Yvonne Orji

{{Infobox person

| name = Yvonne Orji

| image = Yvonne Orji.jpg

| caption = Orji in 2017

| birth_name = Yvonne Anuli Orji

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1983|12|2}}

| birth_place = Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

| education = George Washington University (BA, MPH)

| occupation = {{plainlist|

Actress
Comedian}}

| years_active = 2011–present

}}

Yvonne Anuli Orji {{IPAc-en|audio=Ig-Yvonne_Añuli_Orji.ogg}} {{cite web |last1=GW Alumni Association |title=Yvonne Anuli Orji |url=https://www.alumni.gwu.edu/yvonne-anuli-orji |website=www.alumni.gwu.edu |publisher=The George Washington University |access-date=26 January 2022}} (born 2 December 1983) is a Nigerian-American actress and comedian. She is best known for her role in the television series Insecure (2016–2021), for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and three NAACP Image Awards.

Life and career

Orji was born on 2 December 1983, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria to Igbo parents, and she grew up in Laurel, Maryland, in the United States.{{Cite news|url=http://issuemagazine.com/yvonne-orji/#/|title=YVONNE ORJI|access-date=2016-12-15}}{{Cite web |title=Yvonne Orji on Colorism in TV & Her New Comedy Special - Coveteur: Inside Closets, Fashion, Beauty, Health, and Travel |url=https://coveteur.com/2021/02/19/yvonne-orji-profile/ |access-date=2023-03-10 |website=coveteur.com |language=en}} She spent her high school years in the small town of Lititz, Pennsylvania, where she attended Linden Hall, the oldest all-girls boarding school in the country. Raised Catholic, Orji is now a devout Protestant and has stated that she will remain a virgin until marriage.

She earned both a bachelor's degree in liberal arts and a master's degree in public health from George Washington University. Orji's parents expected her to become a doctor, lawyer, pharmacist, or engineer. However, she was inspired to do comedy as a graduate student when she performed stand-up in the talent portion of a beauty pageant.

After graduate school, in 2009, Orji moved to New York City to pursue a career in comedy.{{Cite news|url=https://theringer.com/yvonne-orji-interview-insecure-904c39efe72#.xj298jdn9|title=Molly From 'Insecure' Is Your New Favorite Single Lady|last=Davis|first=Allison P.|date=2016-10-10|newspaper=The Ringer|access-date=2016-12-02}} In 2015, she landed the role of Molly on Insecure without an agent or any real acting experience.{{cite news | url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/16/yvonne-orji-landed-her-insecure-role-without-an-agent-or-a-manager.html | title=Yvonne Orji landed her role on HBO's 'Insecure' with no agent, no manager and zero acting experience|date=17 November 2018|first=Courtney|last=Connley|publisher=CNBC|access-date=27 June 2020}} In 2021, she began development on a series for Disney+ titled First Gen. The series is based on her personal life and is produced by Oprah Winfrey and David Oyelowo.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2021/01/yvonne-orji-autobiographical-comedy-david-oyelowo-oprah-winfrey-disney-plus-1234672846/|title=Yvonne Orji Autobiographical Comedy Produced By David Oyelowo & Oprah Winfrey In Works At Disney+|website=Deadline|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|date=January 13, 2021|access-date=January 13, 2021}} Orji is the author of the book Bamboozled by Jesus.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bamboozledbyjesus.com/|title=Book | Bamboozled By Jesus|website=Bamboozledbyjesus}}

She gave a speech at TEDxWilmingtonSalon in 2017 titled, "The wait is sexy". In the talk, she explains her reasons for abstaining from sex before marriage.{{cite web |title=The wait is sexy |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zw7AXwnb8M |website=YouTube | date=17 March 2017 |publisher=TEDx Talks}}

She cohosted the 2021 International Emmy Awards.{{Cite web|date=2021-11-13 |title=Yvonne Orji to host 2021 International Emmy Awards: "All dem wedding hosting days paying off" |url=https://www.bellanaija.com/2021/11/yvonne-orji-host-2021-international-emmys/ |access-date=2022-07-27 |website=BellaNaija |language=en-US}} She also hosted the romantic comedy reality dating series My Mom, Your Dad, which premiered on HBO Max in 2022, which ran for a single season.{{cite web | url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/yvonne-orji-my-mom-your-dad-trailer-hbo-max-1235149055/ | title='Insecure' Star Yvonne Orji Plays Matchmaker for Single Parents in 'My Mom, Your Dad' Trailer | date=7 January 2022 }}

