WOMEN WE LOVE: Ayo Edebiri

Actress/comedian Ayo Edebiri once planned to pursue a teaching job when in school at NYU, but we’d say the switch to the performance arts worked out alright!

Most recently seen in the new season of "Black Mirror" and a viral video imitating the donkey from The Banshees of Inershirin, it seems like Ayo Edebiri is everywhere you turn these days. A victory lap that has been rightfully earned. 

Ayo found her way into comedy through an internship at the Upright Citizens Brigade, a well-known spot among the improv community in New York City. Inspired by Black comedians like Monique Moses and Keisha Zollar, she saw a place for herself in the scene. Establishing herself within the world of standup comedy, she went on to snag spots in the writing rooms for comedic television series like "Sunnyside" and "Big Mouth". Among her workload was a Comedy Central mini-series with close friend (and "Bottoms" co-star) Rachel Sennott. Titled “Rachel and Ayo Are Single”, the sketch show followed fictionalized versions of the girls as they navigated the highs and lows of dating life.

In 2022, Ayo found herself gaining a wider audience when she landed a starring role on Hulu Comedy series “The Bear”, which premiered to critical acclaim, earned 2 Golden Globe nominations, and is now getting Emmy buzz!

“The Bear” takes viewers behind the scenes of a Chicago sandwich shop. Ayo plays the role of Sydney, an ambitious sous chef at the restaurant who joins the team to help Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) run things in the wake of his brother’s suicide. The actress’s performance as Sydney has earned her an Independent Spirit Award alongside Gotham Award and Critics Choice Awards nominations -- accolades that have contributed to the hype for the show’s second season premiering on June 22.

While the second season of "The Bear" is premiering this June, the next highest anticipated project on Ayo’s roster is lesbian fight club comedy flick Bottoms, which comes out this August. The film, which Ayo stars in along friend Rachel Sennott, follows best friends PJ (Sennott) and Josie (Edebiri) as they go to some extreme, sometimes violent, measures to get the attention of their cheerleader crushes Brittany (Kaia Gerber) and Isabel (Havana Rose Liu). Premiering to rave reviews at the SXSW Film Festival, Bottoms is gearing up to be a hit you won’t want to miss Ayo (and her friends) in. Catch it in theaters on August 25, with showings in additional cities starting September 1.