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Woman Crush Wednesday
Happy June! To kick off the first Woman Crush Wednesday of the month, we’re celebrating a woman who is a joy and brilliant mind, and who, if she isn’t on your radar yet, she really should be now. She’s hilarious, she’s extremely talented, she’s Yvonne Orji! Remember the name.
WHO’S THAT GAL: Yvonne Orji
WHY WE’RE CRUSHING:
Orji’s first ever HBO comedy special drops on the platform this Saturday, June 6, at 10 p.m. EST. In this hilarious and sharp hour-long stand-up special, Orji both celebrates and pokes fun at her strict, formative Nigerian-American upbringing, all the while taking us through her unique journey from pre-med to comedy. Orji’s special was recently named by the New York Times as one of the best new titles to stream this month, and she has had wonderful interviews with NPR, Vulture, and more about her work on this recent special (and hit HBO series Insecure), so what’re you waiting for? Mark your schedules so you can make sure you see Orji knock it out of the park.
WHERE YOU’VE SEEN HER BEFORE: Not long after Orji received a master’s degree in public health at George Washington University (she’s hilarious, beautiful, AND brilliant! What can’t she do?!), Orji moved to New York City to begin her comedy career. Her professional onscreen debut was in 2011 as a guest role in TV One sitcom Love That Girl! She then had her film debut two years later in 2013 comedy and romance short film, Sex (Therapy) With the Jones.
It was in 2016, however, where Orji really took off on film and TV, and she hasn’t slowed down since. In 2016, Orji began as the role for which she is best known, successful corporate attorney and longtime best friend to Issa Dee, Molly Carter, in the critically-acclaimed, Emmy-nominated HBO comedy-drama series Insecure. From there, Orji went on to have a recurring guest role as Stacy in The CW hit dramedy Jane the Virgin, and to act in an episode of comedy mini-series Flip the Script, both in 2017, before getting her feature film debut in 2018 comedy Night School. Most recently, Orji appeared in two episodes of A Black Lady Sketch Show last year and continues to act in Insecure as the show’s fourth seasons comes to a close this month.
WHERE YOU’LL SEE HER AGAIN: Watch her HBO special and looking for more Orji to light up your screens (and lives)? Well you’re in luck, because the actress has two projects in the works. The first is sci-fi fantasy film Spontaneous, in which a high school senior discovers that she and her classmates may explode at any moment, and Orji plays Agent Rosetti alongside stars like Rob Huebel and Katherine Langford. The second is comedy film Vacation Friends, about a couple who meets up with another couple while on vacation in Mexico, but their friendship takes an awkward turn when they get back home, and in which Orji stars alongside John Cena, Lil Rel Howery, and more. We can’t wait to see all of her great work, and everything else she’s got coming our way in the future. For even more from Orji in the meantime, you can check her out on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.
