Andoh narrates the series.[7]
In 2021, it was announced that she was working withBridgerton producerJulie Anne Robinson on a version of Vanessa Riley's novel,The Island Queen, for television.[8]
She has narrated 'Chateaux DIY' on Channel 4 since 2021.
In 2024, Andoh starred in a Christmas advertising campaign forBoots, as 'Mrs. Claus'.[9]
Andoh has narrated over 150 audiobooks.[10] Andoh was a member of theBBC'sRadio Drama Company.[11] She narrated one audio book version ofAlexander McCall Smith'sThe No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series of detective novels and Ann Leckie'sImperial Radch Series trilogy (although not all of the US editions), as well asJulia Jarman's children's books,The Jessame Stories andMore Jessame Stories. She also narrated the audio book version ofNnedi Okorafor's novelLagoon withBen Onwukwe,[12] andChimamanda Ngozi Adichie'sAmericanah. She narratedThe Power byNaomi Alderman, former PresidentBarack Obama's favorite book of 2017.[13]
Her career in audio dramas has included the Voice of Planet B in the science fiction seriesPlanet B onBBC Radio 7. In 2004, she was cast in the video gameFable. In 2017 she provided the voice of war chief Sona in the video gameHorizon Zero Dawn. In 2020, it was announced that Andoh would direct Lettie Precious'Nina Simone's Four Negro Women as part of the Written on the Waves audio project.[14]
Penguin Random House has given her the title of "Queen of audio and radio drama" for her extensive work in the medium.[15]
Andoh has worked extensively in the theatre. Her credits includeHis Dark Materials,Stuff Happens andThe Revenger's Tragedy at theNational Theatre;A Streetcar Named Desire (National Theatre Studio);Troilus and Cressida,Julius Caesar,Tamburlaine andThe Odyssey (RSC);Sugar Mummies andBreath Boom (Royal Court);Richard II (Globe);Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Donmar Warehouse);Great Expectations (Bristol Old Vic);Blood Wedding (Almeida);Nights at the Circus,The Dispute andPericles (Lyric Hammersmith);Julius Caesar (The Bridge);Purgatorio (Arcola);The Vagina Monologues (Criterion);Starstruck (Tricycle) andIn The Red and Brown Water (Young Vic).[16]
In 2019, she co-directed withLynette Linton a production ofRichard II atShakespeare's Globe.[17] It was the first production of the play in the UK with a cast entirely of women of color. It was praised by theatre critics.[18][19] In 2023, she directed and starred inRichard III at Liverpool Playhouse and Rose Theatre Kingston. She was the only Black actress in the cast as a comment on the title character's Otherness.[20]
Andoh is Associate Artist for the Royal Shakespeare Company[21] and Senior Associate Artist at the Bush Theatre.[22]
She has served on numerous awards committees, including the Women's Prize for Playwriting (2020),[23] a judge for the inaugural BAME science fiction writer's award for Gollancz (2020),[24] the Literature Matters Awards for the Royal Society of Literature (2021),[25] the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize (2021–22),[26] and she was a jury member for the Booker Prize (2023).[27]
She has served as a judge for theCarleton Hobbs Award[26] and the Norman Beaton Fellowship.[28] She is a co-founder of the Future Worlds Prize for science fiction writers of color.[29] In 2023, she hosted an event at the Black to the Future Festival in London.[30]
Andoh is a teacher at theRoyal Academy of Arts (RADA) andRose Bruford College.[31] In 2021, she was named an Honorary Fellow at Rose Bruford College.[32]
In 2021, Andoh was named an Honorary Fellow of the British Shakespeare Association.[33] Also in 2021, she was named Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theatre at St. Catherine's College, University of Oxford.[34] In 2022, she was elected to the Royal Society of Literature.[35]
Andoh met her husband, Howard Cunnell, in 1994 when he took over the bookshop atBattersea Arts Centre, where Andoh's theatre companyWild Iris had an office. They have been together since late 1995, married in 2001 and have two children, (b. 1996 and 1997). Andoh also has a daughter from a previous relationship, (b. 1985/86). Cunnell has worked as a lecturer, writer, scuba diving instructor and a lifeguard. The couple live inSussex as of 2022, having previously lived inBrixton.[3][36]
In October 2009, Andoh was licensed as areader in theChurch of England for the parish ofHerne Hill.[37][38][39]
In 2014, Andoh gave a TED talk atTEDxBermuda about her experience as a parent of a trans child.[40] Andoh has spoken candidly about sexuality[41] and racism.[42]
She has been a Fairtrade Ambassador since 2005.[43]
In May 2023, followingthe coronation ofKing Charles III, Andoh stated that the day's proceedings had "gone from the rich diversity of theAbbey to a terribly white balcony".[44] 8,371 complaints were made to the media watchdogOfcom, the highest number of complaints for a TV broadcast in 2023.[45][46] Andoh explained that "I was talking about the day and how marvellous it was and then looking at the balcony at the end and suddenly going: 'Oh it's so white!' because the day had been so mixed. I didn't mean to upset anybody."[47] In June 2023, Ofcom announced that they would not be taking action over the comment as it was "a personal observation".[46]
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