Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo ( ) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Jack Starbright in the

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime (styled as prime) is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services inclu ...

spy thriller ''

Alex Rider ''Alex Rider'' is a series of spy novels by the English author Anthony Horowitz. The novels revolve around the teenaged spy Alex Rider and are primarily aimed towards young adults. The series comprises 14 novels, as well as seven graphic ...

'' (2020–2024) and Yvonne in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

musical film '' Been So Long'' (2018). She also guest-starred in two episodes of ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' (2017). On stage, her work includes '' Three Sisters'' at the National Theatre, (2020), ''Lava'' at

Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre is located in the Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 as a showcase for the work of new writers. Artistic Directors * Brian McDermott ...

, (2021), and ''Blues for an Alabama Sky'' (2022).

Early life

Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo is an English actress of Nigerian ancestry, from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. Adékoluẹjo studied acting for three years from 2010 at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

(RADA), in London, graduating in 2013 with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in acting (H Level).

Theatre

Adékoluẹjo crafted her acting skills on the theatre stage, in productions such as ''Pride and Prejudice'', at the

Sheffield Crucible The Crucible Theatre, or simply The Crucible, is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which opened in 1971. Its name refers to Crucible steel#History of production in England, crucible steel, which was developed in Sheffield in 174 ...

(2015), ''The Mountain Top'' at the

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Nadia Fall has been artistic director since 2025, succeeding ...

(2016), and ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...

'' at the

Filter Theatre Filter Theatre is a British theatre company known for its groundbreaking use of sound and unconventional adaptions of classic texts. Claire Alfree of the Metro once called them "one of Britain's best and boldest devising companies". The company ...

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

(2016). In 2020, Adékoluẹjo appeared on stage in the role of Abosede in the live-streaming theatre play '' Three Sisters'' at

National Theatre Live National Theatre Live is an initiative operated by the Royal National Theatre in London. It broadcasts live, by satellite, performances of their productions (and those of other theatres) to cinemas and arts centres around the world. About I gre ...

, and was nominated for best classical stage performances by actors under the age of 30 at the

Ian Charleson Awards The Ian Charleson Awards are theatrical awards that reward the best classical stage performances in Britain by actors under age 30. The awards are named in memory of the British actor Ian Charleson, and are run by the '' Sunday Times'' newspaper ...

. However, the event was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In August 2021, Adékoluẹjo performed solo on stage, live-streamed worldwide, in the Benedict Lombe-directed play ''Lava'' at the

. She won ' Best Performance Piece' for this work, at

The Offies The Off West End Theatre Awards, nicknamed The Offies, were launched in 2010 to recognise and celebrate excellence, innovation and ingenuity of independent Off West End theatres across London. Over 80 theatres participate in the awards, with more ...

in 2022. In 2022, she starred as Delia in the all-black American

tragicomedy Tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends aspects of both tragedy, tragic and comedy, comic forms. Most often seen in drama, dramatic literature, the term can describe either a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the ov ...

''Blues for an Alabama Sky'' at the National Theatre, written by

Pearl Cleage Pearl Cleage ( ; born December 7, 1948) is an African-American playwright, essayist, novelist, poet and political activist.Spratling, Cassandra. "Pearl Cleage's Storied Life Cover Story." Detroit Free Press, Feb 21, 2010. ProQuest. Originally pu ...

, and based on the Harlem Renaissance in 1930s New York. Her performance earned a nomination at the ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Awards for Best Actress. From November 2024 to January 2025 Adékoluẹjo played the role of Gwendoline Fairfax in 'The Importance of Being Earnest at the National Theatre, London. 014, Adékolu some s 2025 ingle-episode appearances in TV series until starring in series 10 of ''

'', when she played Penny in both "

Extremis "Extremis" is a six-issue story arc from the comic book series ''Iron Man (comic book), Iron Man'' (vol. 4), published in issues one through six in 2005 and 2006 by Marvel Comics. It was written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by Adi Granov. ' ...

" and "

The Pyramid at the End of the World "The Pyramid at the End of the World" is the seventh episode of the tenth series of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was written by Peter Harness and Steven Moffat and broadcast on 27 May 2017 on BBC One. "The Py ...

", alongside

Peter Capaldi Peter Dougan Capaldi (; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor, director, singer and guitarist. He portrayed the Twelfth Doctor, twelfth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Doctor Who'' (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker i ...

(the Twelfth Doctor) and his companion

Pearl Mackie Pearl Mackie (born 29 May 1987) is a British actress. She is best known for playing Bill Potts in the long-running television series ''Doctor Who''. Mackie is a graduate of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Her first major television role ca ...

. Adékoluẹjo starred as Demi-Lea Sadler in the "Nadia Cavelle" short film ''Lascivious Grace'', which premiered at the Underwire Film festival 2017 and was an official film selection for the Bermuda International Film Festival 2018. Adékoluẹjo was nominated for best actor at

Underwire Film Festival The Underwire Film Festival was an annual event observing short films made with a major female contribution. Held in London, this film festival was dedicated to promoting and celebrating female talent across the UK television and film industry. ...

2017 for her performance in the short film ''Lascivious Grace.'' In 2018, Ronke starred in the Tinge Krishnan-directed

musical '' Been So Long'', as the character Yvonne, best friend of Simone, played by lead actress

Michaela Coel Michaela Ewuraba Boakye-Collinson (born 1987), known professionally as Michaela Coel, is a British actress, writer and television director. She is best known for creating and starring in the E4 television sitcom ''Chewing Gum'' (2015–2017), ...

. The film was shown at the 2018

BFI London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Founded in 1957, the festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the BFI estimated that around 240 fe ...

. In 2019, Adékoluẹjo landed a main role in the

teenage spy thriller television series ''

'' as Jack Starbright, Alex Rider's American primary carer and mentor. In 2021, Adékoluẹjo played Ṣadé in the pilot of the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

television production ''Big Age''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Live streaming theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Scott Marshall profile - Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo

Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adekoluejo, Ronke Living people 21st-century English actresses Actresses from London Black British actresses Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art English television actresses English film actresses English people of Nigerian descent Year of birth missing (living people)