Stella Umeh (born 27 May 1975) is a Canadian former artistic gymnast and current

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and

performer The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perfor ...

. She competed at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

placing 16th in the all-around. She is of Guyanese and

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 ...

descent.

Gymnastics career

Umeh's first big international meet was at the 1989 American Cup in Fairfax,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

where she finished fifth. She then competed at the 1990 Commonwealth Games but was originally an alternate. She won a gold medal with the Canadian team. She competed at the American Cup again in 1991 but placed 8th. She went to the

1991 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 26th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Indianapolis, United States, in the Hoosier Dome The RCA Dome (originally Hoosier Dome) was a domed stadium in Indianapolis. It was the home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise ...

in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. She finished 17th in the all-around. In 1992, Stella started her season at the American Cup in Orlando, Florida, USA and finished 7th. In April, she competed at the

1992 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 27th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships were held in Paris, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and t ...

Paris, France Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. She qualified to Vault and Beam finals but placed 8th and 5th. Later, she qualified to the

in Barcelona, Spain. She finished 16th in the all-around and 10th with the Canadian team. In 1993, she went to Worlds and placed 15th AA and 8th in the FX final. In 1994, she went to the

1994 Commonwealth Games The 1994 Commonwealth Games (French: ''XVéme Jeux du Commonwealth'') were held in Victoria, British Columbia, from 18 to 28 August 1994. Ten types of sports were featured at the Victoria Games: athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling ...

and won 2 golds and 2 silvers as well as placing 4th and 5th in Floor and Beam finals.

College career

In 1994, she accepted a college scholarship to

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

and started attending the school in 1994. Throughout her four years at college, she won three golds, three silvers and one bronze at the

NCAA Championships The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

. She was twice the Pac-12 conference all-around champion.

Acting and Entertainment

Stella studied Theatre at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in the hopes of becoming an actress. In 2000, she joined

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

and performed Mystère in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. In 2002, she performed in Fire Within and then in

Varekai Varekai was a Cirque du Soleil touring production that premiered in Montréal in April 2002. Its title means "wherever" in the Romani language, and the show is an "acrobatic tribute to the nomadic soul". The show begins with the Greek myth of I ...

as a triple trapeze in 2003. She played small roles in

Ghostly Encounters ''Ghostly Encounters'' is a Canadian paranormal TV, paranormal documentary television series that premiered on to January 19, 2011. on Oprah Winfrey Network (Canadian TV channel), Viva/W Network. The program also aired on A&E Television Networ ...

and Delroy Kincaid. She recently had a leading role in a stage play called, 'Pinteresque' which will be in the SummerWorks Performance Festival. Currently, Stella lives in Australia.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Umeh, Stella 1975 births Living people Sportspeople from Mississauga Gymnasts from Toronto Canadian female artistic gymnasts Olympic gymnasts for Canada Gymnasts at the 1992 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Gymnasts at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Canada Black Canadian sportspeople Canadian sportspeople of Guyanese descent Canadian sportspeople of Nigerian descent Commonwealth Games medallists in gymnastics Black Canadian sportswomen UCLA Bruins women's gymnasts Medallists at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1994 Commonwealth Games