Beldina Odenyo Onassis
Beldina Odenyo Onassis | |
|---|---|
| Born | Beldina Awino Nora Kungu 30 August 1990 Kisumu, Kenya |
| Died | 5 November 2021 (aged 31) Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland |
| Other names | Heir of the Cursed |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2000s–2021 |
Beldina Odenyo Onassis (born Beldina Awino Nora Kungu; 30 August 1990 – 5 November 2021), also known as Heir of the Cursed, was a Kenyan-born Scottish musician, singer, poet and writer.[1]
Background
Onassis was born Beldina Awino Nora Kungu in Kisumu, Kenya on 30 August 1990,[2] before moving with her family to Lockerbie in Scotland when she was a child.[3] She had thirteen siblings.[3] Her obituary in the British newspaper The Times describes her as 'Kenyan-Scottish'.[2]
Career
She developed an early interest in music, and began performing at age eleven.[3] She previously performed under the name Genesee, before adopting the stage name Beldina Odenyo Onassis (Odenyo was her mother's surname at birth, which Beldina later took as her own surname).[3] She worked mostly in Glasgow and was named one of Scotland’s 30 most inspiring women under 30.[4][5]
She worked with the National Theatre of Scotland[6][7] on Lament for Sheku Bayoh[8] and with the all-female songwriting collective Hen Hoose.[9] She worked on several theatre projects and was developing a play shortly before she died, which she said was to be "about our relationship with the dead".[3] Sarah Moorhouse, her biographer for the Dictionary of National Biography, said that "death was a source of sustained fascination" in her work.[3]
A regular performer at Celtic Connections Festival, she won the Danny Kyle award.[5] She performed a sold-out show at Glasgow's Tron Theatre in 2018.[3]
Onassis died by suicide at her home in Paisley on 5 November 2021, at the age of 31.[3][4][10]
References
- ^ "Beldina Odenyo Onassis: Tributes flood in following death of acclaimed Glasgow musician and theatremaker". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ a b "Beldina Odenyo Onassis obituary". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 24 November 2021.(subscription required)
- ^ a b c d e f g h Moorhouse, Sarah (2025). "Odenyo [née Kungu], Beldina Awino Nora [known as Beldina Odenyo Onassis] (1990–2021), musician, singer, and poet". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000382947. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ a b "Tributes paid after death of Scottish artist Heir Of The Cursed". NME. 8 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ a b "30 Under 30: Beldina Odenyo - YWCA Scotland | The Young Women's Movement". www.ywcascotland.org. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ "Beldina Odenyo". National Theatre of Scotland. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ "Heir of the Cursed – 'I'm just trying to tell the most honest stories and leave myself open to receive them'". The List. 11 June 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ "EIF theatre review: Lament for Sheku Bayoh". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ "Home". Hen Hoose. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ Nachiappan, Arthi. "Heir of the Cursed: tributes to singer, 31, who died on album day". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 9 November 2021.