1 year and 100 million views later, the whole world knows Emmanuella’s real face

Talent is no respecter of age. So when Emmanuella Samuel became a viral sensation courtesy of the ‘This is not my real face’ skit last year, it was only normal to expect that another child star had been birthed.

Since then however, her rise has been nothing short of spectacular. In less than a year, she has almost become the most popular non-union comedian in Nigeria.
With nothing more than a basic camera and just about enough data to upload a two to three-minute video on Facebook and YouTube, her ‘mentor’ Mark Angel (who has been doing comic skits for almost three years before Emmanuella came along) has created a star with no help other than his ingenuity and the talent of the little girl. Rarely do child actors have the innate ability to elicit laughter like she does.
The first video has over 2.7 million views on YouTube. In an industry where old men with egos the size of parachutes struggle to attract attention, that is no mean feat.
Cumulatively, the ‘Emmanuella’ skits have crossed the 100 million mark. That figure is sure to spike in the aftermath of CNN’s feature on her earlier this week.
The celebrity status is paying off. She’s been invited to perform at comedy shows. She and Mark Angel have travelled to countries she can’t even pronounce and was named as the youngest winner of the YouTube Awards.

Of course, none of this means her comedy career would last until she reaches adulthood, but it is indeed noteworthy that a regular child (she’s six according to her handlers) can quickly get the grasp of public speaking and the art of comedy.
Again, we know that her jokes are scripted and she’s not extemporizing; nevertheless she and her ‘uncle’ Mark Angel have cracked the code of byte-sized comedy that several people before them have failed to do.
As she reaches this stardom, she doesn’t need to ask if we know her real face anymore: yes Emmanuella, this is your real face and it’s the face of a star.