Ayo Edebiri Was Happy Working Behind the Scenes. Then the Spotlight Found Her.
Growing up in Boston, Ayo Edebiri never imagined herself becoming famous. Her parents raised her in a devout Pentecostal household. They went to church several days a week. 'Christian brain' is what she calls this early programming—not in a bad way but a matter-of-fact one. It's taken years, she says, for her to find who she really is.
'I still believe in God,' Edebiri, 29, says. 'I still believe in unknowable, unseeable forces.' But where she once planned on teaching English to teenagers (she switched her major to dramatic writing midway through her undergraduate studies at New York University), she's now starring in one of the most celebrated shows on television, The Bear. She walks red carpets in custom Prada, Louis Vuitton and Bottega Veneta. She's won an Emmy, a Golden Globe and two SAG awards. A few years ago, she was a comedy up-and-comer, assisting and writing for shows like What We Do in the Shadows, Big Mouth and Broad City. Today she's a bona fide A-list star.
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15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Millions sit China's high-stakes university entrance exam
Hopeful parents accompanied their teenage children to the gates of a busy Beijing test centre on Saturday, among millions of high school students across China sitting their first day of the highly competitive university entrance exam. Nationwide, 13.35 million students have registered for the multi-subject "gaokao" series this year, according to the Ministry of Education, down from last year's record-high 13.42 million test takers. Outside the central Beijing secondary school, a proud parent who gave her name as Chen said "12 years of hard work have finally led to this moment" -- as she waved a fan in front of her daughter while the student reviewed her notes one last time before the test. "We know our kids have endured so much hardship," Chen told AFP, adding that she was not nervous. "I'm actually quite excited. I think my child is excellent, and I'm sure she will get the best score," she said. China's gaokao requires students to use all their knowledge acquired to this point, testing them on subjects including Chinese, English, mathematics, science and humanities. The exam results are critical for gaining admission to university -- and determining whether they will attend a prestigious or more modest institution. While teachers and staff offered students their support, holding up signs of encouragement, some test takers, dressed in school uniforms, appeared panicked, including a girl with tears in her eyes. "There's no need for us parents to add pressure. The children are already under a lot of it," said a woman named Wang, whose son had just entered the exam hall. Like many mothers, she wore a traditional Chinese qipao in hopes of bringing good luck. "I hope my son achieves immediate success and gets his name on the (list of high-scoring candidates)," Wang said with a smile. Higher education has expanded rapidly in China in recent decades as an economic boom pushed up living standards -- as well as parents' expectations for their children's careers. But the job market for young graduates remains daunting. As of April, 15.8 percent of people aged 16 to 24 living in urban areas were unemployed, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Due to this pressure, many Chinese students prepare for the gaokao from a young age, often with extra lessons after the regular school day. - 'Safe gaokao' - And every year education authorities are on guard against cheating and disruptions during the exam. This week, China's Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang called for a "safe gaokao", stressing the importance of a rigorous campaign against cheating. Areas around exam centres are closely guarded by police, with road lanes closed to traffic and several cities banning motorists from honking their horns so as not to disrupt the concentration of students. In some schools, facial recognition is even used to prevent fraud. While the university admission rate for gaokao test takers has exceeded 80-90 percent in recent years, many students disappointed with their results choose to repeat the exam. As there is no age limit for the test, some have become notorious for attempting the exam dozens of times, either after failing it or not getting into their top-choice university. One teacher at the Beijing school where parents saw off their children on Saturday estimated that only about 10 of the approximately 600 final-year students there would earn a place at one of the capital's top universities. Jiang, a final-year high school student who only gave one name, said he dreamt of attending a Beijing university, and was remaining calm shortly before his Chinese exam. "Even though the pressure is intense, it's actually quite fair," he told AFP. "I feel like all the preparations that needed to be made have been made, so there's really no point in being nervous now, right? "Whatever happens, happens. It's truly not something I can completely control." aas/sco/mtp
