Vivian Nneka O. Oparah (born 30 December 1996) is a British actress and musician. She is known for her work in theatre, earning an

Off West End Award Off West End refers to theatres in London which are not included as West End theatres. The term is a relatively recent one, coined after the similar American term "off-Broadway" (though without the same strict definition). It is usually used synony ...

nomination, and her roles in the

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' spin-off ''

Class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

'' (2016) and the film '' Rye Lane'' (2023).

Early life

Oparah was born in Camden and grew up in

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Waltham ...

, London. She attended

The Latymer School The Latymer School is a selective, Coeducation, mixed grammar school in Edmonton, London, Edmonton, London, England, established in 1624 by Edward Latymer. According to league tables, Latymer is one of the top state-schools in the country. Histo ...

, where she took

A Levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

in media, English literature, product design and biology. During her media coursework in 2014, she formed a band called NTLS along with other students. Their debut single and video ''Heart Skipped a Beat'' was published on YouTube. Her older brother also works in music. Oparah joined the

National Youth Theatre The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and registered charity in London. Its aim is to develop and nurture young people through creative arts and theatrical productions. Founded in 1956 as the world's first youth th ...

, where she did a two-week summer course.

Career

While deferring her acceptance to UCL, Oparah was cast in the

''Doctor Who'' spin-off ''

'' as Tanya Adeola, marking her television debut. Oparah later said that Class was her first audition. When she auditioned she only knew that the series was linked to the Doctor Who universe, but she did not imagine that it was such a big production until she got the job and started filming. During the production of the series Oparah lived in Cardiff, in the same building as actress

Sophie Hopkins Sophie Lisa Hopkins is a British actress and model. She is best known for her role as April MacLean in the BBC Three '' Doctor Who'' spin-off '' Class'' (2016). Early life Hopkins was born in Singapore and grew up in the East Yorkshire Wolds, Eng ...

. Oparah named an Emerging Talent at the 2017

Screen Nation Film and Television Awards The Screen Nation Film & TV Awards, formerly the bfm (black filmmaker) Film and TV Awards, was founded in September 2003 by independent film producer Charles Thompson MBE, as a platform to raise the profile of black British and international fil ...

. That same year, she starred as Minnie in the play '' An Octoroon'' at the

Orange Tree Theatre The Orange Tree Theatre is a 180-seat theatre at 1 Clarence Street, Richmond in south-west London, which was built specifically as a theatre in the round. It is housed within a disused 1867 primary school, built in Victorian Gothic style. Th ...

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. For her performance, she was nominated for Best Supporting Female in a Play at Off West End Theatre Awards. In 2018, Oparah reprised her role as Tanya in six audio plays by Big Finish and made her feature film debut in '' Teen Spirit''. In 2020, Oparah appeared in an episode of the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

miniseries ''

I May Destroy You ''I May Destroy You'' is a British black comedy-drama television limited series created, written, co-directed, and executive produced by Michaela Coel for BBC One and HBO. The series is set in London with a predominantly Black British cast. ...

'' as well as the second series of the BBC Three comedy-drama '' Enterprice''. She starred opposite

David Jonsson David Jonsson (born 1993/1994) is a British actor. He began his career in the West End. He is known for his roles in the BBC Two and HBO series ''Industry'' (2020–) and the film '' Rye Lane'' (2023). For the latter, he earned a British Indepe ...

in the romantic comedy '' Rye Lane'', which opened at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim. She has an upcoming role in the

Sky Max Sky Max is a British pay television channel which launched on 1 September 2021 along with Sky Showcase. It is owned and operated by Sky Group, a subsidiary of Comcast. The channel was announced on 28 July 2021 to replace Sky One, which had been ...

drama ''

Then You Run ''Then You Run'' is a British-German thriller television miniseries based on the novel ''You'' (2014) by Zoran Drvenkar, adapted by Ben Chanan for Sky Max. The series premiered on 7 July 2023. Cast * Leah McNamara as Tara O'Rourke * Yasmin Monet ...

''.

Filmography

Film

TV series

Audio

* ''

'' (2018), Tanya Adeola (3 episodes)

Stage

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Vivian Oparah
at Independent Talent * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oparah, Vivian Living people 1998 births Actresses from London Black British actresses English people of Nigerian descent National Youth Theatre members People educated at The Latymer School People from Tottenham