By Prudence Minayo
In the past few years, little known comedians have become an internet sensation. Long gone are the days when mainstream media was the only way to promote comedy. Thanks to social media, a lot of comedians have had the chance to showcase their talents. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, it devastated the world as many countries went into lockdown. However, it also provided online content creators with the chance to create and market content more. Many creatives in Kenya have risen to fame during this period including Elsa Majimbo. Elsa Majimbo is an online comedian whose videos went viral during the global pandemic.
The funny lass managed to keep fans entertained through her comic monologues that brought out her humor. She became famous not only in Kenya but also in South Africa where she is nicknamed Mpho which translates to gift in Tswana language. As much as she loves Kenya and is proud to be from the country, she has stated she prefers living in South Africa. This is because the South Africans support her talent more than Kenyans. In fact, she received a lot of backlash from Kenyans when she was starting out.
This article provides little snippets into her life, enabling fans to know her more.
Age
The online content creator was born on 29th June 2001 making her 19-years-old as of 2020.
Education
Elsa pursued and completed her high school education in Kibich. She then proceeded to Strathmore University where she is pursuing a course in journalism.
Background
The funny girl comes from a Christian family. She was born and raised in a family of four siblings in Nairobi. In the beginning, her father was not happy with her showcasing her talent, especially, after a social media user told her to post nudes in order to become famous. This did not sit well with him and he asked Majimbo to stop posting videos online and behave like the Christian she was raised to become. All the young lady did was block all those connected to her father as she continued posting the videos. However, her father is now supportive of her comedy.
Comedy
Majimbo started posting short satirical videos in 2016 but stopped until 2019. She became famous during the lockdown after her videos went viral. The most famous including one where she was mocking those who said they missed her, telling them she doesn’t miss them as there is no reason to do so.. She did not expect her videos to go viral as she told CNN in a past interview.
“ It was the time we had just gotten to lockdown, and everyone was telling me they missed me, and I literally like being away from people, so I thought to myself ‘ Let me make videos about that,” she explained.
“I did not expect all the attention, but it happened, and I am glad it did,” she added.
The videos went viral to a point where some were featured on comedy central, an American owned cable station. and she received information from famous people, such as Lupita Nyong’o and the current Miss Universe Zonzibini Tunzi.
In most of the videos, she can be seen crunching on chips and using tiny 90s glass as her props.
“In the first video that trended, I ate chips. A lot of people seemed to like it. There were a lot of comments asking me to do it again. So, I was like, OK whatever, and I did it again,” she revealed on CNN.
In an interview with the Guardian, she revealed that the persona in her videos is her real self.
“It is me, but it’s not me that I portray to everyone. It’s the me that I portray to the people closest to me,” she told the Guardian.
Elsa further explained that this side of her was free to express her thoughts and whatever she feels. She doesn’t even show this side to her family as they did not like her choice at first.
Endorsements
Thanks to her online comedy, the creative has landed some lucrative deals. She got a chance to work with Mac cosmetics and also bagged a deal with Rihanna’s company Fenty.
The comedy has opened so many doors for her that she feels, her career choice will be different. She wants to venture to advertising as well as the showbizz industry.
Award
In September, it was revealed that she had been nominated for the E! People’s Choice Awards in the African Social Star Category where the competition was with other 8 nominees.
“ So honored to be the youngest ever nominated for E! People’s Choice Awards, African Social Star Category. Vote by tweeting both #ElsaMajimbo and #AfricanSocialStar in one tweet. Vote up to 25 times a day!” she tweeted.
