ZOOT first met Tolula Adeyemi — actress, model, DJane, activist, irrepressible force — in 2009, back when she was forging her path in London. Now, nearly 15 years later, based in LA but with the same effervescence shining through, Tolula tells us about her nomadic life, her work in the film and music industry, the modeling business and her passionate support for women and children.
Photos Lauren Cremer
Featuring Tolula Adeyemi
Makeup Jo Sugar using One Skin and Beauty by ADEOLA DIIADEM
Hair Timothy Furssedonn using L’Oréal Pro
Styling Steve Vyse assisted by Tanya Thakore
Fashion Hector Maclean SS24 collection
Studio Joe Giacomet
Interview Leticia Lima
Words Andrea Probosch
Special thanks to Jo, Glam Magazine, Hector and Michaela.
ZOOT first met Tolula in 2009 during London Fashion Week, and her energy and compelling smile left a lasting impression. Thomas Probosch, founder and publisher of ZOOT, took a portrait of Tolula backstage at the A/W09 SARO show—just after getting her makeup done by Jo Sugar. Tolula was a friend of a friend, and amongst many other things, model muse to Vivienne Westwood, DJane, music producer and actress. ZOOT contributing writer Ben Wardle sat down with Tolula in a coffee shop on Edgware Road for an interview, which our editor in chief, David Roberts, titled “Irrepressible”.
Fate strikes twice, as they say. We continued working with Jo Sugar, who stayed friends with Tolula. So when Jo rang in September saying Tolula was in London for a photo shoot with UK Glam Week Magazine, we knew we had to catch up with Tolula again and recreate the scene for 2023 — with Jo on makeup again.
Special thanks go to our London team: beauty editor of Glam Magazine Jo Sugar, photographer Lauren Cremer and hairstylist Tim Furssedonn, who did the shoot for GLAM and for ZOOT. Steve Vyse, fashion editor of Glam, worked with London-based designer Hector Maclean and his SS24 collection to come up with the beautifully intense styling that captures Tolula’s free spirit and fervor.
For this interview, ZOOT reached Tolula virtually, back home in Los Angeles following the shoot. We spoke with her about her family and childhood, the business of modeling, her various artistic endeavors and humanitarian and advocacy work, and how she prioritizes her mental health.
I have been heavily influenced by different cultures and a nomadic life. Which is interesting because my mother comes from a nomadic tribe, the beautiful Fulani tribe. My maternal grandmother was a successful entrepreneur in Nigeria and I think it’s that spirit of entrepreneurialism that I have that I apply to what I do, paired with my art.
— Tolula Adeyemi
ZOOT: Can you tell us about your early life? How did your family and childhood experiences shape your journey into the world of arts and entertainment?
Tolula: The majority of my family are in medicine, military or politics. So the creative bone I think may come from my father and maternal grandmother, even though my father was a doctor and mathematician and my grandmother was an entrepreneur. Perhaps on my fathers side – I didn’t know his parents in my adult life. I was heavily influenced, I think by my time spent living in the English countryside as a child. Patricia Brenninkmeyer is a great family friend, we lived on her farm near Windsor. My father was on the board of one of her foundations, the majority of Patricia’s charity work was done in Africa, there’s a book written on her incredible life and influence. I was privileged to be able to spend my childhood in Africa and on this farm where I learnt ballet, piano, martial arts, was a Brownie, Beaver – haha you name it! It was constant activity. I think paired with my parents’ workaholism.
We then moved to the, United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, as a child. My father was a professor at The University of Dubai and spoke fluent Arabic. I remember being 11 years old and having to cover my arms and legs and especially when we visited places like Kuwait if my father had business. My father grew up in Germany and my brothers lived there in the 70s. I have been heavily influenced by different cultures and a nomadic life. Which is interesting because my mother comes from a nomadic tribe, the beautiful Fulani tribe. My maternal grandmother was a successful entrepreneur in Nigeria and I think it’s that spirit of entrepreneurialism that I have that I apply to what I do, paired with my art. I would need to write a book on my early influences and childhood.
ZOOT: How was your journey into the world of acting and modeling, and what inspired you to pursue a career in these fields?
