5 famous people you didn’t know are from Sierra Leone

Franklyn Ajaye

The 69-year-old stand-up comedian and actor was born in Brooklyn, New York, but raised in Los Angeles by a Sierra Leonean father and an American mother. Dropping out of law school to pursue stand-up comedy full time, Ajaye was popular in the 1970s and also wrote for Emmy-nominated shows and played jazz. He has appeared in the films Car Wash, Stir Crazy, and Bridesmaids. He received two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Writing for his work on In Living Color and Politically Incorrect. In 2011 he appeared in the hit comedy Bridesmaids, playing the father of Maya Rudolph’s character, Lillian.