Aisha Alfa is a Canadian comedian and actress, best known for her recurring role as teacher Ms. Grell in the Degrassi franchise[1] and her appearances as a reporter on the mock newscast series The Beaverton.[2]

Born in Nigeria and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, she is the sister of musician and radio broadcaster Ismaila Alfa,[3] and played soccer in her youth before pursuing her career as an entertainer.[4] After winning Winnipeg's "Funniest Person with a Day Job" comedy competition in 2011, she moved to Toronto to further her career.[1] She appeared in the films An American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars, My Awkward Sexual Adventure and Euphoria, and was a regular panelist on the eighth and ninth seasons of MuchMusic's Video on Trial,[5] before joining the cast of CBC Television's annual Royal Canadian Air Farce New Year's Eve specials in 2014.[6] She remained with the troupe through to the 2016 special.[7]

She has since appeared in the television series Opie's Home, Sorry for Your Loss, Coop & Cami Ask the World and Good Trouble.

She released her first full-length comedy special, Aisha Alfa: All the Parts, in 2020 on All Things Comedy.[8]

She was a Canadian Comedy Award nominee for Best Breakout Artist at the 16th Canadian Comedy Awards in 2015.[9] Alfa and her Beaverton castmates Emma Hunter, Miguel Rivas, Marilla Wex and Dave Barclay received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Ensemble Performance in a Variety or Sketch Comedy Program or Series at the 6th Canadian Screen Awards in 2018.

References

  1. ^ a b Brad Oswald, "The farce is with her". Winnipeg Free Press, January 27, 2014.
  2. ^ Greg David, "The Beaverton website heads to The Comedy Network for TV". TV, eh?, November 8, 2016.
  3. ^ Lucas Thiessen, "Are you aware?". The Manitoban, February 10, 2014.
  4. ^ "Meet Aisha Alfa". VoyageLA, March 5, 2019.
  5. ^ "Weekly comedy series at Oscar's Roadhouse". Brampton Guardian, September 17, 2014.
  6. ^ Bill Brioux, "CBC's Air Farce rings in the new year: New Year's Eve special includes highlights of the year and a few special guests". Waterloo Region Record, December 31, 2014.
  7. ^ Jim Slotek, "Air Farce's New Year's Eve special brings back familiar faces". Postmedia Network, December 28, 2016.
  8. ^ Melody MacReady, "10 Hilarious Stand Up Comedy Specials You Can Watch On YouTube For Free". ScreenRant, July 30, 2021.
  9. ^ Glenn Sumi, "2015 Canadian Comedy Awards nominees". Now, June 30, 2015.

External links

Royal Canadian Air Farce
Categories