Yvonne Anuli Orji is a Nigerian-American actress and comedian. She is best known for her role in the television series Insecure, for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and three NAACP Image Awards. She gave a speech at TEDxWilmingtonSalon in 2017 titled, "The Wait is Sexy". In the talk, she explains her reasons for abstaining from sex before marriage. In 2021, she began development on a series for Disney+ titled First Gen. The series is based on her personal life and is produced by Oprah Winfrey and David Oyelowo. Orji is the author of the book Bamboozled by Jesus.

8. Sheryl Underwood

Sheryl Patrice Underwood is an American comedian, actress and television host. She first rose to prominence in the comedy world as the first female finalist in 1989's Miller Lite Comedy Search. Underwood is one of the hosts of the CBS Daytime talk show The Talk, becoming the show's longest-running co-host, a role she first stepped into in September 2011. She has received one Daytime Emmy Award with seven nominations. Underwood is also a member of the National Council of Negro Women and the NAACP. She also founded the African-American Female Comedian Association.

9. Quinta Brunson 

Quinta Brunson is an American writer, producer, actress, and comedian best known for creating, executive producing, co-writing, and starring in the ABC comedy series Abbott Elementary. Brunson gained prominence for her self-produced Instagram series Girl Who Has Never Been on a Nice Date. For Abbott Elementary's first season, she was named Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2022. At the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards, she became the first Black woman nominated three times in the comedy category. She won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing For a Comedy Series for the show, making her the first black woman to win that award solo. In August 2022, Brunson signed a multi-year overall deal with Warner Bros. Television, the co-production studio of her show.

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10. Celeste Ntuli

Among her many achievements, Celeste is listed as the first local female comic to record a one-woman show DVD, ‘Seriously, Celeste.’ Celeste Ntuli impressed the judges in the second season of SABC 1’s So You Think You’re Funny competition in 2009, making her a finalist. Since then, her star has been shining, leading her to perform in huge shows like Blacks Only comedy showcase in 2010 and 2012, the first Stand Up Zulu comedy show.

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11. Janelle James

Janelle James is an American comedian, actress, and writer. She is best known for her role as Ava Coleman in the television series Abbott Elementary, for which she won a Black Reel Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and an NAACP Image Award, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Award, and an Independent Spirit Award. She was named one of Variety's 10 Comics to Watch for 2020 and will host the 2023 Writers Guild of America Awards.

12. Sherri Shepherd

Sherri Shepherd is an American actress, comedian, author, broadcaster, and television personality. She currently hosts the daily syndicated daytime talk show Sherri. She also starred in many sitcoms like The Jamie Foxx Show and recurring roles on the sitcoms Suddenly Susan and Everybody Loves Raymond in the late 1990s. In 2009, Shepherd won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host alongside her co-hosts from The View.

13. Tumi Morake

Tumi Morake is a South African comedian, actress, TV personality, and writer. Some comedy festivals she has performed at include Heavyweights Comedy Jam, Blacks Only, Have a Heart, Just Because Comedy Festival, The Tshwane Comedy Festival, The Lifestyle SA Festival and Old Mutual Comedy Encounters. She has hosted shows, including Our Perfect Wedding, Red Cake and WTFTumi (her talk show). The Free State native was the first African female comedian to have her own set on Netflix. She is also the first female comedian to host Comedy Central Presents in Africa.

14. Sommore

Sommore is an American comedian and actress. Known as the “Diva of Contemporary Comedy,” her comedic style features biting sarcasm and frank discussions about money, sex, and equality between the sexes. She appeared in the films Friday After Next, Soul Plane, and Dirty Laundry and has received the Richard Pryor Award for Comic of the Year. Her father was the poet Doughtry “Doc” Long, and her half-sister is actress Nia Long. Most of Sommore’s subsequent solo specials also have debuted on Showtime, but this year, her solo special called Queen Chandelier was picked up by Netflix.

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 Boitumelo Masihleho is a South African digital content creator. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Rhodes University in Journalism and Media Studies and Politics and International Studies.  

She's an experienced multimedia journalist who is committed to writing balanced, informative and interesting stories on a number of topics. Boitumelo has her own YouTube channel where she shares her love for affordable beauty and lifestyle content. 

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