Regina Obedapo Iyashere (born 6 April 1974), known professionally as Gina Yashere, is a British comedian, actress and writer who has made numerous appearances on British and American television. She co-created the American sitcom Bob Hearts Abishola, on which she played a supporting role.

Early life Yashere was born and raised in Bethnal Green, London to Nigerian parents. Before becoming a comedian, she worked as a lift maintenance technician and engineer—becoming the first woman to reach this position in the company—all of which she mentions in her stand-up routine.

She uses the surname "Yashere" due to encountering common mispronunciation of her original surname.Gina Yashere at The New York TimesArthur, Tim. Interview at Time Out London, 28 May 2008.

Career Yashere was a finalist in the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year competition in 1996. She has appeared in a number of television programmes, including the Black-British Caribbean comedy series The Lenny Henry Show, where she played Tanya and Mrs Omokorede, the pushy Nigerian mum. She voiced Keisha on the animated series Bromwell High. In 2005, she appeared on the reality television series Comic Relief Does Fame Academy, in aid of Comic Relief, and she co-hosted the 2006 and 2007 MOBO Awards alongside 2Baba and Coolio. She made numerous appearances on Mock the Week, and appeared on the CBBC show Gina's Laughing Gear.

In 2007, Yashere was featured on the reality show Last Comic Standing, auditioning in Sydney. She was among the ten finalists, but on 1 August 2007, she and Dante were the first two finalists eliminated.

In 2008, she became the first Briton to perform on Def Comedy Jam. On 3 September 2009, she appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and performed a stand-up comedy routine. On 24 December, she appeared on Live at the Apollo. She appeared twice on the short-lived primetime show The Jay Leno Show: on 21 October 2009, a video of Yashere showed her giving free fortune-telling readings to passers-by, and on 25 November 2009, she operated a walk-in psychic booth. Starting in 2010, she appeared semi-regularly on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, in a sketch comedy series called Madame Yashere: The Surly Psychic.

In 2010, Yashere appeared as Flo in several episodes of the ITV drama Married Single Other.Married Single Other at ITV.com In April 2010, her one-hour comedy special, Skinny B*tch, premiered on Showtime, a US cable channel. She appeared on the Watch TV show Scream If You Know the Answer with contestant Emily Green from Portsmouth. She helped Green win the show with a prize fund of £2,000. In 2012, she was featured on the second season of the Comedy Central series Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand Up Revolution. In 2013, Yashere appeared in an advert for Tesco Mobile. In 2015, she was featured as a selected comic on Gotham Comedy Live, which airs on AXS TV (season 4-Judah Friedlander) where she referred to the City of Cleveland, Ohio as "shit." On 8 January 2016, she appeared on The Nasty Show with Artie Lange, which aired on Showtime.

Starting on 16 March 2017, Yashere began a brief stint as the British correspondent for The Daily Show.

In September 2019, Yashere began appearing in a supporting role on the 2019 Chuck Lorre CBS sitcom, Bob Hearts Abishola, which Lorre created with Yashere. Yashere wrote and was a co-showrunner for the program and played Folake Olowofoyeku's character, Abishola's best friend, Kemi. Bob Hearts Abishola was the first American sitcom to feature a Nigerian family.

Personal life Yashere is a lesbian. Until 2025, she was primarily residing in Altadena, California, with her partner Nina Rose Fischer.Leijon, Erik. "Colon comedy", Montreal Mirror, Vol. 25 No. 5, 16–22 July 2009.Pool, Hannah. "Question time", The Guardian, 15 May 2008. The couple were living at their second house in Costa Rica, when the Eaton Fire destroyed the Altadena home. Yashere lost important personal possessions, including comedy notebooks. As of July 2025, they were no longer residing in the U.S., dividing their time between Costa Rica and Toronto, where Yashere was filming Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.

In April 2026, Yashere and Fischer were married in Costa Rica.

Filmography

Film YearTitleRoleNotes2001Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang)Polythene PamMr In-BetweenDancing Woman2008The Time of the EndThe MessiahShort film2016The Comedian's Guide to SurvivalHerself2018Early ManGravelleVoice2022Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ CelebrationHerself

Television YearTitleRoleNotes1996–2000Blouse and SkirtHerself21 episodes1999The Richard Blackwood Show—Writer2000Lenny Henry in Pieces—2005–2015The Wright StuffHerself / Guest Panelist4 episodes2005The CrouchesMrs. UbakemaEpisode: "No Place Like Home"Bromwell HighKeisha Marie (voice)13 episodes2006–2009Mock the WeekHerself8 episodes2007 Gina's Laughing GearGina10 episodes2008Brits Abroad: Gina's Got the TicketHostTV movieDef Comedy JamWriterEpisode: "Episode #8.1"Gina Yashere: Skinny B*tchHerselfStand-up special, Showtime2009Just for LaughsWriterEpisode: "Martin Short"Live at the ApolloHerselfEpisode: "Episode #5.5"2010Married Single OtherFlo4 episodes1st Amendment Stand UpWriterEpisode: "Darren Carter/Gina Yashere/Damon Williams"2013–2014Gotham Comedy LiveHerself2 episodes2014Gina Yashere: Laughing To AmericaHerselfStand-up special, StarzComics UnleashedHerself2 episodes2015–2017@midnightHerself5 episodes; representing the United Kingdom2015The Nightly Show with Larry WilmoreHerself / Panelist2 episodesJust for Laughs: All-AccessHerselfEpisode: "Episode #3.9"The Nasty Show Hosted by Artie LangeHerself2016Sir Patrick Stewart: A Knight of ComedyHerselfGo 8 BitHerselfEpisode: "Episode #1.2"Debate WarsHerselfEpisode: "Babies Vs. Old People"Black Is the New BlackHerselfLive at the ApolloHerself / HostEpisode: "Episode #12.3"2017–2018The Daily Show with Trevor NoahCommentator4 episodes2017CrashingGinaEpisode: "Artie Lange"Celebrity ChaseContestantEpisode: "Episode #7.7"What's Your F@#King Deal?!HerselfEpisode: "Dante Nero, Gina Yashere and Eddie Pepitone"2018The Standups with Gina YashereHerselfStand-up special, NetflixWest:WordHerselfEpisode: "Vanishing Point"2018–2019Laff Mobb's Laff TracksHerself2 episodes2019–2023The Rubbish World of Dave SpudGareth84 episodes2019–2024 Bob Hearts AbisholaKemi82 episodes (as of 2023); also co-creator, executive producer and writer2021The Barbarian and the TrollAxe12 episodes2022The NeighborhoodChikaEpisode: "Welcome to the Ring"2024Would I Lie to You?HerselfSeries 17, Episode 5 2026 Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Lura Thok Recurring role

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