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
The 2025 Tony Awards: How to watch, streaming details, nominees, performers, and presenters
Broadway's biggest night is back — and it's sure to be packed with star power, dazzling performances, and fierce competition. The 2025 Tony Awards, celebrating the best of live theater, is a can't-miss event for theater lovers. Whether you're tuning in live or streaming online, here's everything you need to know about 78th Tony Awards. The 78th annual Tony Awards are held on June 8, beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. More from GoldDerby 'Forever' star Lovie Simone on traveling back to a 'nostalgic' time for Netflix's teenage romance show Tramell Tillman could make Emmy history as the first Black Best Drama Supporting Actor winner Kristen Kish dishes on Season 22 of 'Top Chef,' Emmys, and the show's global impact: 'It's all driven by the fans' The Tony Awards will stream live on Paramount+ with Showtime and broadcast on television via CBS. The ceremony will also be available on Paramount+ (for non Showtime subscribers) the following day. To watch the Tonys live, sign up for the Paramount+ with Showtime plan (information can be found here) or search your local listings for the CBS affiliate in your area. Tony, Emmy, and Grammy Award winner Cynthia Erivo will host the 78th Tonys from Radio City Music Hall in New York City. 'I am so proud and excited to take on this glorious honor,' Erivo shared in a CBS press release. 'I am looking forward to ushering the theatre community at large through a night that celebrates the wonderful performances we have witnessed throughout the year. I hope I can rise to the occasion.' The three-time Oscar nominee and Wicked star won the Best Lead Actress in a Musical Tony in 2016 for The Color Purple. SEE Tony Talk: Our final winner predictions in all 26 categories, including competitive Best Actress in a Musical and Best Play Revival Yes. Prior to the main telecast, Tony Awards: Act One will stream on Pluto TV, hosted by Darren Criss and Renée Elise Goldsberry, at 6:40 p.m. ET/3:40 PT. Several of this year's Tony Awards will be presented throughout Act One ahead of the main ceremony. As always, the Tony Awards will showcase performances from some of the most celebrated shows of the last Broadway season. Buena Vista Social Club Dead Outlaw Death Becomes Her Floyd Collins Gypsy Maybe Happy Ending Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical Pirates! The Penzance Musical Sunset Blvd. Just in Time Real Women Have Curves Hamilton reunion Broadway Inspirational Voices See the full list of 2025 Tony Awards presenters below. Sara Bareilles Danielle Brooks Kristin Chenoweth Bryan Cranston Auli'i Cravalho Charli D'Amelio Ariana DeBose Jesse Eisenberg Tom Felton Renée Elise Goldsberry Katie Holmes Julianne Hough LaTanya Richardson Jackson Samuel L. Jackson Allison Janney Rachel Bay Jones Adam Lambert Lea Michele Lin-Manuel Miranda Kelli O'Hara Sarah Paulson Carrie Preston Keanu Reeves Lea Salonga Jean Smart Ben Stiller Aaron Tveit Michelle Williams Oprah Winfrey Alex Winter SEE Ready for her close-up: Nicole Scherzinger takes the lead in Tony odds for Best Actress in a Musical Buena Vista Social Club, Death Becomes Her, and Maybe Happy Ending topped this year's Tony Awards nominations with 10 bids each. Close behind with seven apiece are Dead Outlaw, John Proctor Is the Villain, Sunset Boulevard, and The Hills of California. Buena Vista Social Club, Dead Outlaw, Death Becomes Her, Maybe Happy Ending, and Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical are up for Best Musical. English,The Hills of California, John Proctor Is the Villain, Oh, Mary!, and Purpose are the Best Play nominees. See the full list of nominees below. BEST MUSICAL Buena Vista Social Club Dead