American actress and comedian Ayo Edebiri has become a rising star in the entertainment industry thanks to her breakthrough role in the critically-acclaimed television series The Bear. The famed role sees Edebiri as Sydney Adamu, a young chef whose ambitions lead her to a restaurant in Chicago.
Ayo Edebiri has continued to star in some of the most anticipated films of the year. From a voice role as April O’Neil in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem to a co-lead role in Emma Seligman’s Bottoms, 2023 has shaped up to be another prominent year for the former comedian.
With acting and writing credits to her name, as well as an Emmy nomination for her role in The Bear, Edebiri has become one of the most successful modern actresses of this generation. So, let’s take a look at 10 of her most prominent performances, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
10 Theater Camp (2023) - 84%
Theater Camp is a 2023 comedy drama film directed by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman in their directorial debuts. The film, which was distributed by Searchlight Pictures, was also co-written by Gordon, Lieberman, Ben Platt, and Noah Galvin.
The film centers on Troy Rubinsky (Jimmy Tatro), a crypto enthusiast who becomes tasked with running his mother’s theater camp after she falls into a coma. With his ensemble cast of eccentric teachers and students, including Molly Gordon’s Rebecca-Diane, Troy embarks on a mission to save the theater camp from financial disarray. Ayo Edebiri plays Janet Walch in the film, described in MovieWeb’s character guide as “a fresh face at the camp, having never worked as a counselor before, and is in the midst of personal issues.”
9 The Sweet East - 91%
In yet another directorial debut and 2023 release, Ayo Edebiri stars alongside Talia Ryder, Simon Rex, and Jacob Elordi in The Sweet East. The Sean Price Williams directed and Nick Pinkerton written film follows high school senior Lillian (Ryder) on a voyage throughout the Eastern United States. Lillian embarks on this journey after becoming separated from her class during a trip to Washington, D.C.
In the film, Ayo Edebiri stars as one half of the ambitiously delusional filmmaking duo Molly (Edebiri) and Matthew (Jeremy O. Harris). The two’s initial purpose in the film is to convince Lillian to accept a role in their strange butter-centric movie titled As It Churned.
The Sweet East has only officially premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, yet it has received positive acclaim for its humor and charm. With American film distribution company Utopia acquiring the rights for the film in July 2023, it is only a matter of time before the acclaimed film is released to the public.
8 Dickinson - 92%
While Ayo Edebiri was formerly a stand-up comedian performing sets on Comedy Central, the lovable jokester is also a prolific writer as well as an actor.
In the three season hit Apple TV+ series Dickinson, Ayo Edebiri serves as a main character actress as well as a writer for the series. Dickinson, which is led by fellow Spider-Man: Across the SpiderVerse actress Hailee Steinfeld, follows poet Emily Dickinson’s life in an anachronistic way. The show is notable for modernizing Emily’s life and includes nuanced understandings of sexuality, gender roles, and other societal topics.
During the show’s second season, Edebiri plays the Dickinson family maid and medium, Hattie. Along with this performance, Edebiri also worked on 10 episodes as a staff writer and was credited as writer for two episodes.
7 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) - 97%
2023 has shaped up to be an excellent year for animation, with some of the best animated movies of the year becoming the year’s big box office and critical hits. And the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, is no exception.
The fully computer-animated movie follows the four popular ninja turtles as they search for an unknown crime syndicate in order to gain a positive reputation in the human world. Along the way, they encounter other mutant species, like themselves and their father, who may change their priorities.
Alongside a fresh cast of young voice actors and big names like Ice Cube and John Cena, Ayo Edebiri voices the turtle’s first human ally, and aspiring journalist April O’Neil. The film received critical and commercial success after its release. And with a Paramount+ television series and sequel film under development, fans of the successful TMNT film are in for a treat.
