Carolyne Wanjiku Tharau

About

Kenyan comedian, actress, producer, and digital creator also known by her stage name Teacher Wanjiku and known for her classroom-style character blending strict teaching with exaggerated lessons and relatable Kenyan humor. She is especially known for her breakout performance on the TV comedy program Churchill Show, for expanding her career into live theatre, television, radio, and social media comedy, and for her Instagram account where she shares her comedy with over 1.2 million Instagram followers.

Before fame

She studied mass communication. She began performing in theatre productions around 2007 with her early work including stage plays and scripted performances. Her Teacher Wanjiku character was first developed while she was performing with the theatre group Heartstrings Kenya. She appeared in the stage play The 43rd Kenyan Tribe which was performed at the cultural center Alliance Française in Nairobi around 2009. Her breakthrough moment came in 2013 when she appeared on Churchill Show. Her success on the show led to many live comedy performances and eventually her own television program called Teacher Wanjiku Show on Citizen TV in 2014.She began sharing comedy content online on Instagram and YouTube in 2014. She celebrated reaching 1 million Instagram followers in 2021 and 2 million Facebook followers in 2022.

Trivia

She is also the founder and CEO of Mwalimu Production. She appeared in the global education campaign #5for5 in 2017. She became a Dettol Kenya brand ambassador in 2018. She also became an ambassador for Stanbic Bank's DADA initiative in 2019. She received the Most Influential Woman in Her Time Award at the Miss Kenya USA Pageant in Seattle in 2019. 

Family life

She was born and raised in Nairobi County, Kenya. She grew up the fourth-born in a family of six children. She married her husband Victor Ber in December 2014, and they have a daughter together.

Associated with

She rose to fame after appearing on Daniel Ndambuki's Churchill Show.