Yetide Badaki facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yetide Badaki
|
|
|---|---|
Badaki at the 2017 New York Comic Con
|
|
| Born | September 24, 1981 Ibadan, Nigeria
|
| Education | McGill University (BA) Illinois State University (MFA) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2003–present |
Yetide Badaki (born September 24, 1981) is a Nigerian-American actress. She is best known for playing Bilquis on the Starz series American Gods.
Early life
Badaki was born in Ibadan, Nigeria. Before moving to England, Badaki lived in Nigeria for three years. At the age of 6, she returned to Nigeria. Finally, she settled in America at age twelve. She is a graduate of McGill University with a major in English Literature (Theater) and a minor in Environmental Science. Badaki also has a Master of Fine Arts in Theatre from Illinois State University.
Career
Badaki received a 2006 Jeff Award nomination for Best Actress in a Principal Role (Play) for I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document Given to Me by a Young Lady from Rwanda. She has received positive reviews for her portrayal of Bilquis on American Gods. For the television series, the character of Bilquis was expanded from the novel. In 2018, Badaki played the recurring character Chi Chi on This Is Us.
Badaki has written a short film called In Hollywoodland, which she funded with IndieGoGo. Badaki and Karen David produced and starred in the short film while Jessica Sherif directed it. In Hollywoodland is a re-imagining of Alice in Wonderland set in present-day Los Angeles. In Hollywoodland premiered in August 2020 at the Bentonville Film Festival.
Badaki played the mother of Giannis Antetokounmpo in the 2022 biographical movie Rise for Disney Plus.
In 2023, Deadline announced that Badaki was developing a Nigerian vampire series titled Najia Vamp with Prentice Penny & Sebastian A. Jones. It will include a comic run and a TV series.
Personal life
She became a United States citizen in 2014. In 2021, Badaki revealed that she is bisexual.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Expiration | Naomi | |
| 2018 | Chasing the Rain | The Woman | |
| 2018 | The Long Shadow | Sissy Leblanc | |
| 2019 | The Buried Girl | Alex | |
| 2019 | Precipice | Morena | Short |
| 2020 | What We Found | Alex | |
| 2022 | Rise | Veronica Antetokounmpo |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Lost | Narjiss | Episode: "The Shape of Things to Come" |
| 2013 | Criminal Minds | Maya Carcani | Episode: "Final Shot" |
| 2014 | Sequestered | Keira | Recurring character |
| 2015 | NCIS: New Orleans | Felicia Patrice | Episode: "Le Carnaval de la Mort" |
| 2015 | Aquarius | Rita Carter | Episode: "Your Mother Should Know" |
| 2016 | K.C. Undercover | Penelope | Episode: "Coopers Reactivated!" |
| 2017–2021 | American Gods | Bilquis | Main cast |
| 2018 | This Is Us | Chi Chi | Recurring |
| 2020 | The Magicians | Zoe Marcus | Episode: "The Mountain of Ghosts" |
| 2023 | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | Neera Ketoul | Episode: "Ad Astra Per Aspera" |
| TBA | Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas | Queen Meeru (voice) | |
| TBA | Queen Nzinga | Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba | Main cast |
| TBA | Naija Vamp | Bisi |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare | Ebele Yetide |
See also
In Spanish: Yetide Badaki para niños
- List of Yoruba people
- List of Nigerian actresses
