Yvonne Orji Biography, Age, Husband, Brother, Parents, Comedy, Movies, Income, Salary, Net Worth, and Career

Yvonne Anuli Orji is a Nigerian-American comedian and actress. She is best known for her role in the television series Insecure, for which she received three NAACP Image Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award.

Biography

Early Life

Yvonne Orji was born on (December 2nd, 1983) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, to Mr. Orji and Mrs. Celine Orji. She grew up in the United States, in Laurel, Maryland. She spent her high school years in the small town of Lititz, Pennsylvania, at Linden Hall, the country’s oldest all-girls boarding school. Orji, raised Catholic, is now a devout Protestant and has stated that she intends to remain a virgin until marriage.

Yvonne Orji’s parents expected her to study medicine, law, pharmacy, or engineering. After performing stand-up in a beauty pageant’s talent competition, she was inspired to do comedy as a graduate student.

Education

She graduated from George Washington University with a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a Master’s in Public Health.

Career

Yvonne Orji moved to New York City in 2009 after finishing graduate school to pursue a comedy career. She landed the role of Molly on Insecure in 2015 without an agent or any prior acting experience. In 2021, she began work on a Disney+ series titled First Gen. Oprah Winfrey and David Oyelowo produced the show based on her personal life. Orji is the author of the book Jesus Got You Fooled.

Yvonne Orji competed in the Miss Nigeria in America Pageant while pursuing her Master’s in Public Health. A week before the competition, she realized she didn’t have a talent (and tribal dancing was out), so she did the only logical thing she could think of: she prayed.

The response came back: “do comedy.” Left with few options and an expensive Macy’s bill (pageant dresses are not cheap!), she did just that…comedy. And thus, a dream, a career, and a script were born. The First Gen Show is loosely based on Yvonne’s comedy material and real-life experiences.

On television, Yvonne Orji stars in HBO’s critically acclaimed comedy series Insecure. The show follows the friendship of two modern-day black women (Orji & series creator Issa Rae) and all their uncomfortable experiences and racy tribulations. In September 2018, she will be making her feature film debut in Universal’s Night School alongside Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish.

Yvonne is also working on a half-hour sitcom based on her life called First Gen, which will be executive produced by Oprah Winfrey and David Oyelowo. The show is a family comedy about a Nigerian girl who foregoes medical school to pursue a career in stand-up comedy and the adventures that ensue when her strict African mother learns of her plans.

Yvonne, a well-known stand-up comedian, has opened for Chris Rock on several stops on his Total Blackout Tour. Yvonne is also well-known for her motivational TED Talk, which discusses the factors contributing to a healthy relationship.

Philanthropy

Yvonne Orji is committed to charitable work in addition to her creative work. In 2008, she spent six months in post-conflict Liberia with Population Services International (PSI), an NGO that promotes healthy behaviors through social marketing.

While in Liberia, she collaborated with a group of talented young people to create a mentoring programme and a weekly talk show to educate and prevent the spread of teen pregnancy and HIV/AIDS. Orji has returned to the United States to continue her work with the youth community, where she is currently involved in (RED) campaigns and faith-based youth ministries.

Filmography

• In 2011, she played the role of Njideka in the “Head Shrunk” episode of Love That Girl!
• In 2013, she starred in Sex (Therapy) with the Jones Moshinda.
• In 2016-present, she starred as Molly Carter in 34 episodes of Insecure.
• In 2017, she played the role of Stacy in 2 episodes of Flip the Script.
• In 2018, she starred as Maya in Night School.
• In 2019, she played the role of a flight attendant in an episode of A Black Lady Sketch Show.
• In 2020, she starred as herself in the HBO comedy special titled ‘Momma, I Made It!
• In 2021, she starred as Emily in Vacation Friends.
• In 2021, she hosted the second edition of the Amazon Prime Video comedy special titled ‘Yearly Departed 2021.’
• In 2022, The Wonder Years
• In 2022, A Whole Me
• In 2022, The Blackening
• In 2023, Velma
• In 2023, My Dad the Bounty Hunter

Personal Life

Yvonne Orji is a devout Christian who vowed to remain a virgin until marriage. She is currently in a relationship with NFL star Emmanuel Acho, an ESPN commentator.

She Reflects On The Trauma That Kept Her In A $700/Month Apartment

Yvonne Orji played Molly Carter on HBO’s “Insecure” for five years in a row.

While the critically acclaimed show was initially a success, the Emmy-nominated actress and comedian has revealed that there was a time when she preferred to work on a budget.

Orji openly shared details about where she was living during one of the pinnacles of her career during an interview on Charlamagne tha God’s “Hell of a Week.”

“I remember it was probably like season three of me being on ‘Insecure’ and I was still living in the same apartment I was living in when I was shopping at the 99-cent store for groceries,” Orji told Charlamagne.

According to Orji, she was paying $700 for rent at the time, but deciding to stay at the apartment was all for a bigger purpose.

Age

She is 39 years of age. She was born 2 December 1983

Social Media

Follow Yvonne Orji on all her social media platforms:

Instagram
Facebook
Twitter

Net Worth

Yvonne Orji is a Nigerian-American actress, writer, Author, Producer, best-seller, and comedian, with an estimated net worth of $2 million. She is committed to charitable work in addition to her creative work. In 2008, Yvonne Orji spent six months in post-conflict Liberia with Population Services International (PSI), an NGO that promotes healthy behaviors through social marketing.

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