Kenyan actress Gathoni Mutua spent her early years in Ivory Coast, where she was exposed to various cultures and learned French. Born into an artsy family, she felt drawn to the entertainment industry, but her parents discouraged her, saying that she couldn’t eat art. She began university studying International Relations but quickly left to take advantage of scholarship opportunities that enabled her to study music and theatre in Canada and California. After graduation, she moved into a rundown apartment in Los Angeles and took paid audience member jobs before getting cast as an extra in a Christian film, Woodlawn. Her visa expired in 2015, and she returned to Kenya, where she found herself cheated out of her first job. To support herself, she began teaching theater to students in an international school, wrote a musical, and didn’t act until she auditioned and won a lead role in the Kenyan drama series, This is Life. Her most recent role is in the second season of Single Kiasi, which follows three women in Nairobi as they navigate their personal and professional lives. Mutua is happy to be a multi-hyphenate and to have laid a strong foundation in her field.
From Hollywood to Home: Gathoni Mutua’s Acting Journey
