Ekele Ukegbu is the winner of the “Best Actress Award” at the 2019 Jimmy Awards, also known as the National High School Musical Theatre Awards. Ekele attended Elmont Memorial High School on Long Island, NY. She had leading roles in school theatre productions including Aida in Aida, Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, Deena Jones in Dreamgirls, Annie in Annie and Adelaide in Guys and Dolls. She participated in the Long Island Musical Theatre Festival productions of Violet and Cabaret. She is currently a freshman at the New York University Tisch School of Drama. In May 2019, Ekele won “Best Actress” at the Roger Rees Award competition for excellence, playing the lead role in Aida at Elmont Memorial High School on Long Island. The award recognizes top performers across the Greater New York region high schools. Her win sent her as the regional representative of the Greater New York City area and 1 of 86 national contestants in the 11th annual Jimmy Awards competition in New York City. She won “Best Performance by An Actress,” which came with a $25,000.00 college scholarship.