Yvonne Cherrie (also known as Monalisa, born August 19, 1981) is a Tanzanian actress. In 2010 she won Zanzibar International Film Festival for the 'Best Actress' award. She was also nominated for

2011 Nigeria Entertainment Awards The 2011 Nigeria Entertainment Awards was the 6th edition of the ceremony to reward outstanding contribution to Nigerian entertainment industry. It was held at Sharp Theater, Symphony Space, New York City on September 5, 2011. It was hosted by Funk ...

for Pan African Actress Of The Year. She is cited as the one of the best actresses and pioneers in the movie industry of Tanzania. She is also the founder of Act With Monalisa foundation which focus on to mentor and support young Tanzanian women with acting career guidance and a platform to showcase their talents and Director of African Women Arts and Film Festival (AWAFFEST).

Early life and education

Cherrie was born on August 19, 1981, at Muhimbili, the national hospital of Tanzania. Her mother, Suzan Lewis, is also an actress. She had her early education at Luanda, Angola where her father was working; she later returned to Tanzania and started her primary education at Muungano Primary School in Temeke,

Dar Es Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...

and she had secondary education at Zanaki Girls High School before heading to

Tanzania Public Service College The Tanzania Public Service College (TPSC), an institution of higher learning in Tanzania, mandated to offer courses that prepare school leavers for effective delivery of public service to the citizens of the country. The institution also offers ...

where she studied secretarial studies. In 2002 she joined British Council Tanzania for Pre Advance level to study English language course, and after that she joined Wilnag Media Training College in Nairobi where she graduated with a diploma in

mass communication Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large segments of the population. It is usually understood for relating to various forms of media, as its technologies are used for the dissemination o ...

Career

She got her nickname “Monalisa” from her 1998 performance as a young lady, struggling to reconcile her life with her multiple lovers, in the series ''Mambo Hayo''. In 2002 Monalisa made her first feature film debut in the film called ''Girlfriend'' where she played as Tumpale a TID'S girlfriend Tumpale who is forced to turn her life around after being kicked out by her dad . She then played roles in many movies, such as ''Sabrina'' (2003), ''Dilemma'' (2004), ''She Is My Sister'' (2006), ''Kwa Heshima Ya Penzi'', ''Binti Nusa'' and ''Network''. One of her notable performances is from ''Black Sunday'' that earned her the 'Best Actress' award for the 2010 Zanzibar International Film Festival and nomination for Pan African Actress of The year

Filmography

TV series

Stage Plays

Film

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cherrie, Yvonne Living people 1981 births People from Dar es Salaam Tanzanian television actresses Tanzanian stage actresses Tanzanian film actresses Tanzanian actresses 20th-century Tanzanian actresses 21st-century Tanzanian actresses