Kanya King


Kanya King, is the founder of the MOBO Awards.

Biography

King was born in Kilburn, London, to an Irish mother and a Ghanaian father, being the youngest of their nine children. Her father died when she was 13. Aged 16, she gave birth to her son, causing her to drop out of school.

Achievements

The first MOBO Awards took place in 1996 at London's Connaught Rooms, broadcast on Carlton Television.
In 1999, she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire and a CBE in the 2018 Birthday Honours List.
Other awards include an honorary fellowship of Goldsmiths College, University of London, an honorary Doctorate of Business Administration at London Metropolitan University as well as a Doctorate from Leeds Metropolitan University.
In 2011, she was named one of London's Most Influential People by the London Evening Standard, one of Britain's Most Entrepreneurial Women and has been regularly listed in the Powerlist as one of Britain's Most Influential Black People. She was recognised by the music industry in 2016, being awarded the "Media Pioneer" award at the Music Week Women In Music Awards.
In 2017, Kanya King spoke to the Evening Standard about building the MOBO Awards brand from being a single mother at the age of 16. King also spoke to the NME about diversity and inclusion in creative industry, as well as Music Week' about the 22nd MOBO Awards being the strongest yet, .
King appeared alongside four multi-millionaire panel members in the ITV series Fortune - Million Pound Giveaway, where members of the panel decide which "contestants" to award no-string grants, based on the merits of their pitch.
In February 2013, she was assessed as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by Woman's Hour'' on BBC Radio 4.
On 29 October 2015, King was listed by UK-based company Richtopia at number 60 in the list of 100 Most Influential British Entrepreneurs.