Ayo Edebiri Ethnicity

Ayo Edebiri is an American actress, writer, and comedian. She is notable for her acting roles in The Bear, Bottoms (2023), Theater Camp (2023), and Dickinson (2021).

Born on 3 October 1995 in Boston, MA, USA, the 28-year-old has earned a name herself with numerous awards including a Golden Globe Award.

Quick Info

Real NameAyo Edebiri
Age28 [as of July 2024]
BirthplaceBoston, Massachusetts, USA
EducationNew York University
Height5 feet 6.5 inches [169 cm]
WeightN/A

Ethnicity

Ayo Edebiri is of Yoruba (Nigerian) and Barbadian ethnic roots. Her heritage is mistaken to be Irish and there is a strong reason behind this.

While interacting with Letterboxd, she faked her role as “Jenny the Donkey” in the Irish film The Banshees of Inisherin. Additionally, she spoke in an Irish accent throughout the interview making people believe she is actually from Ireland.

The interaction went a bit viral and she actively uses this long-running joke in her speeches. She spoke, “To everybody in Boston, Barbados, Nigeria, Ireland in many ways, thank you so much I love you”, at the Critics Choice Awards.

Her Nigerian father Dele Edebiri is a Manager at the Commonwealth of Massachusetts per LinkedIn. Her mother Helen O’Neal-Edebiri is Barbadian. She grew up in a religious Pentecostal family and has no siblings.

Personal Life

Ayo wanted to become a comedian growing up. Therefore, she joined Boston Latin School’s improv club. After high school graduation, she joined New York University to pursue teaching but switched her degree midway to dramatic writing.

While attending university, she kickstarted her comedy career and began performing at notable comedy clubs in New York City.

She is dating James Whitelock. The couple was first spotted together when they were having a vacation in Taipei.

Career

Ayo Edebiri got into acting while pursuing standup on the side. Her debut was in the TV series Defectives in 2014 where she played a cameo role as Stacey. She made two short film appearances LARP and It Was Sometimes Like This in 2015 and 2017 respectively.

She began attracting tons of acting roles in the late 2010s. After a short film appearance in 2017, she made a comeback three years later with the TV series Ayo and Rachel are Single.

Later that year, she made two appearances namely Cicada and Shithouse. In 2021, she got the lead role of Hattie in the second season of Dickinson. It was followed by a few cameo roles before securing a career-turning role as Sydney Adamu in the Hulu series The Bear in 2022.

As of now, she already appeared in all the episodes across three seasons. Going back, she appeared as Janet Walch in Theatre Camp in 2023. It was in the same year she began voicing characters for animated series including Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

Unknown Facts

  • She is a part of the LGBTQ+ community and identifies as a queer.
  • She worked at restaurants for around five years before becoming popular.
  • Ayo has a pet dog named Gromit.

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Photo credit: @ayoedebiri – Instagram.