Kyeiwaa

Rose Akua Attaa Mensah, known as Kyeiwaa, is a Ghanaian actress and one of the best-known faces of Kumawood, the Twi-language film industry based in Kumasi. She took her screen name from the Kyeiwaa film series, in which she played the title role.

Early life and music

She was born on 25 May 1963 and comes from Mampong Nsuta in the Ashanti Region. She had little formal schooling, something she has spoken about openly. Before acting she was a singer with the African Brothers band, led by Nana Kwame Ampadu.

Acting

Her first screen work was in the Akan Drama series and the Cantata TV drama on the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation. Kumawood films followed, and the Kyeiwaa series, which ran to twelve parts, made her one of the most recognised actresses in the country. Her films include Kyeiwaa 1 to 5 (2007), Akurasi Burgers 1 to 3 (2008), 2016 1 and 2 (2010), B14 (2012) and The Code of Money and Death (2013), as well as Ananse Spider-Man, Akonoba, Cross Road, Abebrese and Ogyam.

Awards

She won Best Actress in a Leading Role (Local Language) in 2011, shared a Best Actress in a Comedy award, and was honoured at the 2015 Favourite Actors Awards.

Life in the United States

In 2015 she moved to the United States, where she worked for a time cooking banku at a Ghanaian restaurant. On 25 July 2020 she married Michael Kissi Asare in Worcester, Massachusetts. In November 2024 she urged young Ghanaians to put education first, saying her own lack of schooling had made life in America harder.