Tolula: Talking about family, none of my family were supportive of me going into the arts… To begin with of course! Once they saw I was getting somewhere that all changed. But their perspective also shifted back a little with the pandemic and now the union strikes. My mother in particular is wondering if I could take up the medicine and become a nurse at least. My father thought I would become a pediatrician because I’ve always been good with kids. Even when I was a child I was looking after all the babies. I still want to work with children in a different capacity. I was scouted at the Topshop flagship shop in Oxford Circus by Chrissie Castagnetti, founder of Select Models, when I was 15. I was still at school and she said I could model in my school holidays. I went on to Profile Model Management, D1 Models and then Special Bookings at Next Models run by Sarah Leon. Once I started my artistic professional life – acting and DJing. My parents were adamant I study medicine, I was always somewhat rebellious so I kind of wanted to show them that I’m sticking to the artist’s life. I started booking jobs as a model in between school and studies. My parents found out and said I still have to go to University. So I applied to Chelsea College of Art & Design and got accepted. I also studied with The Open University – literature, sociology and The Humanities. I did courses at Mountview Theatre School and at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Rewind a few years before I joined the drama club at school age 11, so I had been bitten by the acting bug quite early on.
ZOOT: Your early career involved setting up and running your own theater company in London. How did that experience shape your artistic vision and where does your passion for Shakespeare come from?
Tolula: At the time I felt I needed to take charge of my career, that it had plateaued (one of the reasons why I went to the US) I love theater, that’s where I started out, where I trained. Age 11 I was in the Drama Club at school and the first play we performed for the school was Shakespare’s As You Like, a musical version. I think of setting up my theater company back then, developing projects and devising one act plays and sketches. It was slightly guerrilla back then, but I learnt a huge amount about the industry, myself, collaborating with other artists. I collaborated with a female comedian/writer called Narin Ozenci. We also recently collaborated on a project just at the beginning of the pandemic 2020, I am working on now. Back then I had no idea my theater company would be training for the present day, I just set up a production company developing and producing content for screen.
I am geared towards female empowerment-based projects and projects that uplift marginalized groups – black indigenous, people of color and women in general. It’s also an umbrella company for my music, everything creative. I remember my agent at the time (the late Gilly Sanguinetti, then Ken McCreddie, now First Artist Partnerships) said I should perform my theater on my own Youtube channel, in a way I wish I did so I had something to show people, especially to the industry folk in the US when I first arrived there. But at the time it didn’t resonate with me putting the shows on Youtube. I think I was worried about the production value at the time, I am very visual so I didn’t want to lose any of the quality because of the budget. Of course now you can produce beautiful content on an ultra-low budget. I think Youtube and social media platforms in general, like Tik Tok too would be perfect to showcase my music, DJing etc rather than the theater I was producing then.
As I mentioned, my first introduction to Shakespeare was in my school’s drama club. At age 11 I was cast in the school’s production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It. It was this wonderful musical version but with all the Shakespearean language, text and drama. The musical numbers were added on and complimented the play in a really unexpected way. I also wrote poetry from an early age. In art class at school I used to sketch and write poems with the sketches. Then I was writing songs for fun and then I went on to being signed to a big management company, I was friends with the owner (who was managing a few pop stars and successful artists in the industry) I was age 15, it was around the time I started modeling. In the music management company I was paired with an A&R guy who at the time was 35-36 years old and his actions towards me were very inappropriate, as if he wanted a relationship with a 15 year old. It was very uncomfortable, so unfortunately I had to leave that opportunity. I did not know how to speak up and tell the person who owned the company who had originally signed me, what happened. So that was that. I think experience has always been in the back of my mind and has been one of, if not the main reason I have always wanted to empower myself within the creative industries and that is why I went on to DJ to be able to take charge of my career.
ZOOT: With such a diverse portfolio in the entertainment industry as an actress, model, DJ and musician, how do these different art forms complement and inspire each other in your work?
