Actress Queen Ajima is Making Waves Starring in Multiple Movies Set to Release in 2023
“I’m not in this industry to become famous. I just want to create art, have fun, and get lost in the characters I play in order to make the audience feel something.”
By: Omar Cook
Actress Queen Ajima is taking the entertainment industry by storm! Queen is a multi-talented artist most known for her roles in known HULU's All I Want for Christmas, Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story, and BET's Haus of Vicious". Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Queen is a first generation American whose parents migrated from Sierra Leone.
Queen has been involved in performing arts since she was 8 years old where she first starred in Shakespeare's "Henry IV: Part 1 & 2". From there, Ajima slowly moved on to dance, modeling, and writing over the years. Her modeling credits include LA, NY, Africa, and Swim Fashion Week just to name a few while she has also danced for multiple recording artists such as Jhene Aiko's "Lyin King" music video.
Aside from dancing and modeling, Queen has starred in multiple independent films and commercials. Her next two upcoming projects are two major independent movies, Bora and LA Undercover, which she stars in, that are set to hit the film festival circuit and streaming this year.
With so much on her plate already, Ajima is taking to her career to the next level as she is set to make her directorial debut in her comedic, short action film which she also wrote called Capture The Flag. Ajima received her Bachelor’s in Psychology from California State University, Northridge, which has helped her in her career to better understand the characters she plays. Even with such a demanding schedule, Ajima finds time to pour into herself and her hobbies which include dancing, working out, cooking, karaoke, and more dancing!
It’s just a matter of time before you won’t get enough of hearing this upcoming star’s name!
Queen Ajima stars in the movie, LA Undercover
We talked with Queen ajima in an exclusive interview, check it out below!
How long have you been acting and how did you get started?
Queen Ajima: I have been acting for the last 4 years. I honestly started off in the entertainment industry modeling. A friend convinced me to go to an open call for a fashion show our sophomore year of college and I ended up getting booked as a model. After that I continued in the model world for a few years and was able to do LAFW, NYFW, Swim Week, Africa Fashion Week and was even the face of Ankara Fest representing Sierra Leone, where my family is from. At the same time, I was heavily in the dance world as well.
Most people know that dance is my first love, as I’ve been dancing since I was maybe 8 years old. I was able to work with artists such as Jhene Aiko and Tank thanks to some amazing friends who choreographed for them. Slowly but surely, I ventured off in acting. I always wanted to act, but I was such an extremely shy person and was afraid of others’ opinions. Once I took an improv class and learned to laugh at myself after a truly hilarious experience, I felt confident about pursuing a career in acting and continued with commercial, on camera, and scene study classes.
Who has been your biggest influence in helping you along your journey and who are your favorite entertainers?
Queen Ajima: I’d say Phaedra Harris has been my biggest influence in helping me along my journey. She was the first acting class I took where I was truly pushed, challenged, and felt made me a stronger actor and person. She has worked with me in class and privately, been very blunt with me which only strengthened me as a person and has been very motivating and supporting towards me in my career. I’m very thankful to have met, worked, and been booked by her as well!
My favorite entertainers would have to be Viola Davis, Angela Bassett, Margot Robbie, Regina King, Chadwick Boseman (R.I.P.) and Michael B. Jordan.
What projects do you have coming up?
Queen Ajima: I have an action, comedic short film where I’m making my directorial debut on called Capture the Flag that I will be submitting into film festivals. I have a feature film called Bora that has been accepted into a few film festivals and will also be on two streaming services that will be announced later this month. I also have another feature film called LA Undercover that has also been accepted into film festivals that I’m very excited to have been a part of!
What do you feel is your favorite role and why? Do you have a dream role?
Queen Ajima: My favorite role would have to be my character Chantae I played on All I Want for Christmas that’s out on HULU now. I’ve always wanted to play a character that was the complete opposite of me in real life, so in this case it was a crazy, mean girl. I really had fun on that set playing her. My dream role is me being casted in a Marvel film! I love action as I have been training in fight choreography for nearly 5 years, so my goal is to be a lead in a Marvel film where I can do a majority of the fight scenes myself. Whether it’s in a Black Panther film or a new character that hasn’t been introduced yet, that is my dream!
What motivates you and how do you define success?
Queen Ajima: Seeing my friends achieving their goals and dreams motivates me like crazy! Seeing their wins lights a fire under me, because if they’re winning, I am too. It makes me feel like I’m that much closer to achieving mine as well. It makes me work even harder to stay focused.
Transparently speaking, I’m still trying to figure out how I define success. Lately I’ve been struggling with imposter syndrome, where I’m thinking what I’m doing and achieving isn’t enough or where it should be. Which is why strengthening my mind in reading, workouts, healthy eating, and meditation for myself has been a high priority for me lately versus when I was doing it for others. I’d say I’m taking the steps towards being successful, which I’d like to believe will be defined as happiness for me.
What sacrifices have you had to make, to make your dream a reality?
Queen Ajima: I think every creative sacrifices a lot in different ways, but I don’t want to use that word. If you’re sacrificing, you’re giving up one thing to gain another. They weren’t sacrifices to me, they were specific choices I made with the support of my loved ones to help elevate myself and my career. I chose not to get enough sleep because I would work at my part time job for 12hr shifts days in a row to maintain a steady income just to come home after and study lines just to be up the next morning for work again. I’ve chosen to not have a social life at times, where friends would tell me they can never reach me because my phone is on silent most of the day just so I can focus on classes and becoming a stronger actor. Thankfully my friends have always been supportive because they see the results. Every choice I make is always for a specific reason and the biggest choice I make is learning to put myself first and take care of me mentally, physically, and spiritually to make my dream a reality.
What aspect of working in the industry excites you most, and what aspect discourages you the most?
Queen Ajima: I’d say being able to create and become a different character on each set is what excites me the most about this industry. Seeing how women and people of color are treated in this industry compared to their white counter parts when it comes to roles, pay, and sometimes support in this industry is what discourages me. I’m grateful to have family and friends that continue to encourage me no matter what though.
Where do you see yourself and your career in 10 years?
Queen Ajima: I envision myself not only the lead in films and tv series, but also creating more projects and directing them myself! I want to also be so business savvy in this industry that I’m able to create opportunities for others to achieve their goals with my own production company, and my creative think tank sessions, and my database for creatives. I see myself being successful on screen and behind the scenes.
What advice would you give to other up and coming artists or people looking to break into the entertainment industry?
Queen Ajima: Do your research and don’t be afraid to ask for help. People want to help others that help themselves and do the work. You can’t come into this business asking someone how this works. If you truly want to be in this world, you must do the work, do the research, look up everything you can and get as many questions as you have answered on your own first. After that, don’t be afraid to ask even more questions, because at least then you’re already prepared and understand more than when you decided to make this jump into this industry. Breaking into the entertainment industry is difficult, and can sometimes be disheartening, but so long as you have a pure love for it, you’ll be rewarded in so many ways. Whether it’s finding a tribe that have the same drive as you, encountering other creatives that motivate you to create on your own, picking up new gems you can apply to your daily life, to eventually celebrating your wins (your bookings) no matter the size!
Is there anything else you would like people to know about you or your art?
Queen Ajima: What fills up my cup is being able to be in the world of art, creating, performing, imagining, etc. Make sure to fill up your cup with what makes you happy. Don’t think, just do.
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