Biography
Nigerian actress Toks Olagundoye proved a valuable supporting player in several TV comedy projects, including "The Neighbors" (ABC, 2012-14) and "Castle" (ABC, 2009-2015), while also providing the voice of numerous and diverse characters on animated series like "Duck Tales" (Disney XD, 2017- ). Born Olatokunbo Susan Olasobunmi Abeke Olagundoye on September 16, 1975, she was the daughter of a Nigerian father and Norwegian mother, who provided an education for her in locations around the world, including the American International School in Nigeria and Marymount International School London in London, England. She eventually made her way to the United States, where she earned her bachelor of fine arts degree from Smith College. Roles in Off-Broadway productions preceded her television debut on "The Education of Max Bickford" (CBS, 2001-02), with her first feature film roles in "Brown Sugar" (2002) and "The Salon" (2005) coming soon afterwards. Television formed the majority of her subsequent work, but Olagundoye's big break would not come until 2012, when she was cast on "The Neighbors" as the eternally upbeat Jackie Joyner-Kersey - not the Olympic track and field medalist, but an alien who borrowed the athlete's name in an attempt to assimilate with humans. She remained with the series until its abrupt cancellation in 2014, after which filmed several unreleased pilots and lent her voice to a number of animated projects, including "Steven Universe" (Cartoon Network, 2012- ). In 2015, she joined the comedy-drama "Castle" (ABC, 2009-2015) as former M16 operative Hayley Shipton. The well-loved, if low-rated series, ran its course a year later, but Olagundoye's voice acting work soon provided a new venue for her versatile talents. In 2016 and 2017 alone, she lent her voice to a slew of episodic cartoons, including "American Dad!" (Fox, 2005- ), "Guardians of the Galaxy" (Disney XD, 2016- ) and a reboot of "Duck Tales" (Disney XD, 2017- ) that featured the voices of David Tennant, Bobby Moynihan and Danny Pudi.