Outlaw Death Becomes Her Maybe Happy Ending Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL Floyd Collins Gypsy Pirates! The Penzance Musical Sunset Boulevard BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL Megan Hilty, Death Becomes Her Audra McDonald, Gypsy Jasmine Amy Rogers, Boop! The Musical Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Boulevard Jennifer Simard, Death Becomes Her BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL Darren Criss, Maybe Happy Ending Andrew Durand, Dead Outlaw Tom Francis, Sunset Boulevard Jonathan Groff, Just in Time James Monroe Iglehart, A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical Jeremy Jordan, Floyd Collins BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL Natalie Venetia Belcon, Buena Vista Social Club Julia Knitel, Dead Outlaw Gracie Lawrence, Just in Time Justina Machado, Real Women Have Curves: The Musical Joy Woods, Gypsy BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL Brooks Ashmanskas, Smash Jeb Brown, Dead Outlaw Danny Burstein, Gypsy Jak Malone, Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical Taylor Trensch, Floyd Collins BEST DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL Saheem Ali, Buena Vista Social Club Michael Arden, Maybe Happy Ending David Cromer, Dead Outlaw Christopher Gattelli, Death Becomes Her Jamie Lloyd, Sunset Boulevard BEST ORIGINAL SCORE Dead Outlaw, Music & Lyrics: David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna Death Becomes Her, Music & Lyrics: Julia Mattison and Noel Carey Maybe Happy Ending, Music: Will Aronson; Lyrics: Will Aronson and Hue Park Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical, Music & Lyrics: David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, and Zoë Roberts Real Women Have Curves: The Musical, Music & Lyrics: Joy Huerta and Benjamin Velez BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL Marco Ramirez, Buena Vista Social Club Itamar Moses, Dead Outlaw Marco Pennette, Death Becomes Her Will Aronson and Hue Park, Maybe Happy Ending David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson, and Zoë Roberts, Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical BEST CHOREOGRAPHY Joshua Bergasse, Smash Camille A. Brown, Gypsy Christopher Gattelli, Death Becomes Her Jerry Mitchell, Boop! The Musical Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck, Buena Vista Social Club BEST ORCHESTRATIONS Andrew Resnick and Michael Thurber, Just in Time Will Aronson, Maybe Happy Ending Bruce Coughlin, Floyd Collins Marco Paguia, Buena Vista Social Club David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sunset Boulevard BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MUSICAL Dede Ayite, Buena Vista Social Club Gregg Barnes, Boop! The Musical Clint Ramos, Maybe Happy Ending Paul Tazewell, Death Becomes Her Catherine Zuber, Just in Time BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MUSICAL Jack Knowles, Sunset Boulevard Tyler Micoleau, Buena Vista Social Club Scott Zielinski and Ruey Horng Sun, Floyd Collins Ben Stanton, Maybe Happy Ending Justin Townsend, Death Becomes Her BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL Rachel Hauck, Swept Away Dane Laffrey and George Reeve, Maybe Happy Ending Arnulfo Maldonado, Buena Vista Social Club Derek McLane, Death Becomes Her Derek McLane, Just in Time BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A MUSICAL Jonathan Deans, Buena Vista Social Club Adam Fisher, Sunset Boulevard Peter Hylenski, Just in Time Peter Hylenski, Maybe Happy Ending Dan Moses Schreier, Floyd Collins SEE 'Every beat is meticulously crafted': 6 'Purpose' Tony nominees offer an oral history of the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama BEST PLAY English The Hills of California John Proctor Is the Villain Oh, Mary! Purpose BEST PLAY REVIVAL Eureka Day Romeo + Juliet Thornton Wilder's Our Town Yellow Face BEST ACTRESS IN A PLAY Laura Donnelly, The Hills of California Mia Farrow, The Roommate LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Purpose Sadie Sink, John Proctor Is the Villain Sarah Snook, The Picture of Dorian Gray BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck Cole Escola, Oh, Mary! Jon Michael Hill, Purpose Daniel Dae Kim, Yellow Face Harry Lennix, Purpose Louise McCartney, Stranger Things: The First Shadow BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY Tala Ashe, English Jessica Hecht, Eureka Day Marjan Neshat, English Fina