Regina Obedapo "Gina" Iyashere is a British comedian who has made many appearances on British and American television.

Early life

Yashere was born and raised in

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...

London to

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

parents. Before becoming a comedian, she worked as a

lift Lift or LIFT may refer to: Physical devices * Elevator, or lift, a device used for raising and lowering people or goods ** Paternoster lift, a type of lift using a continuous chain of cars which do not stop ** Patient lift, or Hoyer lift, mobile ...

maintenance technician and engineer (the company's first female to do so, all of which she mentions in her

stand-up Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...

routine). She uses the surname "Yashere" due to encountering common mispronunciation of her original surname.

Career

Yashere was a finalist in the

Hackney Empire New Act of the Year The NATYS: New Acts of The Year Showcase, previously known as The Hackney Empire New Act of the Year, is an annual industry showcase that promotes new waves of emerging Comedy and Variety acts. It ran at the Hackney Empire Theatre from 1988 unti ...

competition in 1996. She has appeared in a number of television programmes, including in the comedy series ''

The Lenny Henry Show ''The Lenny Henry Show'' is a comedy sketch show (and in its 1987–1988 incarnation, a sitcom) featuring Lenny Henry. It was originally broadcast between 1984 and 1988, and was later revived twice, in 1995 and 2004–2005. History Original vers ...

'', where she played Tanya and Mrs Omokorede, the pushy mum. She voiced Keisha on the animated series ''

Bromwell High ''Bromwell High'' is an adult animated series about a British high school in South London. It first aired on Teletoon in Canada and Channel 4 in the United Kingdom (incomplete run). It is a co-production between Hat Trick Productions in the UK ...

''. In 2005, she appeared on the reality television series '' Comic Relief does Fame Academy'', in aid of

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...

, and she co-hosted the 2006 and 2007

MOBO Awards The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and Af ...

alongside

2Baba Innocent Ujah Idibia MON (born 18 September 1975), known by his stage name 2Baba, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Noted for his vocal range, lyrical depth, and longevity, he is widely regard ...

and

Coolio Artis Leon Ivey Jr. (August 1, 1963 – September 28, 2022), known professionally as Coolio, was an American rapper. First rising to fame as a member of the gangsta rap group WC and the Maad Circle, Coolio achieved mainstream success as a solo ...

. She has made numerous appearances on ''

Mock the Week ''Mock the Week'' is a British topical satirical celebrity panel show, created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson. It was produced by Angst Productions for BBC Two, and was broadcast from 5 June 2005 to 4 November 2022. The programme was present ...

'', and appeared on the

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

show ''

Gina's Laughing Gear Gina's Laughing Gear was a special programming slot which was presented by Gina Yashere. It was shown on Friday afternoons on BBC One and repeated on Saturday on the CBBC Channel. The purpose was to showcase new CBBC CBBC (initialised as Chi ...

''. In 2007, Yashere was featured on the reality show ''

Last Comic Standing ''Last Comic Standing'' was an American reality television talent competition show on NBC that aired from June 1, 2003, to August 9, 2010, then again in 2014 and 2015. The goal of the program was to select a comedian from an initially large group ...

'', auditioning in Sydney. She was among the ten finalists, but on 1 August 2007, she and

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

were the first two finalists eliminated. In 2008, she became the first Briton to perform on ''

Def Comedy Jam ''Def Comedy Jam'' is an HBO television series produced by Russell Simmons. The series had its original run from March 7, 1992 to May 2, 1997. Simmons was inspired to make Def Comedy Jam by The Uptown Comedy Club in Harlem, New York and Jerry Le ...

''. On 3 September 2009, she appeared on ''

The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien ''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show that featured Conan O'Brien as host from June 1, 2009, to January 22, 2010, as part of NBC's ''Tonight Show'' franchise. O'Brien had previously hosted NBC's ''Late Ni ...

'' 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 ''The Jay Leno Show'' is a talk show created and hosted by Jay Leno. Premiering on NBC on September 14, 2009, the program aired on weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ET/ PT through February 9, 2010. The program was modeled upon the format of a late ...

'': 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. Starting in 2010, she appeared semi-regularly on ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'', in a sketch comedy series called ''Madame Yashere: The Surly Psychic''. In 2010, Yashere appeared as Flo in several episodes of the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

drama ''

Married Single Other ''Married Single Other'' is a British television drama created and written by Peter Souter. The series is based on the lives of group of people who are either married, single or "other", other being defined as in a relationship. It began airing ...

''. In April 2010, her one-hour comedy special, ''Skinny B*tch'', premiered on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

, a US cable channel. She appeared on Watch TV show ''Scream If You Know the Answer'' with contestant Emily Green from Portsmouth. She helped Green win the show with a prize fund of £2,000. In 2013, Yashere appeared in an advert for

Tesco Mobile Tesco Mobile Limited (trading as Tesco Mobile) is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. It is operated by British retailer Tesco, using the network O2 as its carrier except i ...

. In 2015, she was featured as a selected comic on ''Gotham Comedy Live'', which airs on

AXS TV AXS TV is an American cable television channel. Majority-owned by Anthem Sports & Entertainment, it is devoted primarily to music-related programming (such as concert films, documentaries, and reality series involving musicians) and combat sport ...

(season 4-Judah Friedlander) where she referred to the City of

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, Ohio as "shit." On 8 January 2016, she appeared on ''The Nasty Show with Artie Lange'', which aired on Showtime. Starting on 16 March 2017, Yashere began a brief stint as the British correspondent for ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...

''. In September 2019, Yashere began appearing in a supporting role on the 2019

Chuck Lorre Charles Michael Lorre (; born Charles Michael Levine; October 18, 1952) is an American film & television director, writer, producer, composer and actor. Called the "King of Sitcoms", he has created/co-created and produced sitcoms including ''G ...

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

sitcom, '' Bob Hearts Abishola'', which Lorre created with Yashere. Yashere writes for the show and plays

Folake Olowofoyeku Folake Olowofoyeku (born 26 October 1983) is a Nigerians, Nigerian actress and musician. She currently stars in the Chuck Lorre CBS sitcom ''Bob Hearts Abishola''. Early life, family and education Olowofoyeku was born in Nigeria to Nigerian ...

's character Abishola's best friend, Kemi. ''Bob Hearts Abishola'' is the first American sitcom to feature a Nigerian family.

Personal life

Yashere is lesbian. She currently lives in

Altadena, California Altadena () ("Alta", Spanish for "Upper", and "dena" from Pasadena) is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in the Verdugo Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, approximately 14 miles (23 km) from the downtown ...

, with her partner.

Filmography

Below is an incomplete filmography:

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yashere, Gina Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century English comedians 21st-century English comedians Black British women comedians English expatriates in the United States English film actresses English people of Nigerian descent English stand-up comedians English television actresses Last Comic Standing contestants LGBT Black British people Lesbian comedians British LGBT entertainers People from Bethnal Green 20th-century English women 20th-century English people 21st-century English women