Michaela Coel

Michaela-Moses Ewuraba O Boakye-Collinson (born 1 October 1987), known professionally as Michaela Coel, is a British actress, screenwriter, singer, songwriter, poet, and playwright. In 2016, she won the BAFTA for Best Female Performance In A Comedy Programme and Breakthrough Talent for the television series Chewing Gum, which she created and writes while portraying the lead role. 2Early life Michaela Coel was born Michaela-Moses Ewuraba O Boakye-Collinson on 1 October 1987 in Aldgate, London, the daughter of Ghanaian immigrants. She and her sister grew up in London, primarily Hackney and Tower Hamlets, with her mother, a mental health liaison officer. Coel's father lives in Ghana, and she has a half-brother. She has stated that while at her all-girls Catholic school in East London, she was the only black female pupil in her year, and dealt with her isolation by physically bullying others. From 2007 to 2009, Coel attended Birmingham University to study English Literature and Theology. She took a Ché Walker masterclass at RADA after meeting Walker at open mics. In 2009, she transferred to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she was the first black woman enrolled in five years. She won the Laurence Olivier Bursary award, which helped her fund her schoolin