Strazza, John Proctor Is the Villain Kara Young, Purpose BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY Glenn Davis, Purpose Gabriel Ebert, John Proctor Is the Villain Francis Jue, Yellow Face Bob Odenkirk, Glengarry Glen Ross Conrad Ricamora, Oh, Mary! BEST DIRECTOR OF A PLAY Knud Adams, English Sam Mendes, The Hills of California Sam Pinkleton, Oh, Mary! Danya Taymor, John Proctor Is the Villain Kip Williams, The Picture of Dorian Gray BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A PLAY Brenda Abbandandolo, Good Night, and Good Luck Marg Horwell, The Picture of Dorian Gray Rob Howell, The Hills of California Holly Pierson, Oh, Mary! Brigitte Reiffenstuel, Stranger Things: The First Shadow BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A PLAY Jack Knowles, Sunset Boulevard Tyler Micoleau, Buena Vista Social Club Scott Zielinski and Ruey Horng Sun, Floyd Collins Ben Stanton, Maybe Happy Ending Justin Townsend, Death Becomes Her BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A PLAY Marsha Ginsberg, English Rob Howell, The Hills of California Marg Horwell and David Bergman, The Picture of Dorian Gray Miriam Buether and 59, Stranger Things: The First Shadow Scott Pask, Good Night, and Good Luck BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A PLAY Paul Arditti, Stranger Things: The First Shadow Palmer Hefferan, John Proctor Is the Villain Daniel Kluger, Good Night, and Good Luck Nick Powell, The Hills of California Clemence Williams, The Picture of Dorian Gray For those who want an advantage over the competition in their annual Tonys pool, check out the final Gold Derby winner odds in all categories. Make your own predictions and join the competition at Gold Derby. Best of GoldDerby 'Maybe Happy Ending' star Darren Criss on his Tony nomination for playing a robot: 'Getting to do this is the true win' Who Needs a Tony to Reach EGOT? Sadie Sink on her character's 'emotional rage' in 'John Proctor Is the Villain' and her reaction to 'Stranger Things: The First Shadow' Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Guilford Woods protected by Piedmont Land Conservancy
GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — The last-standing underdeveloped woods in Greensboro will be saved. Guilford Woods is packed with rich history from the Revolutionary War to the Underground Railroad and is an oasis of ecology. Guilford Woods is where the revolutionary soldiers once walked,and the freedom seekers hid. It's a home to many ecologies. Through the Piedmont Land Conservancy and Guilford College's partnership, the area will be officially protected. To Jim Hood, a retired English professor from Guilford College and a former interim president of Guilford College, Guilford Woods is a special place. 'I spent a lot of time walking around here and learning the names of the plants and animals that lived here,' Hood said. He said in a rapidly developing suburban area, Guilford Woods is the last remaining forest that is untouched, and that is important. 'These trees clean the air. This forest cleans the water for Greensboro,' Hood said. The memories, meaning, and legacy are rooted in nature. Hood highlighted the witness tree, which is approximately 350 years old. It's a silent witness to the operation of the Underground Railroad. 'Freedom seekers hiding out in these woods on their ways to Indiana or other parts of the north to get away from the evils of slavery,' he said. Guilford College and the Piedmont Land Conservancy have teamed up to preserve 120 acres of the most valuable areas of the woods. Now, Guilford Woods can continue to be used as an outdoor classroom and financially benefit the college. 'It's a way for the college to withdraw some money from an asset that was increasing in value not in a tangible kind of way, but this makes it more tangible,' he said. For Kevin Redding, the executive director of the Piedmont Land Conservancy, retracing the steps of the revolutionary soldiers made preserving the land a cause worth fighting for. 'Hundreds of years old forest. It has the history component to it. It has the educational component to it. It has a public available recreation part of it. It has everything we would wish in a conservation property,' Redding said. The Piedmont Land Conservancy plans on raising $8.5 million through private donations. In total, they will be preserving about 245 acres of land in the area, including Price Park. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
