Kanya King, (born in

Kilburn, London Kilburn is an area of north west London, England, which spans the boundary of three London Boroughs: London Borough of Camden, Camden to the east, City of Westminster, London Borough of Brent, Brent to the west. There is also an area in the City ...

) is a British entrepreneur who is the founder of the

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 ...

Biography

King was born in Kilburn, London, to an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

mother and a

Ghanaian Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

father, being the youngest of their nine children. Her father died when she was 13 years old. Aged 16, she gave birth to her son, causing her to drop out of school.

Achievements

The first

took place in 1996 at London's Connaught Rooms, broadcast on

Carlton Television Carlton Television (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties from 9.25am every Monday to 5.15pm every Friday. The company is now managed with London Weekend Televi ...

. In 1999, she was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

and a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the 2018 Birthday Honours List. Other awards include an honorary fellowship of

Goldsmiths College, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...

, an honorary Doctorate of Business Administration at

London Metropolitan University London Metropolitan University, commonly known as London Met, is a public university, public research university in London, England. The University of North London (formerly the Polytechnic of North London) and London Guildhall University (f ...

(2006) as well as a Doctorate from

Leeds Metropolitan University Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The univ ...

(2008). In 2011, King was named one of London's Most Influential People by the ''

London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'', one of Britain's Most Entrepreneurial Women (Real Business) and has been regularly listed in the

Powerlist The ''Powerlist'' is a list of the 100 most influential people of African or African Caribbean heritage in the United Kingdom. The list is updated annually and has been published in book format by Powerful Media since 2007. The ''Powerlist'' is ...

as one of Britain's Most Influential Black People. She was recognised by the music industry in 2016, being awarded the "Media Pioneer" award at the ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' Women In Music Awards. In 2017, Kanya King spoke to the ''Evening Standard'' about building the MOBO Awards brand from being a single mother at the age of 16. King also spoke to the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' about diversity and inclusion in creative industry, as well as ''Music Week' about the 22nd MOBO Awards being the strongest yet

King appeared alongside four multi-millionaire panel members in the ITV series '' Fortune - Million Pound Giveaway'' (2007), where members of the panel decide which "contestants" to award no-string grants, based on the merits of their pitch. In February 2013, she was assessed as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by A ...

'' on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

, and also recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women. On 29 October 2015, King was listed by UK-based company Richtopia at number 60 in the list of 100 Most Influential British Entrepreneurs. *Honorary Fellowship at

Goldsmiths University Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wo ...

and Doctorates of Business at both the

and

. *Honoured patron of Music at the

City of Westminster College City of Westminster College is a further education college in the City of Westminster, England, founded originally as Paddington Technical Institute in 1904 and gaining its current name in 1990. The college has two centres in central London, lo ...

. *"Contribution to Music Award" granted by the Ghana Black Star Network *Presented with the Ambassador Award at the 12th annual

NatWest National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, it ...

Everywoman Awards *Honorary Doctorate University of the Arts in recognition of commitment and success within the creative industries *Honorary Doctorate of Laws

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a public university , public research university in Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Min ...

Outstanding Achievements in the field of entrepreneurship *Lifetime Achievement Award from the Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship (IOEE) *Honorary Doctor of Music,

SOAS University of London SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

References

External links

Kanya King - Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Kanya Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London BBC 100 Women Black British women Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English people of Ghanaian descent English people of Irish descent People from Kilburn, London