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Woman Crush Wednesday
Somehow, we’re already halfway through August and rapidly approaching summer’s end. What doesn’t have to end, however, is the non-stop party that is our weekly Woman Crush Wednesday article, where we celebrate the wonderful women who lead the way in some of the best movies and shows streaming now. This week we’re talking up an amazing actress who only continues to thrive more with each passing year, so make sure you look out for her from here! Give it up for her, this week’s WCW, the magnificent Nana Mensah!
WHO’S THAT GAL: Nana Mensah
WHY WE’RE CRUSHING: Mensah plays Yaz McKay in upcoming Netflix Original dramedy The Chair, which premieres on the platform this Friday, August 20th. The six-episode series gives an in-depth look at the trials and tribulations of Ji-Yoon Kim (Sandra Oh), the brand new Chair of an English department at a major university, as she tries to turn her department around. In addition to Mensah and Oh, The Chair stars Jay Duplass, Holland Taylor, Bob Balaban, David Morse, Everly Carganilla, and more, so clearly there’s a lot of impressive star power and skill behind this highly-anticipated Netflix Original.
The series (which currently boasts a 90% Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes) is already receiving positive press and buzz from publications like Variety, TV Fanatic, TV Line, us here at Decider, and more, so make sure to see what all of the hype is about by watching Mensah and the rest of this incredible cast and crew’s great work in The Chair as soon as it drops on Netflix.
WHERE YOU’VE SEEN HER BEFORE: Mensah’s professional onscreen career began in 2009, when she played the role of Leslie in comedy movie The Film You Did Not See. She then spent the next few years landing roles in short films like 2010 comedy Behold the Swelling Scene, 2012 comedy Alternate Sides, and 2013 biographical drama Daadi before landing her first major recurring television role in 2014 as Sade in Ghanian romantic-comedy series An African City.
From there, Mensah continued to pick up work on screens big and small (and from all over the world!), acting in short films like 2016 drama Shenika’s Redemption, 2016 drama Farewell Meu Amor, and 2018 comedy We Win, as well as in shows like The Walker, Unicornland, Madam Secretary, The Good Fight, Orange is the New Black, and Elementary, and in films like 2017 comedy The Misogynists and 2018 comedy-drama Like Father.
In the last few years, Mensah has only continued to up her game by earning memorable recurring roles like Dr. Candelario on NBC medical drama New Amsterdam, Amara Josephine Achola in Netflix Original teen drama 13 Reasons Why, and Mistress Mira in Netflix Original dark comedy Bonding. In addition to those multi-episode performances, the actress has also had recent guest appearances in shows like Evil and Little America, as well as roles in feature films like 2020 romantic music-drama Farewell Amor, 2020 comedy-drama The King of Staten Island, 2020 mystery The Man in the Woods, 2021 comedy Queen of Glory, and 2021 sci-fi drama After Yang.
Mensah is a big talent who only continues to diversify and expand her impressive filmography as the years go by. We are really looking forward to seeing the other great work she produces throughout the rest of her long and successful career in entertainment, and we hope that now you are, too!
WHERE YOU’LL SEE HER AGAIN: While we’re not quite sure what is next for Mensah role-wise, you can at least follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and her official website to keep up with the latest news and life updates from the actress. Don’t miss a moment from this week’s rocking WCW, Nana Mensah!