Tolula: I feel as if everything I do is very much connected. Music, acting, modeling – it’s just a different way of expressing yourself. I have to say that when I started acting I had to lose some bad habits I picked up from modeling, for example, the way we are critiqued as models, so heavily. Every inch of your body as a model is scrutinized – in a similar way actresses are too, our weight, size, looks, hair color, skin color… but through performance I had to lose that particular inhibition. I love acting in the UK and Europe because of the naturalistic style. I also love a lot of indie American cinema and the big Hollywood cinematic movies. I love a lot of old American films too, the classics. Like I said, DJing really helped me take charge of my career, not just in music but also in film and modeling even though it doesn’t seem connected at all. I really don’t separate anything, to me it is different ways of expressing myself. When I am modeling I am working with the photographer to shape and construct an image, a vision, an ideal. With DJing I feel like I am inspiring, creating a journey through music, I love to dance and love seeing people dance. You can be stressed when you dance, or worried or thinking about your bills. I think your present, it’s freeing. When I am creating music it is similar to creating a vision, a story through music or a biography – whatever you want, possibilities are endless! Through acting it’s a story as well. There have been great lows and great highs, but I am very lucky that I have been able to do what I love and more to come!
ZOOT: You’ve shown your support for the recent SAG-AFTRA strike. How do you believe this strike will impact the future of the industry, especially in terms of the rights and working conditions of actors and artists?
Tolula: Just like in the past, the 1960s, the last big SAG strike when the industry was changing, when the studio system was changing and actors had to re-negotiate how they get paid. With this new technology, a new frontier we’re up against, actors, crew, writers, industry artists deserve to negotiate a fair deal so we’re not taken advantage of. We are not going to go back in time to that big studio machine era where artists have no control over their career and are used up and spat out. No. I had a conversation with someone yesterday who’s trying to get into the industry as a producer. He said, but AI is very useful, I said it is, it’s not that we want to get rid of AI, the point is with every new thing coming out, we have to make sure it’s not abused. I explained for example the internet is very useful, some people live on the internet, but we as humans have had to find ways to constantly regulate the internet so that it’s not being abused. I think in the same way AI needs those regulations. As we speak the Writer’s Strike is wrapping up and the AMPTP have finally agreed on all the points. Artists deserve a fair deal. We all need art and entertainment, the pandemic made it very clear that humans need entertainment, art. Just look at the popularity of Tik Tok and Youtube. The difference is anyone with a camera or a phone can make a channel, I love that. The studios, streamers need artists. I feel like the general public still want to see artists and humans on the screen, theaters, computer screens, mobile phones…
ZOOT: You’ve had a significant journey from London to Hollywood. Can you talk about the different experiences of working in various global entertainment settings and cities and how they have contributed to your growth as an artist?
Tolula: I’ve been lucky to be born and to spend most of my life growing up in London. I’ve also lived in the Middle East and Africa as a child. London is this incredibly diverse cultural hub but it is also in my opinion small when it comes to the entertainment industry, everyone knows each other, which is also comforting. So it is crucial, especially creating entertainment that you branch out to other cities – I started living in New York first and then made the move to LA. New York was an incredible introduction to America. I had spent a little time before in my late teens modeling there but then really living there I felt I was living the dream. DJing all the hot spots – Bungalow 8 NYC (after DJing at Bungalow London for years) modeling New York Fashion Week and editorials and I was studying improv acting at Magnet Theater New York City.
Then I went onto the sunny shores of Los Angeles, I made the leap and didn’t leave LA for 3 years and that’s when I really started to make progress. I was booked and busy for a good solid 4 years up until the pandemic. Los Angeles is one of those transitional cities that if you don’t commit to it they don’t take you seriously, I think. So for some years I forgot about London and Europe and my family visited me in LA, I didn’t leave. I did an Amazon indie film that premiered at the now defunct LA Film Festival, premiered in Cannes, did a horror movie just before the pandemic that’s still to be released. Many commercials and music videos, lots of DJ gigs including Coachella Music Festival which I’ve DJ’d at every year since 2013. Apart from one year when I was cast in a film called Perfect Chemistry so I had to stay back in LA.
I’m now spending more time in London as well, the creative energy here is incredible, London and NYC really bounced back following the pandemic. In some ways you can experience every culture, language, and cuisine in London. If you go to a place like Brixton, London, you can find every type of person living in the same area, I love that. They had the Brixton Pound at one point and it has a great artistic history being the home of many Reggae musicians, David Bowie, Vincent Van Gough. As much as I love places like Mayfair, I love the culture all over London. Also I have to be with my family, I’m very close with my family. LA can be a tough isolating place and I was lucky to have some friends from London who moved there. But I feel since the pandemic people have dispersed. The strikes and inflation have really affected the city. Music scene is still thriving in LA and I have been lucky to work with a great producer. It can be a bubble living there so I’m lucky enough to have the best of both worlds. I definitely value traveling to help with inspiration and creativity. I have that nomadic gene. There’s nothing like discovering and experiencing different cultures and worlds
ZOOT: How do you prioritize and manage your mental health and well-being? And what advice would you give to other artists and professionals facing similar challenges?
