Ayo Edebiri

She is everywhere, and we are loving it! From being part of the biggest TV shows of the year to starring in not one or two but FIVE movies this year alone, Ayo Edebiri is taking Hollywood by storm.

A comedian at heart, a writer, and an actor, Ayo Edebiri has been jumping from one project to the other, making her name in Hollywood as fast and efficient as possible. If her name isn’t ringing a bell for you (seriously, how?), all you have to do is google her and we are 100% sure you will instantly recognise her. 

From The Bear to Bottoms, every project Ayo released this year has been a hit. The girl is here to stay, so we had to make sure you know everything there is to know about the incredible actress that she is.

World, Meet Ayo Edebiri!

When her plans to pursue a career as an English teacher fell through thanks to her teenage students telling her she’s just not that good (ouch!), Ayo decided to try something else. That something else was stand-up comedy! We know what you’re thinking: Everyone thinks they can be a comedian these days! Well, Ayo knew what she was doing, and she did it well.

In 2019, Ayo performed a stand-up comedy set on Comedy Central’s Up Next. If anyone had any doubt of her talent, they no longer did! She did so well on her set that in 2020, Comedy Central aired her digital series Ayo and Rachel Are Single, which she co-created with her best friend Rachel Sennott.

Ayo Edibiri, The TV Writer

She did teaching, she did comedy, and it was time for Ayo to try her hand at something else, and this time it was writing for television. Ayo got her first writing credit as a writer on NBC’s Sunnyside and The Run Down with Robin Thede. Afterwards, she joined the writing staff of Netflix’s popular animated show Big Mouth in 2020. 

In the same year, Jenny Slate, the voice of the character Missy, stepped down from the role. Due to popular demands, Big Mouth was looking for a Black actress to voice Missy (as they should), and Ayo was right there to fill that role! Her experience as a writer and a comedian helped her shape the character of Missy, and that role later on helped her get more into voice-over.

Ayo’s writing career reached new highs as she joined the staff writers of Apple TV’s successful period drama, Dickenson. In 2021, Edebiri joined the show as a staff writer and actor, playing the character of Hattie for six episodes. Working on Dickenson is where she met Christopher Storer, who will go on to create The Bear, the show that will give Ayo her breakthrough in acting.

The Year of Ayo Edebiri

2023 will go down in history as the year we watched Ayo Edebiri rise to fame. In 2023, Ayo Edebiri worked on five movies and seven television shows. Between leading roles, supporting roles and voice-over work, Ayo had an extremely busy year! Hopping from one successful project to another, this year changed Ayo’s life and introduced us to one of the best young actresses in Hollywood.

From The Bear to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, we will dissect each film and TV show Ayo worked on this year. We suggest you get a pen and paper and save these projects because you WILL want to watch them all!

The Bear (2022 – Present)

You know how they tell you to always keep in contact with old colleagues as they can be your door to new opportunities? Well, that might not work for everyone, but it worked for Ayo Edebiri! Christopher Storer, the creator of The Bear, met Edebiri when he directed two episodes of Dickinson. He later cast her in the role of Sous Chef Sydney Adamu in his to-be-Hulu’s-smash-hit The Bear.

The role of Sydney is as far from comedy as Ayo has ever been. The first season of The Bear took place in a run-down restaurant in Chicago that belonged to the Chef’s dead brother. The dynamic of the characters all revolves around past trauma, failure, complicated family relationships and the usual toxic environment of working in a kitchen.

This level of drama required Ayo to dig deep and deliver a performance so different from anything she had ever done before. It’s safe to say that she succeeded with flying colours! Her role as Sydney in the first season of The Bear earned her her first nominations for a Critic’s Choice Award and a Gotham Independent Film Award. It also earned her first win as a supporting actress in the Independent Spirit Awards!

The second season of The Bear aired in the summer of 2023, with Ayo reprising her role as Sous Chef Sydney Adamu. The season was another smash hit for Hulu and Ayo alike, earning the show six Emmy Awards nominations, including an Outstanding Supporting Actress nomination for Ayo Edebiri.

The first two seasons of The Bear are available to watch on Hulu or Disney+, depending on which country you’re in. Make sure to catch the show, as it is one of the best TV shows of 2022 and 2023! The dynamic between Ayo’s character Sydney and Jermey Allen White’s Carmy alone is worth watching The Bear multiple times!

