Alemtsehay Wedajo ዓለም ፀሐይ ወዳጆ

Alemtsehay Wedajo Biography

Actress, Poet, Cultural Ambassador

Alemtsehay Wedajo is a lifelong actress, poet, and cultural leader whose passion for the arts was evident from childhood. At just 13 years old, her Amharic teacher read one of her poems aloud to the class, and her music teacher, Melaku Ashagre, gave her her first opportunity to perform on stage at the Hager Fiker Theatre in Ethiopia. Despite fierce opposition from her father, who threatened severe consequences if he ever saw her on stage, Alemtsehay pursued her calling with quiet determination — even keeping understudies ready in case he appeared at a performance. It was her grandmother’s quiet support that gave her the space to grow.

Her talent and dedication earned her a place among 12 students selected for a prestigious two-year training program at the National Theatre, led by the celebrated Laureate Tsegaye Gebremedhin. Over the next 17 years as a senior actress, she performed in both Ethiopian productions and world-class theatrical works, taking on iconic roles such as Ophelia in Hamlet, Portia in The Merchant of Venice, and Maria in Gogol’s The General Inspector. Her father, after 14 years of estrangement from her career, finally came to see her perform — and told her he was proud.

Alemtsehay was never only an artist — she was also a committed activist. In high school, she opposed the imperial regime through her writing, winning a citywide student competition with a boldly critical poem that drew a roaring ovation. She was briefly jailed for her activism but continued to fight for democracy and women’s rights throughout her life. When the Derg military regime came to power, she served on the Ethiopian Women’s Coordinating Committee and secretly sympathized with the opposition. She helped organize artists’ labor movements, co-founded the Ethiopian Actors’ Association — serving as chair for 14 years — and lobbied successfully to improve actors’ pay and working conditions.

Her dedication to children and community was equally profound. She founded and ran an arts program for war orphans at the Ziway Children’s Village, volunteering every other weekend for years. She also established the Children’s Theatre department under Ethiopia’s Ministry of Culture, modeled after a program she visited in East Germany, and ran it for seven years. Even under heavy government censorship, she and her colleagues found creative ways to promote artistic expression — including organizing a groundbreaking anti-AIDS festival in Addis Ababa in the mid-1980s at a time when the subject was deeply taboo.

After relocating to the United States in 1991 with her two children, Alemtsehay worked various jobs to support her family, but her heart never left the arts. In 2000, she founded the Tayitu Cultural Center in Washington, DC, which has since produced more than 35 plays, hosted over 150 poetry nights, and performed across 17 states and in Europe — bringing Ethiopian culture to diaspora communities far from home. The center also trains young professionals and recently opened the first Ethiopian Amharic library in Washington, DC.

Widely known as the “Iron Lady,” Alemtsehay embodies resilience, creativity, and an unshakable belief in the power of art to transform lives. She has said that if given a second chance at life, she would choose the same path without hesitation. Her message to young women everywhere is simple and powerful: “Have faith, dream high, be strong and never quit.”

Alemtsehay Wedajo Books:

• ማረፊያ ያጣች ህይወት የግጥም ስብስብ ኢትዮጵያ
• እኛ የግጥም ስብስብ ኢትዮጵያ
• የማታ እንጀራ የግጥም ስብስብ
• አለን አለና የግጥም ስብስብ(CD)
• ጽጌረዳ ብዕር የግጥም መድብል ከአስራ ሰባት ገጣምያን ስራዎች