British Actors You Should Know: Adjoa Andoh

You may best know prolific stage and screen actor Adjoa Andoh from her role as a presiding member of Bridgerton’s ton, but offscreen, she’s more like British acting royalty. Born in 1963 and raised as the only Black girl in her small southern England town, Andoh’s life experiences have made race and gender vital to her work. Her English mother and Ghanan father instilled a love of music and performance in her that simmered under the surface of her young adulthood. Andoh initially pursued a career in law, even enrolling in law school before realizing that acting was her true calling.

Andoh: “I joined a Black women's group in 1982, discovered that Black women wrote books, packed in my law degree, joined an acting class run by an African American woman in the group, got a job on a play of hers, and moved directly to London.”

Andoh spent nearly a decade as a stage actor before breaking into film, television, and audio in the 1990s. Her advocacy work as a champion for actors and writers of color is just as impressive as her filmography. She co-founded an award for science fiction writers of color, frequently serves on awards committees celebrating the work of women writers and writers of color, and has spoken openly about the struggles and barriers women of color face in the acting industry.