Rising Stars: These Are The UK Entertainment Industry’s Women To Watch In 2020

Being a woman in the entertainment industry is not for the faint-hearted.

A sense of loneliness is often experienced due to the continuous othering in this male-dominated environment. Our opinions and work are often undervalued by our peers and let’s not even get started on the discrimination and sexual harassment faced in the industry.

Yet through these adversities, we push through and insist on creating a space for us.

In celebration of International Women’s Day, we at IndustryMe have compiled a list of 5 women who we believe have rocked the industry and are fast becoming game-changers in their own right.

Teeyana Aromi

Name: Teeyana Aromi 

Occupation: Head of Content/Producer @SpotlightFirst/Production @NakedTv/ContentCreator

You may not be aware of her name but you have definitely watched a show she has played a hand in producing.

With an infectious smile and a drive to succeed in everything she does, Teeyana is quickly gaining prominence in the scene. Passionate to bring Black British culture to our digital screens, Teeyana has co-produced a lot of Black British content most notably being Krept and Konan’s “The Rap Game”. Desiring to see an increase in women from diverse backgrounds entering the TV world, Teeyana has often used her platform to educate those at the beginning stage of their TV career. Her YouTube channel -Teeyana Aromi- is filled with videos documenting her journey in TV production and recently she hosted her first-ever masterclass – BEYOND YOUR NETWORK: What’s Next?

Those who attended the masterclass left with new knowledge on personal branding, CV techniques, and a sense of excitement for their future. 

Having just recently wrapped up production on Harry Redknapp’s new ITV show ‘Sandbanks Summer’, we for one can’t wait to see the next milestones Teeyana will make in her career.

Mimi The Blogger

Name: Minou Itseli

Occupation: Music Journalist @MixtapeMadness @MusicwithM @RedbullMusicUK

The music journalism world is very much influenced by male opinions, so it’s refreshing to see a woman hold her own among her male peers.

In 2016, Mimi first made her debut in the journalism scene with her blog – MusicWithM. 

Her writing exemplified her love for music and it became very apparent that the girl really knew her stuff. Mondays were less bleak as now we looked forward to Mimi giving us some fresh material for our daily playlists with her ‘MusicMondays’. 

Naturally, Mimi began to garner attention for her blogs and cleverly she brought her knowledge to Twitter. If you were in need of some music education, then Mimi was the person to follow. Gaining notoriety for her music breakdowns, Mimi’s viral music threads have now become known for sparking wider music debates on cross platforms – just ask  Joe Budden.

Taking a brief break from Twitter, the queen of breakdowns has returned bigger and better. Not only has she written her first piece for RedBullMusicUK but a little birdy told us that she may soon be making her debut on YouTube with her very own show. This year is set to be a big year for Mimi and we cannot contain our excitement for her.

Nadia Jae

Name: Nadia Jae

Occupation: Host @1xtra/ Resident DJ @boxpark/ RnB Queen @crnbonline

A professional dancer until the age of 18, the beautiful Nadia Jae has always had a love for music. 

Despite visioning herself as a weather girl, Nadia found herself stumbling into the presenting world. Applying to a StarNow radio advert, she got her first taste in broadcasting after being given her first slot on Westside Radio London. A multi-talented queen, Nadia decided to follow in her father’s steps and take a stab at the decks. After Djing for just six months, her mixes gained attention from huge platforms such as the BBC.

Despite the successes she has experienced, Nadia has been very forthcoming about the difficulties she has faced in balancing both her work life and her home life. A dilemma that many women in the industry can relate to, she has admitted that financially it had been difficult pursuing a career in the profession whilst raising her son. Not only has she overcome this adversity, but Nadia has proven that motherhood and a profession can coexist peacefully among each other once you have mastered the art of prioritizing.

Nadia’s career has gone from strength to strength. Just last year she secured her very own weekend breakfast slot on BBC Radio 1Xtra and this year it looks like she set to reach bigger heights.

Remel London

Name: Remel London

Occupation: TV Presenter @WhatsuptvUK / Radio Presenter & Host @CapitalXTRA

Since graduating with a BA Degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Leeds in 2010, Remel London has had her heart set on becoming both radio and TV personality. 

Securing her first gig as a runner on Capital FM Breakfast Show, her sense of humour and warm personality quickly gained favour with her colleagues and soon enough new opportunities began to open up for the upcoming presenter. As of late Remel’s portfolio now includes Link Up TV, Channel AKA, her own regular weekend slot on Capital Xtra and a host of mainstream TV networks.

Passionate about underrepresented communities being given their just dues, Remel has founded and hosted a number of events such as the – ‘Show Room’ to support the emerging talent across the UK. A three-part series executively produced by Remel, The Show Room offered a platform for new talent such as Daj Jordan, Status LDN and Afrika Dancers to showcase their work.

Remel London has rapidly built a solid reputation for herself and we look forward to seeing her future endeavours this year.

Alexandra Ampofo

Name: Alexandra Ampofo

Occupation: Writer/Diversity leader @LiveNationUK/Touring +concert promoter @MetropolisMusic/Founder @AcousticLiveUK @WomenConnectUK

Despite studying business at university, music has always been Alexandra’s first love. 

Desiring to make her mark on the events scene, Alexandra decided to dedicate five years to programming and hosting numerous events including Brick Lane Festival.  In 2013 Acoustic Live was born, an award-winning events company dedicated to developing acoustic events. Past performers have included CoverDrive and Fleur East. After becoming part of the LiveNation Team in 2018, Alexandra set her sights on improving equality in and outside of the creative industry for all employees. Alongside her colleagues, Alexandra started the ‘Embrace Nation’, a cultural hub working towards racial equality in and outside the workplace and is a learning hub for all employees

Additionally, Alexandra has played an important role in fostering a positive environment for women in the creative industries. Co-founding Women Connect in 2019, Alexandra and her peers birthed an all-inclusive space where women could network and discuss their experiences in the creative profession.

In a short space of time, Alexandra has managed to accomplish a number of her goals and we can only imagine what her next plans are for this year.

Honourable Mentions: 

Bianca Bre

Name: Bianca Bre

Occupation: Label Manager @NQ Talent & Entertainment Company

In the words of Ms Bre – “New year New levels”.

A Brit school alumni with a degree in Music and Entertainment industry management, Bianca Bre has entered the new year with a big bang!

Recently being promoted to management position of UK artist Aitch, Bianca is the perfect example that hard work really does pay off.

Rebecca Judd

Name: Rebecca Judd

Occupation: Producer/Host/Content Creator

A journey that started way back in 2012 on a BBC work experience scheme, it has been a joy to see the strides that Rebecca has been making in her career.

When we heard that she had joined Apple Music’s Beats 1 family, bottles of champagne were popped at once!

8 years of hard work has led to this moment and we wish both Rebecca and Bianca success in their new roles.

Our top 5 is subjective and if we were to include all the women that had inspired us our list would most likely compile of 1000 names. On behalf of the IndustryMe team, we would like to wish you a happy International Women’s Day and encourage you to drop your top 5 list in the comment section down below.