Jani Petteri Toivola (born 27 November 1977 in

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

) is a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

actor, dancer, author and an ex-politician. He studied in HB Acting Studio,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in 1999–2002. He has performed in several dance works, television series and plays. Toivola is also openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

. His father is

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

n and mother

. Toivola has been a veejay for the chart programme of the music channel

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

. He has also so far hosted the third and fourth season of the Finnish '' Idols'' television series together with Ellen Jokikunnas. In the Finnish parliamentary election of 2011, Toivola was elected to the

Parliament of Finland The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The ...

as a candidate of the

Green League The Green League (VIHR, fi, Vihreä liitto , sv, Gröna förbundet), shortened to the Greens ( fi, Vihreät, sv, De Gröna), is a green political party in Finland. Ideologically, the Green League is positioned on the centre-left of the polit ...

. He was the first Finnish

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

MP. In 2018 he announced that he would not run for a third term.

Filmography

* ''Kuilu mielessä'', (2003) * '' Käenpesä'', TV series (2005), as ''Samir Kibaki'' * ''Meno-paluu'', a travel programme (2005), host * '' Ähläm Sähläm'', TV series (2006), as ''Heikki'' * ''Osasto 5'', TV series (2006), as ''Ahmed Mattila'' * ''Idols'', third season of TV series (2007), host * ''Kaikki kunnossa'', waiter in TV series (2007) * '' Big Brother Extra'', fifth season of TV series (2009), host

Theatre

* ''Sorsastaja'',

Finnish National Theatre The Finnish National Theatre ( fi, Suomen Kansallisteatteri), established in 1872, is a theatre located in central Helsinki on the northern side of the Helsinki Central Railway Station Square. The Finnish National Theatre is the oldest Finnish ...

(2006) * ''Hairspray'',

Helsinki City Theatre The Helsinki City Theatre ( fi, Helsingin Kaupunginteatteri; sv, Helsingfors stadsteater) is a theatre located in Helsinki, Finland. Owned by the Helsinki Theatre Foundation, it calls itself a "modern popular bilingual repertoire theatre." The ...

(2005) * ''Hair'',

Peacock Theatre The Peacock Theatre (previously the Royalty Theatre) is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Portugal Street, near Aldwych. The 999-seat house is owned by, and comprises part of the London School of Economics and Politica ...

Linnanmäki Linnanmäki ( sv, Borgbacken, colloquially ''Lintsi'', ) is an amusement park in Helsinki, Finland. It was opened on 27 May 1950 and is owned by the non-profit Children's Day Foundation (, ), which operates the park in order to raise funds for ...

Biography

* ''Musta tulee isona valkoinen: Miten päästää irti pelosta ja häpeästä ja seistä omilla jaloillaan''. Helsinki: Siltala, 2016. * ''Kirja tytölleni''. Helsinki: WSOY, 2018. * ''Poika ja hame''. Kuvittanut Saara Obele. Helsinki: Otava, 2021 * ''Rakkaudesta''. Helsinki: Kosmos, 2021.

External links

References

1977 births Living people People from Vaasa Finnish people of Kenyan descent Green League politicians Members of the Parliament of Finland (2011–2015) Members of the Parliament of Finland (2015–2019) Finnish male television actors Finnish gay actors Big Brother (Finnish TV series) Finnish LGBT politicians LGBT legislators Finnish male stage actors {{Finland-tv-stub