In 2023, Orji voiced Tess, the estranged wife of secret bounty hunter Terry, a recurring character in My Dad the Bounty Hunter.{{cite web|last=Oddo|first=Marco Vito|url=https://collider.com/my-dad-the-bounty-hunter-trailer-netflix/|title='My Dad the Bounty Hunter' Trailer Makes Catching Space Criminals a Family Business|website=Collider|date=November 16, 2022|access-date=February 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115115049/https://collider.com/my-dad-the-bounty-hunter-trailer-netflix/|archive-date=January 15, 2023|url-status=live}} Also in 2023, Orji had signed a two-year first-look deal with Sony Pictures Television.{{cite web |last1=Andreeva |first1=Nellie |title=Yvonne Orji Inks First-Look Deal With Sony Pictures Television |url=https://deadline.com/2023/04/insecure-yvonne-orji-first-look-deal-sony-pictures-television-1235339801/ |website=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=April 27, 2023 |date=April 27, 2023}}

In April 2025, Orji began hosting Pop The Balloon Live on Netflix, the live version of the YouTube dating show Pop the Balloon or Find Love.https://www.npr.org/2025/04/09/nx-s1-5326038/pop-the-balloon-netflix-live

Charitable efforts

Outside of her creative work, she is dedicated to philanthropy. In 2008 and 2009 she spent six months working in post-conflict Liberia, with Population Services International (PSI), an NGO that utilizes social marketing in the adoption of healthy behaviors. While in Liberia, she worked with a group of talented youth to help build a mentoring program as well as a weekly talk show that helped educate and prevent the spread of teen pregnancy and HIV/AIDS. She currently lends her time and voice as a (RED) Ambassador, a Literacy Champion for Jumpstart, and working with JetBlue for Good.{{Cite web|title=Insecure - Yvonne Orji Knows the Fight Against AIDS Happens on the Ground|url=https://www.hbo.com/insecure/season-2/hella-perspective/yvonne-orji-interview-world-aids-day-red-south-africa|access-date=2022-01-24|website= HBO |language=en}}

Filmography

=Film=

class="wikitable sortable" ! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
2013	Sex (Therapy) with the Jones	Moshinda	Short film
2015	Tempting Fate	Mama Ugo	Directed by Kevin Nwankwor
2018	Night School	Maya	Comedy
2020	Spontaneous	Agent Carla Rosetti	Alongside Katherine Langford, Charlie Plummer
2021	Vacation Friends	Emily Conway-Parker	Adventure / Comedy
2022	The Blackening	Morgan	Alongside Grace Byers, Jermaine Fowler, Melvin Gregg
2023	Vacation Friends 2	Emily Conway-Parker	Directed by Clay Tarver

=Television=

class="wikitable sortable" ! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
2011	Love That Girl!	Njideka	Episode: "Head Shrunk"
2016–2021	Insecure	Molly Carter	42 episodes
rowspan="2" \| 2017	Jane the Virgin	Stacy	2 episodes
Flip the Script	Ad Exec 1	Episode: "Mad Woman"
2019	A Black Lady Sketch Show	Flight attendant	Episode: "Why Are Her Pies Wet, Lord?"
2020	Momma, I Made It!	Herself	HBO comedy special
2021	Yearly Departed	Herself - Host	Amazon Prime Video comedy special
rowspan="2" \|2022	The Wonder Years	Tammy	Episode: "Love & War"
A Whole Me	Herself	HBO comedy special
2023–2024	Velma	Gigi, Sammy (voice)	9 episodes
2023 \| My Dad the Bounty Hunter	Tess (voice)	13 episodes

Awards and nominations

class="wikitable"
Year ! Award ! Category ! Work ! Result
rowspan=1\|2020 \| Primetime Emmy Awards \| Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series \| Insecure \| {{nom}}

class="wikitable"

Year

! Award

! Category

! Work

! Result

rowspan=1|2020

| Primetime Emmy Awards

| Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

| Insecure

| {{nom}}