13 superstars of Ghanaian descent excelling in foreign countries
Many stars who trace their roots to Ghana have become significant forces in their various careers, bringing honour to their countries and their origins back home in Ghana.
From Hollywood to sports, through to the British parliament and corporate boardrooms, Ghanaian personalities are making waves and shattering glass ceilings in foreign countries, putting their home nation on the global map.
With achievements in entertainment, entrepreneurship, and innovation, these trailblazers are redefining what it means to be Ghanaian and inspiring a new generation to reach for the stars.
Their vast knowledge, skills and investments are invaluable in propelling economic progress and social development in their communities where it all started.
With the recent crowning of Annette Addo-Yobo as Miss Texas 2024, this article highlights personalities of Ghanaian descent in that elite group of such remarkable feats.
Annette Addo-Yobo
On Saturday, June 29, 2024, Annette Addo-Yobo won the title of Miss Texas 2024.
Annette Addo-Yobo, the new Miss Texas is a Ghanaian-born American from Southlake in Texas.
She made history as the first immigrant-born and Ghanaian to win the title.
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah is a Ghanaian-born American professional wrestler.
Kingston is the first African-born WWE Champion and held the Intercontinental and United States Championships multiple times.
He has also won tag team championships in WWE 15 times.
Dr Micheal Obeng
Dr. Michael K. Obeng is a Ghanaian plastic surgeon. He is the President of Global Health Solutions. He is also the director of MiKO Plastic Surgery and MiKO Surgery Centre.
Dr Obeng came under the spotlight after providing free treatment to Tessica Brown, a woman who had applied Gorilla Glue to her hair. He managed to remove it successfully.
In December 2022, Dr. Obeng received the prestigious President’s Volunteer Service in New York.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is a Ghanaian-American football linebacker for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League.
He played college football at Notre Dame, where he won the Butkus Award and was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and a unanimous All-American as a senior in 2020.
Jeremiah is known for projecting Ghanaian culture, especially in the way he dresses for tournaments.
Jeremiah also runs a football camp in Ghana for the youth.
Nana-Kofi Siriboe
Nana-Kofi Siriboe is a Ghanaian-American actor and model.
He is best known for his role as Ralph Angel Bordelon on the television series Queen Sugar.
He has also appeared in films such as The Longshots and Girls Trip.
Abena Oppong-Asare
Abena Oppong-Asare is a Ghanaian-born British Labour Party politician who has served as a Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office in the UK since July 2024.
She was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Erith and Thamesmead in the 2019 general election. She and Bell Ribeiro-Addy, both elected in the 2019 general election are the first female British Ghanaian MPs.
She was appointed to the Official Opposition frontbench in 2020, becoming Shadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, and later Shadow Minister for Women’s Health and Mental Health.
Adjoa Aiboom Helen Andoh
Adjoa Aiboom Helen Andoh is of Ghanaian descent and a British actress.
On stage, she has played lead roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, the Royal Court Theatre and the Almeida Theatre.
On television, she appeared in two series of Doctor Who as Francine Jones, 90 episodes of the BBC’s long-running medical drama Casualty, and BBC’s EastEnders.
Andoh made her Hollywood debut in the autumn of 2009, starring as Nelson Mandela’s Chief of Staff Brenda Mazibuko alongside Morgan Freeman as Mandela in Clint Eastwood’s drama film Invictus.
Since 2020, she has portrayed Lady Danbury in the Netflix Regency romance series Bridgerton.
In July 2022, Andoh became an honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
India Ria Amarteifio
India Amarteifio is of Ghanaian origin and was born in Kingston upon Thames on 17 September 2001.
Her father is Ghanaian and her mother is of British origin.
She joined the Richmond Academy of Dance in 2012, through which she auditioned for and earned a scholarship to attend the Sylvia Young Theatre School.
She starred in the leading role of a young version of Golda Rosheuvel’s titular character in the Netflix period drama prequel Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.
For her acting performance, she was nominated at the NAACP Image Awards and Astra TV Awards.
She appeared on the 2023 Variety list of 10 Brits to Watch[12] and was named a Bright Young Thing by Tatler.
Boris Kodjoe
Boris Frederic Cecil Tay-Natey Ofuatey-Kodjoe is of Ghanaian origin, a German actor and former model, based in the United States.
His breakthrough role was as sports-courier agent Damon Carter on the Showtime drama series Soul Food (2000-2004).
His other notable television roles include Dr. Will Campbell on CBS’s Code Black, Phil Miller on The Last Man on Earth, Robert Sullivan on Station 19, and a fictionalized version of himself on Real Husbands of Hollywood.
Nico Williams
Nicholas “Nico” Williams Arthuer is of Ghanaian descent and a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a winger for La Liga club Athletic Bilbao and the Spain national team.
Joining Athletic Bilbao’s youth academy in 2013, he was promoted to the reserve team in 2020 and to the first team a year later, becoming a teammate of elder brother Iñaki who plays in the Ghanaian senior national team.
Nico was a member of their 2022 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2024 squads, scoring and being named man of the match in the final of the latter as Spain won the tournament.
Annie Tagoe
Annie Tagoe is a Ghanaian-born British athlete.
Tagoe represented Britain at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore. She won a bronze medal in the medley relay event.
Competing at the UK Athletics Championships in Manchester in July 2023, Tagoe was one of the fastest qualifiers for the final of the women’s 100m race, behind Dina Asher-Smith.
She was chosen to represent Great Britain at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August 2023.
In April 2024, she was selected as part of the British team for the 2024 World Athletics Relays in Nassau, Bahamas.
Lady Dentaa Amoateng
Akosua Dentaa Amoateng, best known by her stage name Dentaa, is a British Ghanaian entrepreneur, actress, TV presenter, singer, producer and manager.
She was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours and 2017 she received the Ghana Peace Awards Humanitarian Service Laureate in Accra, Ghana.
In the same year, she won the Ghana Peace Awards Humanitarian Service Laureate.
Information gathered indicates that Dentaa played a crucial role in the expansion of the Grammy Recording Academy to Africa.
Jasmine Paolini
Jasmine Paolini is an Italian professional tennis player of Ghanaian descent. Her father, Ugo, is Italian and her mother, Jacqueline, is of Polish and Ghanaian descent, originally from Łódź.
She has career-high WTA rankings of world No. 5 in singles, achieved on July 15, 2024, and No. 13 in doubles, achieved on July 1, 2024.
Paolini is a two-time major finalist, reaching the 2024 French Open and Wimbledon finals.
She has won two singles and three doubles titles on the WTA Tour, including a WTA 1000 singles title at the 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships.
She has also won two singles titles on the WTA Challenger Tour along with nine titles in singles and one doubles title on the ITF Circuit. She is the current Italian No. 1 female player.
Earlier this year, Paolini shared her thoughts on her heritage with BNPParibasOpen.com, noting, “Maybe I feel like I’m fast on court because of my Ghanaian heritage. From Poland, I have determination, and of course, I also have the Italian energy. It’s a mix, and I’m really proud of it.”