Comedian and actress Gina Yashere was not feeling much like laughing this week.

She is scheduled to perform in Bermuda next week but lost her home to the southern California wildfires.

Speaking to The Royal Gazette, she said: “I am going to be a little bit distracted because my house burnt down last night.”

Her home in Altadena, 14 miles west of downtown Los Angeles, California, was destroyed in the Eaton fire, which began on January 7.

She received the news while in Costa Rica.

“Altadena is a beautiful area in the middle of the Los Angeles National Forest,” Ms Yashere said. “There are stunning views and wildlife but unfortunately with that much forest around, the area has been absolutely gutted by fire.”

All she and her partner, Nina Rose Fischer, have left from their California home is what was packed in suitcases to go abroad.

Ms Yashere last performed in Just for Laughs Bermuda in 2011.

“The last time I came to Bermuda it was chilly and I was a bit disappointed,” she said. “I was thinking tropics and palm trees. So I’m hoping for some sunshine this time.”

Despite the disappointing weather, she enjoyed her last appearance on the island.

“The show was really fun,” she said. “The audience was really up for it and excited. I am hoping we get a similar experience this time. I am going to provide what I have always provided: a good laugh.”

Ms Yashere was born and raised in London to Nigerian parents. She moved to the United States in 2007 because she wanted to get into television and movies.

“I came to the United States to find my fortune,” she said. “I left a successful career in England, wanting more. I came to America to swim with the big boys.”

She described her humour as outspoken and energetic.

“It is very in your face,” she said. “I have never had a problem with my humour being understood in America. I don’t do typical British dry humour. I have done well, doing stand up and touring in the US.”

The move to the US was not much of a culture shock for her because she was already familiar with the country through its movies and television.

“I knew everything about America before I got here but that cannot be said for the Americans,” she said. “I spent the first seven years, explaining that yes, there are Black people in England.”

Before crossing the Atlantic, she had already achieved fame in Britain, but had to start all over again in the US.

“I started off doing open mics at clubs and just begging people to let me get up on stage,” she said. “In America, they don’t care that you are famous or successful somewhere else.”

She spent 13 years hustling and building her reputation.

“I was booking my own venues, putting on shows and just keeping afloat,” she said. “It was a slow but steady rise.”

In August 2007, she was a finalist on Last Comic Standing. The next year she was the first British person to perform on Def Comedy Jam. From there she was on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien and Live at the Apollo. In 2010 she started a semi-regular gig on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, in a sketch comedy series called Madame Yashere: The Surly Psychic.

In 2019 she became writer, executive producer, and actor for CBS sitcom Bob Hearts Abishola. When it finished last April she thought there was no way she would get another job quickly, so she would take a few months off.

“I worked my butt off for that show,” she said. “I thought after it, I would maybe do another stand-up tour.”

Instead, she was quickly offered a role on the next season of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.

“I cannot tell you anything about storylines,” she said. “But it is going to be good. Also, I am going to look amazing.”

In a comedy skit she did in 2014, she joked about race and dog ownership, saying: “White people would die for their animals. White people have an emotional connection to their animals. It is a beautiful things. Black people like animals – on a dinner plate. We are not jumping into a river after a dog.”

Ms Yashere told The Royal Gazette that was her old routine.

“I’m a changed person,” she said. “I now have two dogs that I love dearly. I would definitely jump in the river for them. In fact, I fought off a pitbull last night with my bare hands, here in Costa Rica.”

Her dogs, Kemi and Kayo, have their own Instagram page, @lilkemandkayo, with more than 4,000 followers.

Just for Laughs Bermuda will be held from January 22 to 25, at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club and the Ruth Seaton James Auditorium. The line-up will also include Alonzo Bodden, Erica Rhodes from America’s Got Talent (USA); Just For Laughs Festival favourite Matt Wright (Canada); and Bermuda’s own Jonathan Young.

• Tickets are available from www.bdatix.bmand for more information, visitwww.comedyevent.bm or call 232-8499