Nana Mensah facts for kids

Nana Mensah is an American actress, writer, and director. She is known for her roles in TV shows like 13 Reasons Why, New Amsterdam, Bonding, and The Chair. Nana Mensah also wrote, directed, and starred in her own film, Queen of Glory, which came out in 2022.

Early Life and Education

Nana Afiah Mensah was born in New Haven, Connecticut. She grew up in the Farmington Valley area. Her parents moved from Ghana in the 1970s. Her father is a chemical engineer. Nana Mensah has one brother.

She went to a private boarding school called the Loomis Chaffee School. Her drama teacher there, Brian Kosanovich, encouraged her to become a professional actress.

After high school, she studied French and sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. Her parents hoped she would go to law school. She worked in the legal field for a bit. Then, in 2009, she moved to New York City to become an actress. To support herself, she worked in restaurants, stores, offices, and as a childcare provider. She also trained at several acting schools and theaters.

Career

Nana Mensah started her acting career in 2009. She played Leslie in a film called The Film You Did Not See. For the next few years, she appeared in short films. These included the 2010 comedy Behold the Swelling Scene and the 2013 drama Daadi.

In 2014, Nana Mensah played Sade in An African City. Sade was a Ghanaian-Nigerian living abroad. This web series was very popular. People called it "Africa's answer to ... and the City". She returned for the second season of the show.

Nana Mensah has also acted in many plays. She performed in Nollywood Dreams and The Bacchae. Other plays include Mother Courage and Her Children and Inked Baby.

In 2016, she starred in the play I'll Never Love Again. In 2017, she played Tamyra in Man from Nebraska. For this role, she was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award. In 2020, she co-starred as Linda in the film Farewell Amor. This movie first showed at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.

Directing and Writing

In 2021, Nana Mensah's film Queen of Glory premiered. This movie is about a Ghanaian-American professor. She inherits a Christian bookstore after her mother passes away. Nana Mensah wrote, directed, and starred in this film. It took her seven years to complete the movie, but they filmed it in just 30 days.

She said she made the film because she was frustrated. She felt there were not enough interesting roles for her as an actress. So, she decided to create her own artistic opportunities. She raised money for the film from investors, crowdfunding campaigns, and her own savings.

Queen of Glory premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival. Nana Mensah won awards for Best New Narrative Director and Artistic Expression. In February 2022, a company called Film Movement bought the film. They planned to release it in theaters and online. The film was also nominated for Best First Feature at the 2021 Film Independent Spirit Awards. It won many other awards at film festivals.

In 2021, The Chair came out on Netflix. In this show, Nana Mensah plays Yasmin "Yaz" McKay. Yaz is a popular English professor. Nana Mensah has also worked as a writer for other shows. These include Random Acts of Flyness and Amazon's The Power. She also wrote for the second season of the Netflix series Bonding. She sold a drama pilot called Imperium to AMC.

In 2023, Nana Mensah began a recurring role on The Diplomat on Netflix. She plays Billie Appiah, who is the Chief of Staff to the President of the United States. She also appeared on Broadway in 2023 in the play Jaja's African Hair Braiding.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage