| About Fola Evans-Akingbola | |
|---|---|
| Age | 29 Years |
| Birth | September 26, 1994 London, UK |
| Parents | Gillian Evans, Sola Akingbola |
| Job | Actress |
| Alumni | Identity School of Acting, Alleyn’s School |
| Related To | Jimmy Akingbola |
| Ethnicity | Nigerian, British |
| Movies and TV Shows | Death in Paradise, Game of Thrones, VS. (2018), Siren |
Fola Evans-Akingbola may not play the mermaid on Freeform’s Siren, but the actress has us captivated by her charm. From the Dothraki Sea to mermaid-ridden Bristol Cove, this marvelous actress is going places and taking names. As her star continues to rise, we’re celebrating the Siren star in Fola Evans-Akingbola’s wiki.
Fola Evans-Akingbola Has British and Nigerian Ethnicity
Fola Evans-Akingbola was born on September 26, 1994 in London, U.K. to Gillian Evans and Sola Akingbola. Fola has both British and Nigerian heritage from her parents. Her paternal grandparents immigrated to London from Nigeria when her father was a child.
Her father, Nigerian-born Sola Akingbola, is better known as the percussionist of the British jazz-funk band, Jamiroquai. Sola is also the lead vocalist of the Afro-funk roots band, Critical Mass.
Sola’s younger brother and Fola’s uncle is Jimmy Akingbola, the British actor best known for his role as Baron Reiter on CW’s Arrow.
Fola’s British mom, Dr. Gillian Evans, is a lecturer of social anthropology at the University of Manchester.
Fola Evans-Akingbola Spent Her Early Life in London
Young Fola and her sister grew up in London’s Bermondsey and Honor Oak Park. She studied at Alleyn’s School in London, graduating in 2012. She was a sports scholar at Alleyn’s School, excelling in high jump.
She Dropped Philosophy to Be a Model and Actress
Being raised by an artist and an anthropologist, Fola was heavily influenced by her parents’ jobs. A young Fola was initially inclined towards academia like her mother and was on her way to study religion, philosophy, and ethics at Kings College.
However, she was also drawn to the performing arts she’d been exposed to thanks to her father. Fola and her sister indulged in acting at a youth theater in London “for fun” as kids. As she grew older, she chose studies and sports over performing.
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With Fola so focused on her studies, her mother encouraged her to do something she loved as a hobby and nudged her to take up acting classes. That reignited Fola’s acting passion and she canceled her admission to college before switching gears to fashion and modeling.
While signed with London-based Profile Model Management, Fola balanced modeling with acting. On her uncle Jimmy’s encouragement, she attended the Identity School of Acting and is part of the Identity Agency Group.
Fola auditioned for the National Youth Theater of Great Britain and got in. The opportunity gave her both a learning and performing experience.
Fola Evans-Akingbola Was on Game of Thrones
Though primarily trained in theater, Fola didn’t start acting in professional theater until much later. Her talent had already been tapped on camera by then, starting with minor appearances in TV shows. In a short time, she was globetrotting for various acting jobs.
She got her big break in the BBC One drama series Death in Paradise, where she played a recurring character, Rosey Fabrice. From that show, she landed a role in one of the biggest shows in the stratosphere.
“I was working on Death in Paradise and I was in Guadaloupe,” Fola recalled. “My agent called me. I said ‘I can’t hear you because my Wi-Fi is bad.’ He said, ‘Oh well the Wi-Fi will be bad in Spain.’ It took me ages to find out what he was talking about. Then I was: ‘Oh I’ve got Game of Thrones!’”
Yes, the GoT! Fola was cast to play one of the Khaleesi wives of Moro (Joe Naufahu), a ruthless Khal who meets a fiery end through Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) in season 6.
She is a fan of the show and up-to-date on everything in Westeros, so the role was right up her alley. Though she did have to learn the fictional Dothraki language. While filming in Spain, she also reveled in the opportunity to work with Clarke.
Though she only appeared in two episodes, she now had more visibility as a GoT alum—and it was taking her places! She filmed Hulu’s prehistoric movie, Dawn, in Ireland. She went on to make her feature film debut in the rap battle drama VS. in 2018.
She now plays marine biologist Maddie Bishop in the Freeform drama Siren, which is filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Fellow GoT alum Eline Powell plays the bloodthirsty mermaid Ryn in Siren. The ladies will reprise their roles when Siren season 2 premieres later this year.
She’s an Activist
When she’s not busy traveling the world for acting and modeling, Fola Evans-Akingbola is an activist for multiple causes. She’s a champion for equal opportunities, women’s empowerment, the environment, and disadvantaged groups.
Together with her mother, she started the We Are All Windrush movement to support the “Windrush Generation” amid an immigration scandal in the U.K.
The Windrush Generation refers to immigrants from Caribbean countries who were invited to the U.K. to work between 1948 and 1971—many of them arrived on the ship named Empire Windrush in 1948. In 2018, many of this group of people who were now taxpaying British subjects were being wrongly detained, deported, or denied legal rights.
The We Are All Windrush movement helps these people in their struggle by raising money for their legal bills.
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