Folake Olowofoyeku

Olowofoyeku was raised on Victoria Island in Lagos and also spent time in London. She attended Igbinedion Education Centre in Benin City, Vivian Fowler Memorial College for Girls in Ikeja, Lagos, and Oxbridge Tutorial College. She emigrated to the United States at 18 and lived with her sister.

She initially studied economics with the intention of becoming an attorney, but earned a Bachelor of Arts in theater from City College of New York. While attending City College, she played NCAA Division III basketball for the CCNY Beavers. She later earned a diploma in audio engineering from the Institute of Audio Research.

Olowofoyeku is the youngest of 20 children born to Babatunji Olowofoyeku and Felicia Olowofoyeku. Her older brother Toby Foyeh is a musician and guitarist. Her first name honors Folake Solanke, the first female Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

After college, Olowofoyeku began working in off-Broadway theater in New York City. She won Best Actress at the 2006 ReelHeART International Film Festival in Toronto for When They Could Fly, and received Best Actress recognition at the 2018 CinéFashion Film Awards for Central & Broadway.

Her television credits include guest appearances on 30 Rock, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, White Collar, Modern Family, How to Get Away with Murder, Westworld, Colony, and The Gifted. She played Lyfe, the love interest of Gaby Hoffmann's character, in the final season of Transparent.

Olowofoyeku played Minerva Jefferson in the 2017 film Death Race 2050. Her voice work includes Amara in Mufasa: The Lion King and the Priestess in the Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series games.

In September 2019, Olowofoyeku began playing the title character in the CBS sitcom Bob Hearts Abishola. Abishola is a Nigerian immigrant and cardiac nurse whose relationship with Bob, played by Billy Gardell, forms the center of the comedy. The series was created by Chuck Lorre and Gina Yashere, who also writes for the show and plays Abishola's best friend, Kemi.

The program examines immigrant life in the United States and was described as the first American sitcom to feature a Nigerian family. Olowofoyeku received a 2019 Breakout Actress in TV Award for the role and was nominated for an NAACP Image Award in 2021. The fifth and final season began airing in 2024.

Olowofoyeku performs Afro-beat electronic music under the moniker The Folake. She plays guitar and piano, and has also worked as a sound engineer and DJ. Her self-released album The.Folake! appeared in 2012.

In 2013, she played bass guitar in David Bowie's music videos for "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" and "The Next Day." Both videos were directed by Floria Sigismondi. Olowofoyeku said the band rehearsed with Sigismondi and Bowie so its members could learn their musical parts and portray themselves in the videos.