Amaka Umeh

Chiamaka Umeh, known professionally as Amaka Umeh, is a Nigerian actor who became the first Black actor and first genderfluid performer to portray Hamlet at the Stratford Festival in Canada in 2020, receiving critical acclaim for the performance. Umeh has received various accolades, including five Dora Mavor Moore Awards. Umeh moved to Canada at the age of 11 and has acted in numerous theatre productions, including The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream (2018), The Wolves (2018), Hamlet (2020–22), Death and the King's Horseman (2023), Sizwe Banzi Is Dead (2023), and A Strange Loop (2025). In 2026, Umeh made their television debut with the role of Dee Pharma on AMC's gothic horror series The Vampire Lestat.

Early life Chiamaka Umeh was born in Lagos, Nigeria. Umeh is of Igbo and Ikwerre descent and was raised in a Christian household. Umeh kept acting during their primary and secondary school education, and later with Calgary's Summerstock Theatre Society for a few seasons. joining the musical theatre program in 2012 and graduating in 2014.

In 2021, Umeh completed the Stratford Festival Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre. Umeh also completed the Factory Theatre Mechanicals and Toronto Fringe T.E.N.T. Programs.

Career Umeh has starred in numerous Canadian theatre productions. and was also the narrator on Randolph College for the Performing Arts' production of the musical Into the Woods.

In 2015 and 2016, Umeh played the role of Hasana on Chloé Hung's play All Our Yesterdays, Umeh also worked as an assistant director on Crow’s Theatre's 2015 production of Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play by Anne Washburn.

In 2017, Umeh played aunt Spiker on Young People's Theatre's production of the musical James and the Giant Peach, for which they received a nomination for the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Female Performance.

In 2018, Umeh played the role of Hermia in a production of William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream at the High Park Amphitheatre in Toronto. That same year, they played the role of a high-achieving goalie in the Howland Company and Crow's Theatre production of The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe, for which they won a Dora Award for Outstanding Performance in a Featured Role.

In 2020, Umeh made history by becoming the first Black and first genderfluid first in a filmed performance that was made available for streaming as part of FreeUp! Emancipation Day 2020, after the Stratford production of William Shakespeare's play had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic,

In 2021, Umeh played the role of Captain Ahab in MOBY: A Whale of A Tale, a musical adaptation of Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick at Pirate Life Theatre in Toronto, for which they won a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble.

In 2022, Umeh narrated the audiobook version of Nigerian-Canadian writer Francesca Ekwuyasi's debut novel, Butter Honey Pig Bread. Umeh's narration was praised by the American newspaper The Stranger, who said that their "buttery voice and realistic accents added an extra layer of enjoyment".

In January and March 2023, Umeh portrayed jazz performer Rose Lacroix in Hannah Moscovitch's adaptation of Ann-Marie MacDonald's novel, Fall on Your Knees, at the Bluma Appel Theatre in Toronto, and later toured with the play in Halifax, Ottawa, and London. In May and June 2023, Umeh played Styles/Buntu on Soulpepper Theatre Company's production of Sizwe Banzi Is Dead, for which they won the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Best Leading Performer (General Theatre) in 2024. In December 2023, Umeh was an assistant director on the Cahoots Theatre Company's production of the play Sweeter by Alicia Richardson.

In 2026, Umeh made their television debut with the role of Dee Pharma, a member of the vampire Lestat's entourage on the third season of AMC's gothic horror series The Vampire Lestat.

For their performances in both the musical Narnia by Fiona Sauder, and the play Mary, Mary, Mary, Mary by Erin Shields, Umeh was nominated for two Dora Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in 2026. Umeh also hosted the Dora Awards ceremony on 29 June 2026.

In 2027, Umeh will reprise the role of Rose Lacroix in the play Fall on Your Knees at the Guloien Theatre in Toronto.

Personal life Umeh lives in Toronto, Canada.

Death and the King's Horseman Olohun-iyo - Praise-Singer Filmed stage performance Hamlet Prince Hamlet Filmed stage performance

Television Year Title Role Notes 2026 The Vampire Lestat Dee Pharma Television series 2015 This Is For You, Anna M. 4 / Daughter / Friend / Alicia / Jenny / Victim 3 / Woman 4 / Fiancee Suzanne Khuri, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Banuta Rubess and Maureen White Hart House Theatre Beethoven Lives Upstairs Christa Barbara Nichol Grand Theatre A Midsummer Night's Dream Hermia William Shakespeare High Park Amphitheatre 2019 Towards Youth Ensemble Andrew Kushnir Crow's Theatre Blood + Soil Snowball Rouvan Silogix Bob Nasmith Innovation Backspace 2021 A Midsummer Night's Dream Helena, Flute and Moth William Shakespeare Tom Patterson Theatre MOBY: A Whale of A Tale Captain Ahab Lena Maripuu and Annie Tuma Pirate Life Theatre Narnia Witch Fiona Sauder Marilyn and Charles Baillie Theatre Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble (General Theatre) Three Sisters Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble (Theatre for Young Audiences) Sweeter 2025 Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble (Musical Theatre) A Strange Loop 2026 Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble (General Theatre) Mary, Mary, Mary, Mary 2023 Stratford Festival Peter Donaldson Award