Chioma Umeala
South African-Nigerian actress (born 1996)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chioma Antoinette Umeala (born 17 July 1996) is a South African-Nigerian actress and model. She is known for her roles in Isono: The Sin (2020), The Woman King (2022), and One Piece (2023).
Indigo View Advanced Actors Academy,
Chioma Umeala | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | 17 July 1996 Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Education | AFDA, The School for the Creative Economy Indigo View Advanced Actors Academy, |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2017- |
Biography
Umeala was born on 17 July 1996.[1] She has a Nigerian father and South African mother,[2][3] and is of Xhosa and Igbo heritage.[4][5] She is based in Johannesburg, South Africa.[4][6]
Umeala studied acting at AFDA, The School for the Creative Economy[3] and the Indigo View Advanced Actors Academy in South Africa.[4] She attended audition technique classes with held by the South African Guild of Actors (SAGA).[4] She worked as an assistant to the executive producer on The Real Housewives of Johannesburg (RHOJ).[7]
Umeala made her film debut on the student film Look Closer (2017).[8] She made her stage debut at Joburg Theatre in the production Scene (2018).[8][9]
Umeala played medical student Ayo Demi in 19 episodes of BET Africa's multilingual scripted and English subtitled daily drama series Isono (2020);[2][5][10] her breakout role.[11][12] In 2020, she also featured in the music video for South African rapper AKA's "Caiphus Song" as a bridesmaid.[2][9] In 2021 she was photographed for Vogue Italia.[9]
Umeala played Tara in The Woman King (2022).[5][13][14] She had a supporting role in The First Last Tour.[8]
Umeala played Nojiko, the adoptive sister of Nami (played by Emily Rudd), in Netflix's live-action series One Piece (2023).[6][15][16][17] The character was originally Japanese in the comics and Umeala had advocated for black representation in anime.[13][14][18][19] She has spoken at Comic Con panels and on the One Piece podcast about her role in the show.[4][19]
In 2025, Umeala starred in Novocaine (2025).[11] She has collaborated with Starbucks South Africa and appeared in commercials for MTC Namibia and Dark and Lovely.[7]
