Comedian and social media influencer, Jacky Vike, popularly known as Awinja, has seen her career taking a meteoric rise with giant brands scrambling to have her advertise for them. In 2022, she has bagged multimillion gigs to promote East Africa Breweries, Exe Unga, Naivas Supermarket among others.
She was among the celebrities who were sponsored by Odibets for the Qatar FIFA World Cup. The comedian didn’t fail to impress. Dressed in her signature pink dress and with a kamisi overlapping beyond the hem of the dress, she could be seen on the stands shooting comic videos.
In one video, the high-flying comedian teamed up with a Caucasian fan as the pair danced in the stands. She wriggled her waist in a simple move, much to the amusement of her fans as the video went viral on the Kenyan blogosphere.
And this is the reason why brands like Awinja: she is bold, funny and has a huge followership on social media. On Facebook alone, she boasts of over 1.6 million followers and has 1.1 million followers on Instagram.
Fame
Awinja shot to the limelight when she bagged a role in the Papa Shirandula television series. The late Charles Bukeko (Papa Shirandula) awarded her with the opportunity after she impressed in auditions. This is what turned out to be her breakthrough in the competitive entertainment sector.
“The Papa Shirandula show really transformed my life. It allowed me to explore more with the character of Awinja and create a fan base,” she told Standard Media.
After the end of Papa Shirandula show, the actress began recording her skits and posting them online just for self satisfaction. Little did she know that the skits would earn her major endorsements.
Growing up, Awinja knew she was destined for the theatre and began acting while in Sunday school.
She further honed her skills while in high school and after secondary studies she plied her trade with Heartstrings theatre.
The influencer schooled at Media School Africa where she pursued TV production. However, her mother who had single-handedly brought her up wanted her daughter to become an air hostess.
“Mum wanted me to be an air hostess and even enrolled me in a college and paid my fees, but my heart was not there so I would go to Kenya National Theater for rehearsals instead of attending school,” she told the Standard.
Later on, her mother, who worked with the Nairobi City Council loosened her stand and became supportive to her career choice.
Private life
According to various publications, the thespian is married to Sync Media’s Executive Creative Director Alfred Ngachi and the couple is blessed with a son.
