Michaela Coel facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Michaela Coel FRSL
Coel at the 2021 Peabody Awards
Born	Michaela Ewuraba Boakye-Collinson 1987 (age 37–38) London, England
Alma mater	Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Occupation	Actress, poet, film director, film producer, screenwriter, singer
Years active	2013–present
Awards	Full list

Michaela Ewuraba Boakye-Collinson FRSL (born 1987), known as Michaela Coel, is a talented British actress, filmmaker, and poet. She is famous for creating and starring in the TV show Chewing Gum (2015–2017). For this show, she won a BAFTA Award for Best Female Comedy Performance.

Michaela Coel also created and starred in the popular series I May Destroy You (2020). This show earned her a British Academy Television Award for Best Actress in 2021. She made history by becoming the first black woman to win an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for I May Destroy You at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards.

She has also appeared in other well-known shows and films. These include the series Black Mirror (2016–2017) and Black Earth Rising (2018). She also starred in the film Been So Long (2018).

Early Life and Education

Michaela Ewuraba Boakye-Collinson was born in 1987 in East London. Her parents are from Ghana. She and her sister grew up with their mother in East London, mainly in areas like Hackney and Tower Hamlets.

Michaela went to Catholic schools. She has shared that in primary school, she sometimes bullied other students. She felt this was because she was the only black student her age. This feeling of being alone did not continue when she went to secondary school.

From 2007 to 2009, Coel studied English Literature and Theology at the University of Birmingham. She then transferred to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2009. She was the first black woman to join the school in five years. She received the Laurence Olivier Bursary Award, which helped her pay for her studies. She graduated from Guildhall in 2012.

Michaela Coel's Career Journey

Starting Out as a Performer

Michaela Coel began performing her poetry at open mic events in Ealing in 2006. An actor and director named Ché Walker saw her perform and encouraged her to apply to Guildhall. As a poet, Coel performed on many stages, including Wembley Arena. She was known as Michaela The Poet.

In 2009, Coel joined the Talawa Theatre Company summer program. That same year, she released an album called Fixing Barbie, which showed off her poetry and music. In 2011, she released another record called We're the Losers.

Coel's play Chewing Gum Dreams was her final project at Guildhall in 2012. It was a one-woman show where she played a 14-year-old girl named Tracey. The play was performed at several theaters, including The Yard Theatre and the National Theatre, and received good reviews.

Breakthrough in Television

In 2013, Coel appeared in the Channel 4 drama Top Boy. She also had important roles in plays at the National Theatre.

In 2014, Channel 4 announced that Coel would write and star in a new sitcom called Chewing Gum. This show was inspired by her play. The series started on E4 in October 2015. Her acting won her the British Academy Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance in 2016. She also won a BAFTA for Breakthrough Talent for writing the show. Chewing Gum was very popular and received excellent reviews.

In 2015, Coel was in the BBC One drama London Spy. The next year, she played Lilyhot in the E4 sci-fi comedy-drama The Aliens.

Chewing Gum returned for a second season in January 2017. Coel also appeared in two episodes of Charlie Brooker's series Black Mirror: "Nosedive" and "USS Callister". She also had a small part in the 2017 film Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

In 2018, Coel starred in Black Earth Rising, a show from BBC Two and Netflix. She played the main character, Kate. She also starred as Simone in the musical film Been So Long, which was released on Netflix in October 2018.

Becoming a Critically Acclaimed Artist

Michaela Coel's show I May Destroy You was released in June 2020 on BBC One in the UK and HBO in the US. It received widespread praise. The show explores difficult experiences and was inspired by her own journey.

In 2020, Coel was recognized as one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People. She was also named one of the breakout stars of 2020 in film. British Vogue also included her in their 2020 list of influential women. She was ranked fourth in the Powerlist of the most influential people of African or African-Caribbean heritage in the UK, for the impact of I May Destroy You.

In July 2021, Coel was cast in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which came out on November 11, 2022. She plays Aneka, a member of the Dora Milaje.

Coel's first book, Misfits: a Personal Manifesto, was published in September 2021. The book is based on a speech she gave in 2018, where she talked about her experiences with racism and misogyny. Her publisher described the book as a powerful guide on how being true to yourself can change your life.

In 2022, Coel was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She will also star in David Lowery's upcoming film Mother Mary.

On August 19, 2024, Coel announced her first TV show in four years. The new show, called First Day On Earth, will have 10 parts for the BBC. Coel will write, star in, and produce it. Filming is set to begin in 2025.

Personal Life

At the 2016 British Academy Television Awards, Michaela Coel wore a dress designed by her mother. The dress was made from Kente cloth, a traditional Ghanaian fabric.

Michaela Coel has shared that she used to be very religious as a Pentecostal Christian and chose to be celibate. However, she stopped practicing Pentecostalism after attending Guildhall. Her cousin is the rapper and author Guvna B.

Film and Television Roles

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2014	National Theatre Live: Medea	Nurse
	Monsters: Dark Continent	Kelly
2017	Star Wars: The Last Jedi	Resistance Monitor
2018	Been So Long	Simone
2022	Black Panther: Wakanda Forever	Aneka
0TBA	Mother Mary	Sam	Post-production

Television

Stage Performances

Discography

EP

• 22 May (2007)

LPs

• Fixing Barbie (2009)
• We're the Losers (2011)

Awards and Recognitions

Michaela Coel has won many awards for her amazing work. Here are some of her most notable achievements:

See also

In Spanish: Michaela Coel para niños