Mairoon Ali (b. 1954 - d. 20 December 2009) was an actress and comedienne from the Caribbean country of Trinidad and Tobago. She had been a celebrated icon who appeared on the local theater for almost twenty years. She was also a History teacher, recently retired from Holy Name Convent after 34 years. In the early 1990s she became an on-air personality with several local radio stations. Recently, Ali became more involved with the theater and founded HaHaHa Productions with other local actresses Nikki Crosby and Penelope Spencer. Additionally, she also was the host of local TV station Gayelle Television morning program. ^[1]

On the morning of December 20, 2009 she was found collapsed in her bathroom at her St. James home. ^[2]

Life & Career

Ali was born Christina Bradshaw to parents Ibitha and Lonsdale Bradshaw and grew up in Belmont with her parents and five siblings. She attended Tranquility Government Primary School and later St. Francois Girls' College. She went on to teach at Holy Name Convent before becoming involved in the theater, which soon became her passion. Upon marrying at age 18, she changed her name from Christina Bradshaw to Mairoon Ali and had her first child Aka Ali. Her second marriage was to calypsonian Eddie Yearwood and had her second child, a son, who became a famous soca artiste Olatunji Yearwood. She became a much celebrated actress, both on television and in local plays. She and Crosby created the comedic and famous characters Mavis and Mabel, who over the past five to six years appeared at many local shows including the WeBeat and COTT awards.

Ali debuted on the stage in 1989 in Earl Lovelace’s Wine of Astonishment. By the peak of her theatrical career, she was appearing in about three shows per day and was making television and radio commercials. She also appeared in Raymond Choo Kong Productions’ We Like It So! and most recently The Best Little Whorehouse in Guapo. She was also on the local soap opera Westwood Park. ^[3] In 2002, she won a Cacique award for most outstanding actress. ^[4]

Ali wrote and co-wrote several plays, many of them becaming local hits such as The Vagina Dialogues.Since her debut, Ali had worked with all major local production companies, including Raymond Choo Kong and Richard Ragoobarsingh. ^[5]

Death

The night before her death, Ali was out with some friends. She returned home at 1:15a.m. on the morning of December 20, 2009. She was expected to head to Grenada later that day to celebrate Christmas. Her body was discovered by her son about 10:30a.m. At first it was believed she had slipped and fell, but later an autopsy determined she had died of a cerebral haemorrhage. ^[6]

References

External links

• example.com