Zephani Idoko

Zephani Idoko is a Nigerian-American actress best known for her starring role as Abena in Horror film The Unsettling and her supporting role as Sallay in Nikyatu Jusu's Nanny, which won the top award (The Grand Jury Prize) at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. She also plays Stephanie on the Starz show Power book II: Ghost and Ashley on HBO Max's Gossip Girl^[1]

Zephani Idoko
Born	(1994-03-17) March 17, 1994 (age 31) Lagos, Nigeria
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2016–present
Spouse	David Doss ​ (m. 2019)​

Personal life

Zephani Idoko was born in Lagos, Nigeria to parents Deborah and John Idoko as the youngest of six siblings. After moving to the United States, she earned a BFA degree studying Acting under Diane Baker at the Academy Of Art in San Francisco, California. Idoko began working as an actor and model while still an undergraduate. She met her husband during her time in San Francisco and the two were married 4 years later in 2019, and now live in New York City.

Career

Shortly after her graduation and move to New York City, She was cast in the starring role of Abena in the independent psychological horror film The Unsettling^[2] which screened at international film festivals in Australia, The UK and The US in 2021 and 2022^[3][4][5]l^[6][7] before its release on February 10, 2023 in select theaters and on Apple TV+, Prime Video and other streaming platforms. Idoko's most recent TV appearances are in the recurring role of Stephanie in Starz show Power Book II: Ghost and her role in the 2nd season of HBO Max's Gossip Girl.

In June 2021, it was announced that Idoko was cast in the supporting role of Sallay in Blumhouse and Amazon Studios' psychological Horror film, Nanny,^[8] Which Premiered at Sundance Film Festival^[9][10] 2022 and won the Grand Jury Prize^[11] in the dramatic competition. Idoko has discussed the film and her career in a number of interviews, including her feature in Photobook Magazine.^[12] and with OkayAfrica^[13] Nanny screened in the Special Presentations category at TIFF in September 2022^[14] and at several other festivals including BFI London Film Festival,^[15][16] AFI FEST^[17][18] and AFRIFF^[19] in Lagos Nigeria, where Idoko was born. Nanny was released in movie theaters November 23, 2022,^[20][21] followed by a Prime Video streaming release on December 16, 2022.^[22]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2016	Die Dopelganger	Salon Receptionist	Short Film
2017	Offsprung	Make-up Artist	Short film
2018	Can Collector	Michelle	Short film
2019	A Woman of No Importance	Yosola	Short Film. Formerly titled Ismat. Screened at 2019 Columbia University Film Festival[23] Premiered at Flickerfest 2022.[24] Official selection at Short of the Week[25] in 2022 Released as Vimeo Staff Pick
2021	The Unsettling	Abena	Screened at festivals in Australia, the United Kingdom, NYC and Chattanooga in 2021 and 2022. General release February 10, 2023.
2022	Nanny	Sallay	Winner: Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival 2022

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2018	Bad Henry	Caroline Love	Investigation Discovery film
2018	Stalked by My Doctor: Patient's Revenge	Victoria	Lifetime TV movie
2019	Deadly Mile High Club	Penelope	Lifetime TV movie
2021	Power Book II: Ghost	Stephanie	1 episode
2022	Gossip Girl	Ashley	Season 2 episode 6