Michaela Coel

Personal context

Summary

Michaela Coel is a British actor, writer, and director known for creating and starring in Chewing Gum and I May Destroy You. Her work often explores sex, faith, consent, and the lives of black women in contemporary Britain. In her 2018 MacTaggart lecture, she described racism and sexism in television and called attention to the barriers facing black women in the industry; she also said that her character’s queerness drew her to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. In a 2016 interview, she called herself “a Corbyn girl.” Publicly confirmed relationships with men are reported, but no public self-identification of her sexuality is on record.