Wunmi Mosaku has her real birth name as Oluwunmi Olapeju Mosaku. She is a renowned Nigerian-born British actress and singer, known for her roles as Joy in the BBC Two miniseries Moses Jones (2009) and Holly Lawson in the ITV series Vera (2011–2012) respectively.
Wunmi was born 1986 in Zaria Nigeria. She is of Yoruba decent though the actual origin of her birth is not known. The actress has two siblings, namely Iyiola Mosaku and Kunbi Mosaku.
She moved to Manchester, England, when she was one year old. Her parents were both professors in Nigeria but were unable to do the same jobs in the UK. Her mother started a business and her father ended up returning to Nigeria.
Wunmi’s Educational Background
Wunmi had her primary and secondary education at Trinity Church of England High School and Xaverian Sixth Form College, UK.
She also graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in 2007.
Wunmi’s Career
Wunmi made her stage debut at the Arcola Theatre in a production of Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s The Great Theatre of the World.
Wunmi has since appeared in several movies and television series, some of which include ‘Rough Crossings’, directed by Rupert Goold and based on the book by Simon Schama, at the Lyric Hammersmith; The Vertical Hour by David Hare and Truth and Reconciliation, both at the Royal Court Theatre; and Mules at the Young Vic.
In 2008, Wunmi appeared in the first of the ‘Underexposed Exhibitions’ at the National Portrait Gallery, designed to raise the profile of Black Role Nodels and celebrates the talent that exists among the Black British community.
In 2009, she has also appeared in Katrina, a verbatim play which told six people’s stories of their struggles of survival when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in August 2005.
The same year 2009, Wunmi starred in the BBC Two Series Moses Jones, for which she won Best Actress in a Miniseries at the Roma Fiction Festival.
The talented actress also featured on the front cover of Screen International magazine from June–July 2009 as one of the UK Stars of Tomorrow and Nylon Magazine, Young Hollywood issue in 2011.
Her photo also appeared on Commercial Way, Peckham, London, as part of the exhibition.
In 2010, Wunmi Mosaku was named one of The Seven Fresh Faces of Toronto International Film Festival, ‘For I Am Slave’, in which she featured. She plays the role of Malia, a girl who was kidnapped from her village in Sudan, and sold into slavery.
In 2015, Mosaku played the part of Quentina, a traffic warden, in the three-part BBC series Capital based on John Lanchester’s novel of the similar name.
In 2016, she appeared in Playtest, an episode of the anthology series Black Mirror.
In 2020, she starred as Ruby Baptiste in HBO’s Lovecraft Country.
Aside acting, Wunmi is also a super-talented singer.
Aside being an award-winning actress with numerous awards and nominations, Wunmi is also a super-talented singer. While in England, she sang in the Manchester Girls Choir for 11 years.
Wunmi’s TV shows include:
- 2007 – Sold as Firefighter
- 2008 Never Better as Server
- 2008 – Doctors as Nurse Kelly Strathairn
- 2008 – The Bill as Sophie Oduya
- 2009 – Moses Jones as Joy
- 2010 – Silent Witness as Charlie Gibbs
- 2010 – One Night in Emergency as Beautiful Nurse
- 2010 – Father and Son as Stacey Cox
- 2016 – Black Mirror as Katie
- 2016 – Damilola, Our Loved Boy as Gloria Taylor
- 2017 – Fearless as DCS Olivia Greenwood
- 2018 – Kiri as DI Vanessa Mercer
- 2019 – Luther as DS Catherine Halliday
- 2019 – Temple as Mercy King
- 2020 – Lovecraft Country
- 2023 – Loki (postproduction)
Wunmi is one of the actresses in the 2020 HBO series, Lovecraft Country. She plays the role of Ruby, a girl who faces racism, inequality, injustice, patriarchy, and colourism.
The talented actress and singer has also starred in all the 10 episodes of the web series, notably:
Full Circle Rewind 1921 Jig-a-Bobo I Am Meet Me in Daegu Strange Case A History of Violence Holy Ghost Whitney’s on the Moon Sundown.
Awards and Nominations
Wunmi brilliant performances in movies have earned her several awards and nominations including:
• Won Awards for Best Actress at the Birmingham Black Film Festival
• Best On-screen performance at the Cultural Diversity Awards.
• Best Female performance at the Screen Nation Awards.
• Mosaku also won the 2017 BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing Gloria Taylor in the TV film Damilola, Our Loved Boy.
Her Role Models
Wunmi Mosaku cites Anike Adisa her grandmother, actor Albert Finney, Paul Newman her colleague and former instructor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and Oprah Winfrey as her role models for their inspirational influences in her life.
Wunmi’s Personal Life
Wunmi Mosaku’s marital issues are not known. She does not display or flaunts her family affairs in the public or social media.
Wunmi Mosaku’s Net Worth
Wunmi Mosaku has made huge fortune from her career, rated one of the richest and most influential with an estimated net worth of over $2 million dollars as at 2023.
Many thanks for reading about Wunmi Mosaku’s biography, movies, marital status and net worth. We shall also appreciate your comments below.