Pattie
Patricia Ngozi Komlosy OBE (née Ebigwei)born 3 May 1954), known professionally as Patti Boulaye is a British singer, actress and artist who rose to prominence after winning a tv talent show in 1978. The show was the 1970s early version of the XFactor – called New Faces.
Patti became one of the entertainers in the 1970s and 1980s. Her family had moved from Nigeria to the UK, and as she moved into the limelight, she changed her name from Patricia Ngozi Komlosy. In her native Nigeria she is best remembered for starring in Lux commercials and playing the character of Bisi, Daughter of the River. She also had her own TV series – The Patti Boulaye Show.
At the age of 16 she left Nigeria for the United Kingdom with aspirations to become a nun. However, during a sightseeing trip in London, Boulaye stood in a queue for what she assumed was Madame Tussauds but turned out to be an audition for the original London production of Hair.
Amazingly – she soon won a part, which launched her career in musicals. Her father, who did not approve of showbusiness, disowned his daughter. It did not fit with her strict Catholic and conservative upbringing. But Pattie was determined to continue for after all, it was earning her an income.
Later in life – her father understood, and forgave her.
After Hair, she featured in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, but landed her first starring role as Yum Yum in The Black Mikado under her birth name, Patricia Ebigwei.
Other stage productions she has starred in include the title role in Carmen Jones (at London’s Old Vic Theatre, in a production directed by Simon Callow) and Jesus Christ Superstar. In 2003 Boulaye launched her West End musical, Sun Dance, which took twelve years to put together. Hailed as a celebration of “the colours and music of Africa in a display of ceremonial dances, rituals and initiation ceremonies, all played out to the beat of African drums”. It was written and produced by Boulaye herself and opened at the Hackney Empire.
Boulaye has made over 200 TV appearances including Royal Command Performances at the London Palladium.[11] She starred in 12 of BBC TV’s annual “Joy to the World” Christmas programmes, produced by Major Sir Michael Parker KCVO CBE at the Royal Albert Hall, with Sir Cliff Richard, Roger Moore and other internationally acclaimed stars.
Boulaye appeared in two episodes of Pointless. She appeared as a contestant in a series of BBC’s popular Celebrity MasterChef and later in an episode of BBC One’s Money For Nothing, and Channel 5’s When Talent Shows Go Horribly Wrong.
After over 50 years in showbiz, she recently wrote on social media –
2Today, 3rd May, I am celebrating my 7th decade on God’s beautiful planet. amen.
I am capable of doing whatever I put my mind to or whatever God brings my way. I know my character is not conducive to having human bosses, therefore, I have always been self-employed. So whether I’m down or up, I am in control and I treat both situations with the same reverence. I answer only to God. What a blessing that I can control what I do, when and where and how I do it. It is tough, but I don’t want the luxury of blaming the authorities or someone else for my failures.
Anyway, people don’t know things I’ve been involved in. Why should they? As today is my birthday I’ll share a few things that are relevant to the Linkedin platform.
I’ve been blessed with appointments as:
– Chairman of a PLC Company
– Advisory Board Member of The Iman
Foundation Worldwide (which promotes dialogue – challenges extremism – bring
change ). Board members include Politicians from many countries,
former heads of states and Prime Ministers of European Countries including The Rt Hon Bertie Ahern retired Taoiseach of Ireland, Members of the Houses of Parliament,CIA, etc
– Board of Governors of BADA (British American Drama Academy) Affiliated with Yale & Oxford Universities
– Founding Member of HRH Prince Michael of Kent Genesis Initiative for SMEs
– Member of the Steering Committee for our late H M The Queen’s Golden Jubilee
– Member of Committee of more than 15 Charities
– Patron of 8 charities
– Visiting Teaching Fellow at the Middlesex University Business School for the last twelve years
– Speaker and lecturer at Oxford and Birmingham Universities, Colleges and schools
– Motivational speaker to school children on Bullying, Diversity, Respect & Consideration
I am aware that these are all God’s doing.
Being appointed a Chairman of a PLC Company and being asked on all these committees can be hard work and time consuming for an artist like me.
For the hashtag#linkedinfamily Business:- Just imagine being on 20 or more high profile committees and boards, that would be a dream ticket, right? It’s useless for my career as an entertainer, except that God has a reason for everything He does. It is humbling that these Boards and Committees have been the best platforms for me to understand human nature, to serve humanity, and to be exposed to diverse range of problems, topics, concerns and disputes in society.
God has given me these opportunities so I can share my board and committee experiences and lessons as a public speaker, and to give advice that would present new Board Members, be it men or women, with a great opportunity to shine.
The list is too long to share in this post.”