Tolula: Managing my mental health is an integral part of my creative practice, my creative life. During the pandemic I dug deep and saw a therapist regularly. I had uncovered a deep traumatic incident or number of incidents that had been a major block in my life for the last 10 years partly contributing to leaving London. It’s a lot more complicated and difficult to express in a few words but I made breakthroughs within my mental health, overcame some untreated trauma that has helped revive my confidence, that I had all those years ago starting out. I think meditation is key. I have to meditate and exercise. It’s so simple but moving your body in whatever way you enjoy- yoga, martial arts. I trained with one of the UK champions of Thai Kick Boxing for 3 years. I was in peak physical fitness and shape. Healthy body, healthy mind. Drinking water, getting sleep, meditating and exercising – it’s crazy, it’s a luxury nowadays with expensive gyms and wellness centers. I think this is what we did as cave people or maybe aliens or whatever different places we’ve come from. I think they were part of everyday life, eat when hungry, sleep when tired, no deadlines or blue screens.
ZOOT: You are a vocal supporter of women and children affected by conflict in war-torn regions. Could you share any projects you’re involved in to address the specific challenges these communities face today? How can individuals interested in supporting these efforts find ways to contribute?
Tolula: My uncle is the retired Doctor General of the Nigerian army, he has fought in the Sudanese war, Boko Haram, countless conflicts and wars. He speaks on TV in regards to health and politica matters and has a road named after him in Lagos! I have a line of military men in my family. Right now the conflict and war in Israel is all anyone is talking about. It’s devastating to see the destruction caused by this terrorist group where innocent Israeli and Palestinian children, babies, women, families, and young people are being tortured and murdered and bombed. Including foreigners trapped in that region. I have been checking in on my Palestinian and Israeli friends, since everyone knows someone who has been murdered. I’ve worked with a lot of children’s charities like The Kids Company. One of my favourite charities is Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières.
I love the work that Go Campaign do, an Los Angeles based charity – they really have transformed so many children’s lives and young people’s lives all around and they’re very transparent with how they use their donations. You really see first hand the difference they make around the world performing life changing surgeries, providing medical care, providing mental health services, during global disasters, the pandemic, war torn regions. Right now I am reading how overwhelmed they are in Israel/Gaza/Hamas during the conflict. There’s no discrimination or politics involved with MSF. I especially support those organizations that support vulnerable children. I am working on a project with organizations to help with underprivileged children. Working directly with nonprofits and charities is a dream of mine too. There are a lot of grassroots organizations that people should look out for, social media is great for finding these through prominent educators and activists. Also checking charity navigator and similar companies for the larger non profits to see what percentage of your donations actually go to the causes and not to marketing or the org’s CEOs.
ZOOT: Your dedication to advocating for female empowerment and support for black women in entertainment is commendable. What steps do you think are essential for achieving meaningful change and progress?
Tolula: Thank you. I really think it starts from the ground up. From the drama and acting schools being more inclusive, casting directors actively being more inclusive. I remember when I started modeling it was the children of famous people who got most of the jobs in London. There was a certain magazine who had an annual Christmas calendar they released with their December issue, similar to the Pirelli calendar and they had a different famous photographer shoot it each year. They consistently cast children of famous parents who were modeling at the time, I’d say 90% were nepo babies. Obviously they can’t help being nepo babies but the people casting needed to spread their net wider. Not saying they didn’t deserve it but it really was just all kids of famous people year in and year out! I feel like it was a case of insecurity on the part of the magazine or laziness not sure. Anyway thank god that’s changed massively in the model industry. Within film tv theater it can start at the casting stage, proactively casting diverse people that reflect real people on the planet who come in different shades and sizes. I think that mindset will trickle up to the directors, the producers, the suits, the execs, the studios. There is a need for more female directors. It’s astonishing that only now we have the Greta Gerwigs and Ava Duvernays just now breaking records as the first. Or should I say only Greta Gerwig and Ava Duvernay. There needs to be more female talent nurtured at early stages the same way men are. I love women. As women we’re constantly having to be so much. We have to be mothers, childbirthers, nurturers, matriarch, career women, nurse, caregiver, sisters/daughters, boss babe, sexy woman, successful woman, not too loud woman, the lady, pretty/beautiful woman, skinny woman, strong woman…. women are strong, but we have to support each other.
