Big things, they say, come in small packages. That is an apt description when talking about Emmanuella, our focus on OduDiscover today. She’s an internet sensation that is pushing the boundaries of the comedy genre. She may be small in stature but her screen presence eclipses any other person who shares a scene with her. And she’s only just getting started!
A STAR IS BORN
Emmanuella Samuel was born on July 22, 2010, and hails from Imo State in eastern Nigeria. Her birthplace is Port Harcourt, hence her notable Rivers State accent.
She is a YouTube child comedian on Mark Angel YouTube Channel and gained prominence after appearing in the Mark Angel Comedy video My Real Face.
A COMEDIAN EMERGES
Emanuella’s foray into the comedy genre began when she was just five years old. She was on a family holiday and a meeting with Mark Angel would change her life forever.
Mark Angel needed children for his comedy shoot and had organized an audition with kids but the infants found it hard to memorize the lines. This was when he tried Emmanuella and she excelled in spite of the marathon video shoot (a whopping eighteen hours). Mark Angel later revealed that the long shoot was to test the endurance of children.
Emmanuela had to convince her parents to let become a part of the Mark Angel comedy team and they gave their approval.
THE PERFORMER
The comedy actress usually plays the loud-mouthed, witty and often sarcastic child characters in Mark Angel comedy videos. She displays uncanny wisdom that is uncommon with those of her age range.
Her reactions to hilarious incidents often make the viewer wish the camera would just remain on her. She has this magnetic persona that attracts everyone and everything to her.
A major challenge of child acting is to make the act seem natural and filmmakers often find that hard to do as a result of the individuals that are behind the camera who the children may find as a source of distraction. This is not the case with Emmanuella as she performs her roles well, bringing out the thespian within and outshining her fellow actors.
FAME, RECOGNITION & ACCOLADES
In 2015, Emmanuella won the G-Influence Niger Delta Special Talent Award and This Is Not My Real Face, the comedy skit that made her famous was featured on CNN’s Facebook page and her road to stardom began.
Emmanuella landed a role in a Disney movie in 2018 and was invited to the National Assembly by the then Senate President, Bukola Saraki. The news of the deal with Disney filled her with joy and she said she knew she would go places but had no idea that it would all happen so soon. She joked about hoping to be made presentable for the film.
She won the award for Top Subscribed Creator from YouTube in 2016 at the inaugural edition of the Sub-Saharan African YouTube Awards.
Then performer also clinched the Best Comedienne & Princess of Comedy Awards (AAMMA) and CNN hosted her in November 2016.
Mark Angel Comedy YouTube Channel became the first-ever Nigerian-owned YouTube channel to get a million subscribers and one only has to watch some of the video clips to see why.
Emmanuella is proving that when it comes to making your dreams come true, it can never come too soon and her size hasn’t stopped from going to places where others haven’t gone before.
OduDiscover cherishes such young talents and we know that this gem still has a lot of amazing feats to accomplish. Shine on, Emmanuella!