6 Bottoms (2023) - 97%
Emma Seligman’s second feature film, Bottoms, comes after the success of her Rachel Sennott-led film Shiva Baby in 2020. The film, which was also co-written with Sennott, stars Sennott and Ayo Edebiri as two high school seniors who create a fight club in order to hook up with girls before they graduate.
The highly comedic film also stars familiar faces such as model Kaia Gerber, recent Red, White, and Royal Blue star Nicholas Galitzine, and former NFL running back Marshawn Lynch.
Bottoms has been highly regarded as one of the best comedies of 2023, and fans will get a chance to view it once it expandsto additional screens on September 1.
5 Abbott Elementary - 99%
One of the biggest comedy hits in recent years has been the mockumentary sitcom Abbott Elementary from former BuzzFeed creator Quinta Brunson. The series stars an ensemble cast as they portray the entertaining staff of an underfunded and predominantly Black school in Philadelphia. While the series centers on Janine Teagues (Brunson), a new second-grade teacher at the school, the backstories and storylines of the other cast members are also explored.
Ayo Edebiri lands a recurring role in the series as Janine’s distant sister, Ayesha, who first appears in season two. The show explores the estranged relationship the two have through the varied appearances Ayesha has throughout the season.
4 The Bear - 99%
Hulu’s recent culinary comedy-drama hit series The Bear has become an instant classic in many viewers' eyes. The show centers around Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), an award-winning chef who returns to his hometown to take over the sandwich shop of his deceased brother. The show’s remarkable humor and dramatic elements have kick-started the careers of many of its cast into the limelight, including Ayo Edebiri.
In The Bear, Edebiri stars as Sydney Adamu, an inexperienced chef who joins Carmy’s culinary team as his soul chef. Over the course of the show, the two characters progress through the turmoil of the struggling restaurant together. And while some fans believe their connection to be strictly platonic, others believe there might be some romantic chemistry present between the duo.
Now with 13 Creative Arts and Prime-time Emmy nominations combined, the hit series is destined to continue as the juggernaut it has become.
3 Big Mouth - 99%
First released in 2017, Netflix’s animated series Big Mouth has become one of the platform’s most prolific and longest running original shows. The coming-of-age show deals with high school students as they struggle with puberty and other child to teenage transitional phases.
One of the show’s central teenagers, the nerdy and kindhearted Missy, is voiced by Ayo Edebiri. Edebiri stepped into the role following Jenny Slate’s departure from voicing the character at the end of season four. For six seasons now, Big Mouth has received critical acclaim for its humor and writing and has two more seasons on the horizon.
2 Clone High - 100%
In 2002, the adult animated sci-fi comedy show Clone High premiered on Teletoon in Canada and MTV in the United States. The original series was set at a fictional high school where clones of famous and historical figures attended. Among the enrolled students included clones of Abraham Lincoln, Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, Gandhi, and John F. Kennedy.
Upon its premiere, the series garnered low ratings, poor initial critical receptions, and sparked outrage in India due to the show’s depiction of Gandhi. The negative reception resulted in the show being pulled from MTV, but it has since garnered a cult following for its strange appeal.
A couple of years later, the series was announced to be revived through Max (formerly HBO Max) which introduced a few new characters into the clone mix. Among these characters includes an Ayo Edebiri-voiced Harriet Tubman, who is Frida’s best friend in the second season.
1 As of Yet (2021) - 100%
The 2021 American comedy As of Yet is a unique film due to its scenes happening through digital diaries and video calls.
The film follows Naomi (Taylor Garron) as she navigates the coronavirus pandemic with a troubling roommate, Sara (Eva Victor), and a kindling connection with Reed (Amir Kahn), whom she met on a dating app. Ayo Edebiri is also starring in the film as Khadijah, another one of Naomi’s close friends.
The relatively quiet film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2021, before premiering at the Philadelphia Film Festival later that year. The film received critical acclaim from festival attendees, and currently sits as Ayo Edebiri’s highest rated film on Rotten Tomatoes at 100% from 7 critic reviews.
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