Njambi McGrath is a Kenyan-British comedian, actor, and author. She writes primarily in comedy and memoir, and is best known for her Radio 4 series Becoming Njambi and Black Black. McGrath is the author of the memoir Through the Leopard's Gaze (2020) and her debut novel, Rinsing Mũkami's Soul (2024), which explores themes of gender, revenge, and societal expectations. She won the Hackney Empire New Act of the Year (NATYS) in 2019.
Njambi McGrath was born in Riara Ridge, near Limuru, Kenya. She grew up speaking English, Swahili, and Gikuyu. Njambi later moved to the United Kingdom and then to New York, where she met her husband, Dave. She currently lives in Ealing with him and their two daughters.
“Growing up in Kenya shaped much of my perspective on storytelling and performance,” she has said.
McGrath began performing stand-up comedy professionally in 2010. By 2012, Fabulous magazine named her one of five female comedians to watch. The same year, she was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Black Comedy Awards.
She reached the final heat of the 2013 BBC New Comedy Awards and the first heat in 2014. McGrath has performed annually at the Edinburgh Fringe since 2013, with shows including African in New York — Almost Famous, Breaking Black, Accidental Coconut, and Black Black. Accidental Coconut (2019) examined parallels between Brexit rhetoric and Kenya’s fight for independence and was featured on BBC Two Edinburgh Nights.
Her BBC Radio 4 series Becoming Njambi (2021) was chosen as Comedy of the Week. She has also appeared on The Leak, Breaking the News, Loose Ends, Saturday Live, Front Row, BBC Radio 5 Live, and BBC World Service.
McGrath has been a political commentator on Channel 4, LBC, and Broadcasting House. She has appeared on BBC One’s Sunday Morning Live and her work has been profiled in the Guardian, Evening Standard, Daily Telegraph, Daily Nation, and other publications.
Her memoir Through the Leopard’s Gaze (2020), published by Jacaranda Books, was optioned for a six-part TV drama. David Lammy MP described it as “Written with poetic fortitude… a stunning portrayal of human brutality and human resistance.”
Njambi McGrath’s debut novel, Rinsing Mũkami's Soul (2024), examines societal responses to gender and first-love mistakes in Kenya. Mũkami, a scholarship student, faces expulsion, pregnancy, and scandal, prompting her to seek revenge.
The novel explores why young women are often left to defend themselves in societies that prefer silence. McGrath has described it as an attempt to question the validity of fury as a tool for reclaiming justice.
Her comedy specials are available on NextUp, Amazon, and Apple, and she has performed at Soho Theatre.
Photo credit: Steve Ullathorne (www.njambimcgrathcomedy.co.uk)
Njambi McGrath was born in Riara Ridge, near Limuru, Kenya. She grew up speaking English, Swahili, and Gikuyu. Njambi later moved to the United Kingdom and then to New York, where she met her husband, Dave. She currently lives in Ealing with him and their two daughters.
“Growing up in Kenya shaped much of my perspective on storytelling and performance,” she has said.
McGrath began performing stand-up comedy professionally in 2010. By 2012, Fabulous magazine named her one of five female comedians to watch. The same year, she was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Black Comedy Awards.
She reached the final heat of the 2013 BBC New Comedy Awards and the first heat in 2014. McGrath has performed annually at the Edinburgh Fringe since 2013, with shows including African in New York — Almost Famous, Breaking Black, Accidental Coconut, and Black Black. Accidental Coconut (2019) examined parallels between Brexit rhetoric and Kenya’s fight for independence and was featured on BBC Two Edinburgh Nights.
Her BBC Radio 4 series Becoming Njambi (2021) was chosen as Comedy of the Week. She has also appeared on The Leak, Breaking the News, Loose Ends, Saturday Live, Front Row, BBC Radio 5 Live, and BBC World Service.
McGrath has been a political commentator on Channel 4, LBC, and Broadcasting House. She has appeared on BBC One’s Sunday Morning Live and her work has been profiled in the Guardian, Evening Standard, Daily Telegraph, Daily Nation, and other publications.
Her memoir Through the Leopard’s Gaze (2020), published by Jacaranda Books, was optioned for a six-part TV drama. David Lammy MP described it as “Written with poetic fortitude… a stunning portrayal of human brutality and human resistance.”
Njambi McGrath’s debut novel, Rinsing Mũkami's Soul (2024), examines societal responses to gender and first-love mistakes in Kenya. Mũkami, a scholarship student, faces expulsion, pregnancy, and scandal, prompting her to seek revenge.
The novel explores why young women are often left to defend themselves in societies that prefer silence. McGrath has described it as an attempt to question the validity of fury as a tool for reclaiming justice.
Her comedy specials are available on NextUp, Amazon, and Apple, and she has performed at Soho Theatre.
Photo credit: Steve Ullathorne (www.njambimcgrathcomedy.co.uk)
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