ZOOT: Are there any humanitarian or environmental projects or initiatives you’re currently involved in or planning for the future that you’d like to share with our readers, and how can they support or get involved?
Tolula: I am planning a charitable project with a non-profit organization and group of people that I am planning to partner with. I am hoping to launch in the first half of next year. I hope to partner up with one or two charities on a project I will launch next year. I work annually with a group of charities that support causes that are close to my heart. I did some work for The Teen Project some years ago in LA, what they do is absolutely incredible. It was shocking to hear the statistics of homeless children and teenagers on the street just in California, running into the millions. Your readers can follow my social media to see when I will launch the initiative and project. Stay tuned! I want to get involved in more environmental non-profits.
ZOOT: What advice would you offer to aspiring artists and activists who want to make a positive impact, particularly in areas related to female empowerment and supporting marginalized voices in entertainment?
Tolula: The artist’s life is not an easy path, the activist path is even harder. I wouldn’t call myself an activist because I think it’s almost a full time job and it’s so painful and I’m not sure how rewarding it is, unless real change is made. For change to be made everyone has to make the effort, every single person, especially for issues to do with war, conflict, children etc. For aspiring artists I think it’s important that they get into any art form, entertainment for the right reasons, not just to be famous. Art can be for pure enjoyment too, doesn’t have to have a social impact, making people happy through art is underrated. Sounds obvious but I have come across a few aspiring creatives who maybe just want fame, so bad. I would say to them go into reality TV. But if they want to be an artist, just learn the craft, do it everyday. Love it. Even if you don’t think you’re good. Do what makes you feel happy, brings joy not what you’re supposed to do. If I did what I thought I should do I would have been a doctor. My father thought I was going to be a pediatrician because I have always been good with children. He did accept what I am doing towards the end of his life. In regards to making a positive impact, I think uplighting, casting, collaborating, supporting, nurturing, encouraging marginalized groups whenever possible, in whatever capacity artists can through their work.
ZOOT: Can you share with us any specific goals, roles that come up or aspirations you have for the future?
Tolula: I’m working on a music project, which I’m really excited about. I collaborated with a music producer/artist based in Los Angeles, called Quiet Son. This will hopefully launch next year. The silver lining to the pandemic was I was able to focus on my creative projects that had previously languished into non-existence. The recent personal trials and tribulations have meant the project has slowed down but it’s happening slowly but surely. More travel on the books. I’m addicted it’s my drug, I love different cultures and languages. I’ve grown up with so many different types of people from all over the world. Travel, films, music and books are my drug – reading mostly non-fiction. My bank account doesn’t like my addiction to travel haha. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I have children, I will probably drag them around the world the way my parents did, they won’t know any different anyway! I am the better for all this nomadic life. But I have many places on my list to visit. I will be working on projects I’m producing as well, there’s a few exciting film projects and industry people I am collaborating with that’s not been announced yet. I hope to do more work within screen and theater in the UK as well. I am thrilled to have a role in a new film called The Gun On Second street, directed by Rohit Batra Khan (his last film starred Academy Award winner Brendan Fraser). This film stars Poppy Delevigne and F. Murray Abraham. It’s an interesting story with elements of social impact in the film. We were meant to start filming this autumn but with the strikes everything has been halted. I am excited to launch my charitable project next year as well.
ZOOT: Thank you very much Tolula, see you soon!
To boot…
Tolula Adeyemi, actress, DJ, model
@tolulaadeyemi I About
Read ZOOT´s interview with Tolula “Irrepressible” here, published 2009 in our print issue ZOOT #13.
View the complete Hector Maclean SS24 collections here at ZOOT Shoots.
Read our interview with Hector Maclean in the Infinity Reflections shoot.
Hector Maclean @hectormacleanlondon | hectormaclean.london
