Ashley Madekwe

Ashley Madekwe
Madekwe at the PaleyFest 2012
Born (1983-12-06) 6 December 1983 (age 40)
Mile End, London, England
Alma materRADA
Years active1998–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2012)​
Children1
RelativesArchie Madekwe (cousin)

Ashley Madekwe (/məˈdɛkweɪ/;[1] born 6 December 1983) is a British actress. She is known for her roles as Bambi in the ITV2 series Secret Diary of a Call Girl (2008–2010), Ashley Davenport in the ABC drama Revenge (2011–2013), and Tituba in the WGN series Salem (2014–2017). For her performance in County Lines (2019), Madekwe was nominated for the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress.[2]

Early life

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Madekwe was born at Mile End Hospital in East London[3] to a Nigerian-Swiss father and an English mother,[4] and grew up on a South London council estate in West Norwood. When she was 14, her family moved to the Norbury suburbs, and Madekwe attended the BRIT School. She went on to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Acting. During her time at RADA, she appeared in a number of stage productions such as King Henry V as Princess Katherine and Wuthering Heights as Catherine Earnshaw.[5]

Her cousin is British actor Archie Madekwe.[6]

Career

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Madekwe started her acting career with a film titled Storm Damage. In 2005, shortly after graduating from Royal Academy of Dramatic Art she played 'Jade' in Shan Khan's Prayer Room at Birmingham Repertory Theatre. Since then, she has made guest appearances on Teachers, Doctors, Casualty, and Drop Dead Gorgeous. Madekwe landed her first motion picture in the 2007 Woody Allen film Cassandra's Dream, opposite Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor. Following that success, she played Elisha in the one-off BBC Three drama pilot West 10 LDN, and appeared in six episodes of Trexx and Flipside as Ollie. In 2008, she landed the role of Bambi on the ITV2 drama series Secret Diary of a Call Girl,[7] appearing in series two and three. Madekwe starred in the 2008 comedy film How to Lose Friends & Alienate People. Her theatre credits include Little Sweet Thing by Roy Williams and Flight Path by David Watson.[8]

Madekwe made her official US debut in the 2009 drama series The Beautiful Life, which only aired two episodes on The CW before being cancelled. In February 2011, she was cast as Ashley Davenport in the ABC drama series Revenge.[9] After being a regular for the first two seasons, it was reported in late May 2013 that Madekwe would depart the series following a guest appearance in the first episode of the third season.[10] She starred as Tituba in the television series Salem from 2014 to 2016.

In 2018 Madekwe starred in the British film, County Lines and was subsequently nominated for a BAFTA in 2021 for the role of Toni.

Personal life

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In June 2012, Madekwe married her long-time boyfriend, British actor Iddo Goldberg.[11] They have worked together on Secret Diary of a Call Girl and he also had a role alongside her on the TV series Salem. In late summer 2023, the couple welcomed their first child, a boy.[12]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2006 Venus Royal Court actress
2007 Cassandra's Dream Lucy
2008 How to Lose Friends & Alienate People Vicky
2011 Victim Tia
2019 County Lines Toni Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominated—British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actress
2023 The Strays Neve Netflix film[13]

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1999 The Bill Janie Newton Episode: "Badlands"
2000 Hope and Glory Dawn Episode: "2.4"
Down to Earth Julie Episode: "O Best Beloved"
Storm Damage Annalise Television film
2001–2002 Teachers Bev 9 episodes
2006 Vital Signs Tart Episode: "1.5"
Doctors Sophie Wells Episode: "A Mother's Love"
Casualty Jade Clark Episode: "Worlds Apart"
Prime Suspect Tanya Episode: "The Final Act, Part 1"
2007 Drop Dead Gorgeous Brogan Tully 3 episodes
2008 West 10 LDN Elisha Pilot
Trial & Retribution Maria Episode: "Tracks: Part 1"
2008–2010 Secret Diary of a Call Girl Bambi/Gloria White 13 episodes
2008 Trexx and Flipside Ollie 8 episodes
Wallander Dolores Maria Santana Episode: "Sidetracked"
2009 The Beautiful Life: TBL Marissa Delfina 4 episodes
Coming Up Shanna Episode: "Raising Baby Rio"
2010 Above Their Station Kelly Eve Pilot
2011 Bedlam Molly Lucas 6 episodes
2011–2013 Revenge Ashley Davenport 44 episodes
2014–2017 Salem Tituba 34 episodes
2019 The Umbrella Academy Detective Eudora Patch 3 episodes
Four Weddings and a Funeral Julia 4 episodes
2019–2020 Tell Me A Story Simone Garland 10 episodes
2021 Tell Me Your Secrets Lisa 5 episodes
2022 Made for Love Zelda 6 episodes
2023 Dr. Death Dr. Ana Lasbrey Main role, season 2

References

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  1. ^ "UK actress Ashley Madekwe talks to Akua Gyamfi (The British Blacklist) about her movie 'County Lines' ahead of LFF premiere". Ace. BBC. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Bafta Film Awards 2021: The nominations in full". BBC News. 9 March 2021. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  3. ^ Salisbury, Mark (31 March 2021). "County Lines' star Ashley Madekwe on "changing the narrative" of her career". Screen International. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  4. ^ "Nigerians making us proud in Hollywood". 21 February 2016. Archived from the original on 19 August 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  5. ^ ASHLEY MADEKWE Archived 5 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine, ashbee.net
  6. ^ "New Faces: Archie Madekwe, See's Dystopian Leading Lad". W Magazine. 25 October 2019. Archived from the original on 23 September 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  7. ^ "Revenge's Ashley Madekwe: I threw KFC rubbish on my ex's driveway". Metro. Associated Newspapers. 18 June 2012. Archived from the original on 27 December 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  8. ^ "Ashley Davenport Played by Ashley Madekwe". American Broadcasting Company. Archived from the original on 25 September 2011.
  9. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (12 February 2011). "Jack Davenport To Co-Star In NBC's 'Smash'". Deadline Hollywood. PMC. Archived from the original on 14 February 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
  10. ^ O'Connell, Michael (31 May 2013). "Ashley Madekwe to Depart 'Revenge' in Third Season". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  11. ^ Wightman, Catriona (18 June 2012). "'Revenge' star Ashley Madekwe marries Iddo Goldberg". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  12. ^ Sullivan, Marisa (24 April 2023). "Ashley Madekwe Is Pregnant, Expecting First Baby with Husband Iddo Goldberg". People Magazine. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  13. ^ Sandwell, Ian (21 February 2023). "The Strays stars Ashley Madekwe and Jorden Myrie won't tell you what to think". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 21 February 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
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