TOKS OLAGUNDOYE

@toksolagundoye
www.toksolagundoye.com

Born in Nigeria, well-traveled actress Toks (pronounced ‘Tokes’) Olagundoye arrived in Hollywood by way of Europe, Massachusetts, New York and most recently… Zabvron!

Toks is currently one of the stars of ABC's “The Neighbors,” a quirky scifi comedy about a middle-class family who moves into a New Jersey gated community only to discover that it is entirely populated by aliens from the planet Zabvron – a situation which perpetually teaches them that many of life’s problems are universal. Toks plays alien matriarch ‘Jackie Joyner-Kersee,’ who, along with all of her fellow extraterrestrials (who have also adopted the names of famous athletes), has lived on Earth for 10 years while waiting instructions from home. Needless to say: they are still waiting.

The series also stars Jami Gertz and Lenny Venito as ‘Debbie’ and ‘Marty Weaver’, the only human heads of household in the ‘Hidden Hills’ community, and Simon Templeman as ‘Larry Bird,’ Jackie's husband and supreme commander of the Zabvronians.

“The Neighbors,” from Executive Producer Dan Fogelman, has enjoyed much critical praise as a high-concept comedy and garnered a second season renewal. Toks can be seen reprising her hilarious role this fall on Friday nights at 8:30pm.

Toks has racked up guest starring credits on such shows as “NCIS,” “Prime Suspect” and ABC Family’s “Switched at Birth.” Her other television credits include “CSI: NY,” “Law & Order,” and “Ugly Betty” among others. On the big screen, Toks has appeared in the films DEMOCRACY AT WORK, A BEAUTIFUL SOUL, THE SALON, and BROWN SUGAR. Her off-Broadway and regional theatre credits include "Saint Lucy's Eyes," in which Toks originated one of the lead roles along side the veteran Oscar nominee, Grammy and Emmy winner, Ruby Dee. She also originated the role of ‘Rachael Robinson’ in "National Pastime, " the first official story about Jackie Robinson.

Born to a Nigerian father and Norwegian mother in Lagos, Toks was raised in Nigeria, attended boarding school in England and completed her formal education at Smith College in western Massachusetts where she attained a BFA in theatre. Toks then moved to NYC, where she quickly dove into the professional theatre, film and television world before moving to Los Angeles and landing her series regular role on “The Neighbors,” in which she has been given the opportunity to showcase her knack for physical comedy and uncanny ability to do accents and impressions.

Toks spends a large portion of her free time creating, writing and producing small projects through her production company, Unlimited Ceiling. Although she isn't quite a Karaoke fiend, Toks loves to sing (she’s an alto), but mostly to herself. She did sing on the Emmy-nominated song Alan Menken composed for “The Neighbors,” titled ‘More or Less the Kind of Thing You May or May Not Possibly See on Broadway.”

Raised by her dapper banker father and eccentric fashion designer-mother, Toks has always been interested in searching for interesting clothes, has an unhealthy love of handbags and shoes and uses socializing as an excuse to host clothing swaps. Incredibly health conscious, she is a Paleo pescatarian (she totally made that up), runs almost every day and has a love/hate relationship wth pilates (she loves how it makes her look but hates feeling perpetually nauseous). Her more adventurous hobbies include archery and marksmanship, she drinks copious amounts of tea and kombucha, and is a self-professed Twitter addict. Toks was a competitive swimmer while enrolled at Smith.

An animal lover, Toks lends her voice to many causes, including the non-profit Hounds and Heroes, a national organization dedicated to lifting the spirits and morale of active, wounded, and veteran soldiers worldwide while raising awareness about animal cruelty. Toks is currently living out her dream of being bicoastal and splits her time between Los Angeles and New York with her dog, Georgie, a Chuihuahua mix from Brooklyn, who Toks rescued after seeing a post on Facebook.