Judith Iyabo Shekoni is an English actress, television personality and businesswoman.
Born to a Yoruba Nigerian father and a British mother of English and Spanish descent, Shekoni is from Gorton, Manchester.
Shekoni began her television career with a breakout role as Marjorie "Precious" Hudson (née Hulton) in the BBC1 soap EastEnders. She then moved into film with roles including Garfield 2 for Fox, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as Renee and Ali G Indahouse.
Shekoni lived and studied in Los Angeles for 10 years and appeared on US television shows including NCIS, All of Us and Damages, Fat Friends and The King of Queens.
Whilst in Los Angeles she worked with Bill Condon in the film The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2. She joined the cast as a lead in Heroes Reborn in 2015, the NBC reboot of the original show, where she played Joanne Collins opposite Zachary Levi.[1]
Relocating back to the UK in 2016, Shekoni appeared in the second season of the BBC1 drama Ordinary Lies written by Bafta winning writer Danny Brocklehurst, airing in November 2016.[2] She then filmed two seasons as the female lead opposite Donald Sutherland and Ray Winston for the American cable series Ice, directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, Magnificent Seven) appearing as Lady Rah, the kingpin of LA Diamond Trade.[3]
Remaining in London, she starred as Shrike in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil for Disney, with Angelina Jolie and Michelle Pfieffer.[4]
Shekoni joined the cast of the Apple TV series Foundation as She-Bends-Light in 2023. [5]
Shekoni co-founded with British model Amanda Van Annan Extension Evolution, a company supplying hair extensions, and is also the founder of two other companies, Make It America and Actors Evolution.[6][7][8][better source needed] She is the CEO of Global WPM, Atap Productions and is affiliated with the Helen Bamber Foundation.[9]