Angelica Nwandu (born May 10, 1990)[1][2] is the founder of the Shade Room (TSR), an Instagram-based media company focused on celebrity gossip. The site has since branched out into covering politics and focusing on Black culture news. The Shade Room has over 20 million subscribers across all platforms. Nwandu was dubbed "The Oprah of our generation" by Refinery29[3] and a "celebrity culture savant" by Complex. Time magazine named TSR in the 30 most influential on the internet in 2016. The New York Times called the Shade Room "Instagram's TMZ".[4]
Angelica Nwandu | |
|---|---|
 Nwandu in 2020 | |
| Born | May 10, 1990 |
| Occupation | Online Black celebrity gossip |
| Years active | 2014-present |
| Known for | Founder, the Shade Room |
Early life and education edit
Angelica Nwandu was born in 1989 in Los Angeles, California, to Nigerian parents.[citation needed] She graduated from Loyola Marymount University.[5]
Career edit
The Shade Room edit
In 2016, Forbes named Nwandu to its 30 Under 30 list, saying she "revolutionized celebrity gossip" with the founding of the Shade Room.[6] Cosmopolitan reports that the Shade Room's followers across platforms now total more than eight million people.[7] TechCrunch named her to its list of "18 Female Founders Who Killed It in 2015"[8] and BuzzFeed says Nwandu is "figuring things out faster than everyone else."[9]
Film edit
Nwandu has also been a Sundance fellow and Time Warner HBO fellow 2014[10] selected for the January 2014 Screenwriters Lab.[11] The project, developed with co-writer Jordana Spiro, is called Night Comes On. It premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival where it won the NEXT Innovator award.[12] Samuel Goldwyn Films acquired the film for distribution, with a simultaneous theatrical and VOD release set for August 3, 2018.[13]
References edit
- ^ Abumere, Princess (May 10, 2017). "5 things you should know about the Shade Room founder". pulse.ng. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- ^ "Today is my bday". www.instagram.com. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
- ^ Davis, Allison P. (October 21, 2019). "How I Get It Done: Angelica Nwandu, Founder and CEO of The Shade Room". The Cut. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
- ^ Wortham, Jenna (April 14, 2015). "Instagram's TMZ". The New York Times.
- ^ Titus, Alex (February 3, 2016). "Step Into #TheShadeRoom With Angelica Nwandu". NBC News.
- ^ Inverso, Emily. "Anjelica Nwandu, 25 - In Photos: 2016 30 Under 30: Media". Forbes.
- ^ Wood Rudulph, Heather (June 20, 2016). "How I Started My Own Company Using My Instagram Account". Cosmopolitan.
- ^ Loizos, Connie (December 22, 2015). "18 Female Founders Who Killed It In 2015". Tech Crunch. AOL. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
You might not have heard of Angie Nwandu yet, but you can bet investors are paying close attention to her nascent but fast-growing media company, The Shade Room. Started in March 2014 as a personal Instagram account of Nwandu, the 25-year-old has managed to become a hugely popular purveyor of black celebrity gossip, taking on older, more established competitors with a small staff and very flexible ideas about where she wants to take her business next.
- ^ Shafrir, Doree (December 21, 2015). "The Shade Room Is Coming For The Gossip Industry's Wig". BuzzFeed.
- ^ D'Amour, Zon (May 5, 2016). "Who Is Angelica Nwandu?". Los Angeles Sentinel.
- ^ Obenson, Tambay A. (December 19, 2013). "Angelica Nwandu's 'Night Comes On' + Ryan Koo's 'Manchild' Are Sundance 2014 Screenwriters Lab Picks". IndieWire.
- ^ Erbland, Kate (June 14, 2018). "'Night Comes On' Trailer: Jordana Spiro and Angelica Nwandu's Sundance Winner Announces Arrival of Big New Talents". IndieWire. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
- ^ "The Shade Room Founder Angelica Nwandu Joins Hollywood Ranks With Powerful New Film 'Night Comes On'". Essence. Retrieved June 24, 2018.