Phina Oruche

Phina Oruche is a woman of many talents. She was selected as a gymnast in the pre-Olympic qualifying team, but circumstances beyond her control meant she was unable to complete. It made her determined to never let an opportunity pass her by again and she has held fast to that early promise. She started her career in London, then Paris, as a fashion model, after starting in ID and The Face, then on to the world stage in New York where she worked extensively in American fashion magazines and advertising. She represented The Gap there for five seasons. Then her desire to become an actor made her turn her back on her lucrative modelling career and take a chance on acting.

Phina trained at the Actors Studio where after auditioning for two years, she became a lifetime member, and was trained by Martin Landau, Mark Rydell and Barbara Bain. She then featured in a number of hit shows including NYPD Blue, Nip/Tuck, Charmed, She Spies, Diagnosis Murder and Buffy The Vampire Slayer. However in the UK it was her role as Liberty Baker in Footballers Wives that brought Phina to prominence, whilst also starring simultaneously as Heather Less on The Bill and winning a National Screen Award for Footballers Wives.

Phina is a hugely versatile performer, which she ably demonstrated when impersonating Lauryn Hill for ITV1's Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes. Phina also ran the 2006 London Flora marathon raising funds and awareness for the Anthony Nolan Trust, but later braved the greater challenge of swimming with crocodiles in the Australian jungle in ITV1's I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. Phina is a woman with passion who’s not afraid to state her opinion, using this to her advantage whilst guesting on The Wright Stuff and breakfast television. She has also starred in the US show THE UNIT - David Mamet's hit CBS drama and recently completed the comedy Happy Ever Afters. www.phinaoruche.com She is author of her new autobiography, Liberating Character http://www.amazon.co.uk/Liberating-Character-Phina-Oruche--Mariani/dp/1471088162/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1391765573&sr=1-2&keywords=phina+oruche