Abbott Elementary (2023 – Present)

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past two years, you have definitely heard of ABC’s smash hit comedy sitcom Abbott Elementary! The show created by Quinta Brunson has taken the world by storm since the airing of its first season in 2021. The second season of Abbott Elementary started airing in 2022 with Ayo Edebiri in the recurring role of Ayesha Teagues.

The show is about Abbott Elementary, an under-funded elementary school in Philadelphia where Janine Teagues (Quinta Brunson) is a second-grade teacher. Ayo played the role of Janine’s younger sister, Ayesha, with whom Janine has a complicated relationship. The emotional yet funny episode gave Ayo the opportunity to flex both her drama and comedy acting powers. Since the announcement of Ayo Edebiri being cast in Abbott Elementary, fans have been looking forward to her appearance, and she did not disappoint!

Since Ayo’s character Ayesha is credited as a recurring character, we can expect to see more of her in the future. Abbott Elementary is an excellent show, and adding Ayo Edebiri can only make it better and allow Ayo to flex her comedy prowess more often!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023)

Not every successful actor can be a successful voice-over actor. Voice acting requires a certain skill where the actor can put all their power into their voice alone. They cannot depend on their body language or their facial expression to deliver their message, but only on their voice, and Ayo Edebiri has become a master at that!

Using her comedic geniuses and her perfect delivery and timing, Ayo has proven to be an A+ voice-over actress. Her skill landed her the role of the one and only April O’Neil in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Acting alongside a cast of teenagers meant that Ayo had to bring all her energy into the character to match that endless energy of teenagers! It’s safe to say she succeeded in her mission, as she has received much praise since the release of TMNT in theatres.

Bottoms (2023)

What’s better than getting to hang out with our friends and call it work? Nothing! That is what making Bottoms was like as Ayo Edebiri got work alongside her best friends Rachel Sennott and Emma Seligman.

Ayo plays Josie, a lesbian teenager who, along with her best friend (also a lesbian), creates a fight club at school to teach girls self-defence. Good, right? Wrong! The club is, in truth, only an excuse for the two best friends to get close to hot cheerleaders to convince them to hook up with them.

The R-rated sex comedy has so far gained a lot of positive reviews, including a 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The project is right in Ayo’s field as she gets to use her comedic genius and work with her longtime collaborator and best friend, Rachel Sennott. Bottoms is currently playing in select cinemas, so make sure you go watch it with your girlfriends. It’s a perfect movie for a girl’s night out!

Theatre Camp (2023)

You thought we were done? Nope! Ayo Edebiri has one more film that came out this year, Theatre Camp. Another comedy that allows Ayo to cement herself as THE comedian of 2023. Theatre Camp is a comedy film starring Ben Platt, Molly Gordon, and Noah Galvin alongside our very own Ayo Edebiri.

The film takes place in a literal Theatre Camp where children are taught the art of theatre acting. When the place is in danger of closing due to financial difficulties, the students and teachers must work together to deliver an outstanding end-of-year performance to save their camp.

Ayo Edebiri plays the role of Janet Walch, one of the teachers in the camp. Theatre Camp was another chance for Edebiri to work in a comedy film as well as work alongside Boardway’s alumni Ben Platt and Molly Gordon. Who knows, maybe we will see Ayo on Broadway sometime in the future? We know for sure she can do anything at this point!

Ayo Edebiri Can Do It All!

Some actors spend their whole careers stuck into one genre of movies, and that is not always a bad thing. Sometimes, one just prefers to stick to what they know they’re good at and call it a day. 

However, that is not the case with Ayo Edebiri! Genre jumping has been a mark of her career from the very beginning. From making us all emotional in The Bear to laughing out loud in Bottoms, Ayo proved she can do it all! If you think that’s not impressive enough (how could you?!), as soon as the WGA/ SAG-AFTRA strike is over, Ayo will join the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Thunderbolts! 

If you’re new to the Ayo Edebiri cinematic universe, then you’re in luck! You can catch the up-and-coming actress on streaming services in shows like The Bear and Abbott Elementary. If you’re up for a feature film, then Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Bottoms and Theatre Camp are all in cinemas right now! 2023 is truly the year of Ayo Edebriri, and we cannot wait to see what she’ll do next!