Who is Ilfenesh Hadera?
Ilfenesh was born in Harlem, New York City USA, on 1 December 1985 – her zodiac sign is Sagittarius, she holds American nationality and is of European and Ethiopian descent. She’s an actress who’s appeared in close to 20 movies and TV series, perhaps known best for her portrayal of Stephanie Holden in the 2017 action crime comedy movie “Baywatch”. It was directed by Seth Gordon, starred Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Zac Efron and Alexandra Daddario, and follows two lifeguards who have discovered that a group of criminals will try to destroy their bay; the movie won five of the 16 awards for which it was nominated.
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Early life, parents and education
Ilfenesh was raised in Harlem by her mother Kim Nichols who works at the non-governmental organization African Services Committee (ASC) as a co-executive director, and her father Asfaha who’s a former Ethiopian refugee, and the founder of ASC.
Ilfenesh became interested in acting while attending The Harlem School of the Arts, appearing in various plays performed both at the school and at a local theatre. She then moved on to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, from which she matriculated in 2003.
Ilfenesh continued her education at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA)/King’s College, London in England, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2007, and then with a Master of Fine Arts degree in text and performance in 2009.
Prior to launching her career in the film industry, Ilfenesh spent around 10 years working as a waitress, starting intermittently at the age of 15.
Roles in movies
Ilfenesh has appeared in five movies (including “Baywatch”) and 13 TV series. She made her debut film appearance with her portrayal of Hazel in the 2010 family comedy drama “1/20”, and the following year saw her play Saalinge, in the drama “Da Brick”. It was written by John Ridley, directed by Spike Lee, and starred Eric Arriola, Joseph Basile and Sakinah Bingham; the film follows the early life of Mike Tyson, and received mostly negative reviews.
In 2013, Ilfenesh played Judy in the popular action mystery drama “Oldboy”, directed by Spike Lee, and which starred Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen and Samuel L. Jackson.
It follows a man who has spent 20 years locked in a cell, and who, now that he’s out, wants to find his kidnappers and have his revenge; the movie was nominated for four awards.
Ilfenesh’s only other movie role has been her portrayal of Ms McCloud in the 2015 crime comedy drama “Chi-Raq”, directed by Spike Lee, and which starred Nick Cannon, Teyonah Parris and Wesley Snipes. The movie is based on Aristophanes’ play “Lysistrata”, but is set in modern day Chicago, Illinois; it won four of the 14 awards for which it was nominated.
Roles in TV series
Ilfenesh made her debut TV series appearance in the 2013 pilot episode of the mystery crime drama “The Blacklist”, which went on to become a hit, airing to this day. It’s won three awards, including a Primetime Emmy, while it’s been nominated for 29 other awards.
She gained recognition in 2015, when cast to star as Carmen Febles in the historical mini-series “Show Me a Hero”; it also starred Oscar Isaac and Peter Riegert, and set in 1987 follows the life of Mayor Nick Wasicscko; the series won three of the 23 awards for which it was nominated. Ilfenesh played supporting characters in a couple of series in 2015 and 2016, including the action drama “Chicago Fire”, the comedy “Difficult People”, and the drama “Conviction”.
In 2016 and 2017, she played Deb Kawi in 20 episodes of the drama “Billions”, while she also appeared in three episodes of the comedy drama “Master of None”, and the 2017 episode “Crosshairs” of the action crime drama “The Punisher”.
The year 2018 saw Ilfenesh play the lead character Kay Daniels in the critically acclaimed mystery crime drama “Deception”, created by Chris Fedak, and which also starred Jack Cutmore-Scott and Lenora Crichlow; it follows a magician who’s helping the FBI solve cases.
Three of Ilfenesh’s most recent roles in TV series have been in 2021, in the episode “What a Co-inky-dick” of the comedy drama “Run the World”, 10 episodes of the crime drama “Godfather of Harlem” (lead role), and the episode “USA Today” of the mystery crime drama “Blue Bloods”.
Other credits
She received special thanks for the 2017 mystery horror movie “Mother!”
Ilfenesh could’ve been seen featured in the TV special “2016 MTV Movie Awards Pre-Show”, and the 2020 documentary mini-series “By Whatever Means Necessary: The Times of Godfather of Harlem”.
She has made a guest appearance in a couple of talk-shows, such as “The Screen Junkies Show”, “Today” and “Entertainment Tonight”.
Love life and fiancé
Ilfenesh prefers to keep the details of her love life to herself, but has still allowed her fans to have a glimpse into it. She started dating Alexander Sorokin sometime in the first half of the 2010s, and they became engaged in 2015; Alexander’s a bartender who’s currently working at New York City’s La Esquina bar.
It’s been quite a long time since Ilfenesh has uploaded a picture of the two of them together onto her Instagram account, and because they apparently haven’t been seen spending time in public together either, some of Ilfenesh’s fans believe that the two have called off their engagement, and have broken up; no evidence has been provided to support these claims, nor has Ilfenesh commented on this.
As of January 2022, she seems to be engaged to Alexander Sorokin, hasn’t married, and doesn’t have children.
Hobbies and other interests
Ilfenesh is quite active on Instagram, and seems to be enjoying the attention which she’s receiving from her more than 250,000 followers. She has uploaded close to 2,000 pictures onto the network, most of which have been taken during her everyday life.
She has five to six training sessions at the gym every week, thus her slim figure; she often uploads pictures and videos of her exercising onto her Instagram account, and sometimes gives her fans advice on working-out and dieting.
Ilfenesh is passionate about travelling, and has been to a couple of US states, for both work and pleasure, while she’s also vacationed in several European countries, including Italy and France.
She’s trying to keep up with all of the latest fashion trends, and thus reads a variety of fashion magazines, including “Elle” and “Esquire”.
Ilfenesh has her own favorite actors and actresses, some of whom are Leonardo DiCaprio, Scarlett Johansson and Julia Roberts, and a couple of her favorite movies include “Catch Me If You Can”, “Lost in Translation” and “The Runaway Bride”.
Age, height and net worth
Ilfenesh’s age is 36. She has long brown hair and brown eyes, her height is 6ft (1.8m) and she weighs around 155lbs (70kgs).
As of January 2022, her net worth has been estimated at over $500,000.
