ACTORS from Ghana

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Ghanaian Actors of all time. This list of famous Ghanaian Actors is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Ghanaian Actors.

1. Peter Mensah (b. 1959)

With an HPI of 61.61, Peter Mensah is the most famous Ghanaian Actor.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages on wikipedia.

Peter Mensah (born 27 August 1959) is a Ghanaian-British actor, based in Canada. He is best known for his role as Oenomaus on the Starz television series Spartacus (2010–2013). He has also appeared in such films as Tears of the Sun, Hidalgo, The Incredible Hulk, 300, Avatar, and Gladiator II.

2. Hugh Quarshie (b. 1954)

With an HPI of 51.03, Hugh Quarshie is the 2nd most famous Ghanaian Actor.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Hugh Anthony Quarshie (born 22 December 1954) is a Ghanaian-born British actor. He is known for his long-running role as Ric Griffin on the BBC One medical drama Holby City (2001–20), and for playing Captain Panaka in the Star Wars film Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999). He is also known for stage roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company, of which he has been a member since 1981 and an associate since 2005. His film work includes Highlander, Nightbreed and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. In 1987, he was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor and in 2022 he was nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor for playing Neville Lawrence in Stephen (2021). He has also won a Critics' Circle Theatre Award and an Emmy Award.

3. Akosua Busia (b. 1966)

With an HPI of 45.88, Akosua Busia is the 3rd most famous Ghanaian Actor.  Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Akosua Gyamama Busia (born 30 December 1966) is a Ghanaian actress, writer and songwriter. She is known to film audiences for playing Nettie Harris in the 1985 film The Color Purple. She is the daughter of Ghanaian Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia.

4. Dzifa Gomashie (b. 1965)

With an HPI of 42.78, Dzifa Gomashie is the 4th most famous Ghanaian Actor.  Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Ablah Dzifa Gomashie (born 5 July 1965) is a Ghanaian female veteran actress, producer, screen scriptwriter and a politician. She is currently the parliamentary candidate of the NDC in the Ketu South Constituency and a queen-mother in the Aflao Traditional Area. She was the Deputy Minister of Tourism between 2013 and 2017 during President John Mahama's first term and the substantive sector minister in the Mahama government from 2025.

5. Ama K. Abebrese (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 40.95, Ama K. Abebrese is the 5th most famous Ghanaian Actor.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Ama Konadu Abebrese (born 3 May 1980) is a British-Ghanaian actress, television presenter and producer. She was born in Ghana and raised in West London in the United Kingdom. She won the 2011 Best Actress in a Leading Role at the AMAA Awards for her stellar performance in Sinking Sands. Her film credits include Azali, the first Ghanaian nominated for an Academy Award, and the 2015 Netflix movie Beasts of No Nation (directed by Cary Fukunaga and starring Idris Elba). She is listed among Africa's Top 20 Actors and Actresses by FilmContacts.com. She is the narrator and a producer on the Blitz Bazawule film The Burial of Kojo, which was acquired by Array and was released on Netflix. She began her TV presenting career in her teens at YCTV in London. She has presented on BBC2, OBE TV, Viasat 1, TV3, Ebonylife TV, and others.

6. Lydia Forson (b. 1984)

With an HPI of 38.52, Lydia Forson is the 6th most famous Ghanaian Actor.  Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Lydia Forson (born 24 October 1984) is a Ghanaian actress, writer, and producer. In 2010 she won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

7. Nadia Buari (b. 1982)

With an HPI of 35.15, Nadia Buari is the 7th most famous Ghanaian Actor.  Her biography has been translated into 14 different languages.

Nadia Buari (born November 21, 1982) is a Ghanaian actress. She received two nominations for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the Africa Movie Academy Awards in 2009.

8. Nana Ama McBrown (b. 1977)

With an HPI of 34.01, Nana Ama McBrown is the 8th most famous Ghanaian Actor.  Her biography has been translated into 14 different languages.

Felicity Ama Agyemang (born 15 August 1977), known professionally as Nana Ama McBrown, is a Ghanaian actress, TV show hostess, and music composer. She rose to prominence for her role in a television series titled Tentacles. Later, she found mainstream success following her role in the Twi-language movies "Asoreba"(church member) and "Kumasi Yonko". She was the host, of the television cooking show The McBrown Kitchen and an entertainment talk show United Showbiz on UTV until March 2023 when she moved to Media General. She is a TV show hostess on Onua TV for the Onua Showtime program. Royal drinks has chosen Nana Ama as the face of their brand Kasapreko Unveils McBrown As Royal Drinks Brand Ambassador

9. Joselyn Dumas (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 33.72, Joselyn Dumas is the 9th most famous Ghanaian Actor.  Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Joselyn Dumas (; born 31 August 1980) is a Ghanaian television host and actress. In 2014, she starred in A Northern Affair, a role that earned her a Ghana Movie Award and an Africa Movie Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

10. Yvonne Nelson (b. 1985)

With an HPI of 33.34, Yvonne Nelson is the 10th most famous Ghanaian Actor.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Yvonne Nelson (born 12 November 1985) is a Ghanaian actress, model, film producer, author, entrepreneur and a former Miss Ghana Contestant. She has starred in several movies, including House of Gold (2013), Any Other Monday, In April, and Swings, and appeared in the limelight of the movie industry with a role she played in the "Princess Tyra" and "Playboy" movies. She has over 7.5 million followers on Instagram currently. With her surname as "Nelson", she is most likely to have a Tabom (Afro Brazilian) lineage.