{{Short description|British-Ghanaian entertainer (born 1983)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = Dentaa | honorific_suffix = MBE | image = File:Akosua Dentaa Amoateng MBE.jpg | caption = | birth_name = Akosua Dentaa Amoateng | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1983}} | birth_place = Juaso, Ghana | television = ''The Dentaa Show'' | occupation = Television presenter, actress, singer, entrepreneur | education = Walthamstow School for Girls; Leyton Sixth Form College | years_active = 1995–present | children = 4 | known_for = GUBA Awards<ref name="guba">{{cite web|url=https://gubaenterprise.co.uk |title=GUBA Awards |author=guba enterprise |publisher=gubaenterprise.co.uk |access-date=2 February 2021}}</ref> | alma_mater = Buckinghamshire New University }}
'''Akosua Dentaa Amoateng''' MBE (born 1983), best known by her stage name '''Dentaa''', is a British Ghanaian entrepreneur, actress, TV presenter, singer, producer and manager. She was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours<ref>{{cite web |author=British High Commission Accra |date=11 June 2016 |title=Dentaa Amoateng honoured by Her Majesty The Queen |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/world-location-news/dentaa-amoateng-honoured-by-her-majesty-the-queen |access-date=27 June 2016 |website=Government United Kingdom}}</ref> and in 2017, she received the Ghana Peace Awards Humanitarian Service Laureate in Accra, Ghana.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.modernghana.com/amp/entertainment/46115/ghana-peace-awards-rtp-awards-stacy-amoateng-sweeps-two-b.html |title=Ghana Peace Awards & RTP Awards: Stacy Amoateng Sweeps Two Big Awards On Saturday|date=30 October 2017|access-date=29 November 2017}}</ref> In mid-September 2020, she was appointed by Asante Kotoko S.C. as their International Relations Manager.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ghanapoliticsonline.com/asante-kotoko-appoint-dentaa-amoateng-as-international-relations-manager/|title=Asante Kotoko appoint Dentaa Amoateng as International Relations Manager|date=18 September 2020|publisher=GhanaPoliticsOnline|access-date=2020-09-18|archive-date=4 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404225732/https://ghanapoliticsonline.com/asante-kotoko-appoint-dentaa-amoateng-as-international-relations-manager/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
As an actress, she appeared on British television shows including ''EastEnders'' and ''Holby City'', before moving into presenting and hosting programmes on British and Ghanaian TV, including ''The Dentaa Show'' and reality TV music competition ''Mentor IV''. She also had a brief career as a singer, releasing a gospel album in 2005, ''Wu Ye Nyame''.
Dentaa is an advocate for the Ghanaian community in the UK,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Glitz top 100 inspirational women – Page 100 – Glitz Africa Magazine |url=https://www.glitzafrica.com/glitz-top-100-inspirational-women/100/ |access-date=2022-05-28 |language=en-US}}</ref> and the African Network of Entrepreneurs listed her in 2017 as one of 100 "Most Outstanding Women Entrepreneurs in Ghana" for her advocacy.<ref>{{cite web |title=100 Most Outstanding Women in Ghana |url=http://womanrising.org/100mowe/ |access-date=29 November 2017 |website=womanrising.}}</ref> In 2009 she founded the GUBA (Ghana UK Based Achievements) Awards,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theafricandream.net/dentaa-mbe-status-guba-african-dream/ |title=GUBA |date=27 June 2016 |access-date=27 June 2016}}</ref> which recognises the achievements of individuals and organisations "positively contributing to the Ghanaian community in the UK or Ghana".<ref name="Africa News">{{cite web |author=Kent Mensah |date=26 September 2011 |title=GUBA awards: Celebrating Ghanaian achievements |url=http://www.africanews.com/site/GUBA_awards_Celebrating_Ghanaian_achievements/list_messages/39868 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003201314/http://www.africanews.com/site/GUBA_awards_Celebrating_Ghanaian_achievements/list_messages/39868 |archive-date=3 October 2011 |access-date=9 November 2012 |publisher=Africa News.}}</ref> In 2011, she was named in The Future 100 Awards as the "Young Social Entrepreneur" of the year for her work with GUBA.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://future100awards.wordpress.com/future-100-winners-2011/future-100-2011-winners-full-summary/ |title=Future 100 2011 Winners – Full Summary |date=16 November 2011 |access-date=2 January 2013}}</ref>
In June 2013, Dentaa was announced as the winner of the annual African Women in Europe (AWE) Award, for her work in promoting Ghanaian achievement in the UK and for her charity work. Organisers described her as an "icon and role model to all African women living and working in Europe".<ref name="AWE">{{cite web |url=http://www.voice-online.co.uk/article/guba-founder-wins-2013-african-women-europe-gong |title=GUBA founder wins 2013 African Women in Europe gong |author=Melissa Allison-Forbes |work=The Voice |date=25 June 2013 |access-date=5 July 2013 |archive-date=18 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818200131/http://www.voice-online.co.uk/article/guba-founder-wins-2013-african-women-europe-gong |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Dentaa is currently based in London, England.<ref name="Album">{{cite web|url=http://www.modernghana.com/music/2478/3/dentaas-eagerly-awaited-debut-album.html |title=Dentaa's Eagerly-awaited Debut Album |author=Nii Atakora Mensah |publisher=Modern Ghana |date=12 July 2005 |access-date=3 December 2012}}</ref>
==Early years and education==
Dentaa was born in Juaso, in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, but at the age of five moved with her family to the UK. From a young age, she enjoyed performing in school plays and talent shows. She took her GCSEs at Walthamstow School for Girls and A-Levels (Media Studies, Sociology and Performing Arts) at Leyton Sixth Form College. She went on to study for a degree in paediatric nursing at Buckinghamshire New University.<ref name="Jamati">{{cite web |author=Ameyaw Debrah |date=10 February 2008 |title=Keeping Up With Dentaa |url=http://www.jamati.com/online/film/keeping-up-with-dentaa/ |access-date=3 December 2012 |publisher=Jamati.}}</ref>
== Music and television work ==
Between the late 1990s and early 2000s, Dentaa appeared on British TV dramas including ''EastEnders'', ''Holby City'', ''Judge John Deed'', ''Run Baby Run'', and ''Prime Suspect''.<ref name="Joy">{{cite web |url=http://entertainment.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/200705/5120.php |title=Dentaa retires from music |publisher=My Joy Online |date=29 August 2007 |access-date=3 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203214533/http://entertainment.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/200705/5120.php |archive-date=3 February 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Ghana Celebrities">{{cite web |url=http://www.ghanacelebrities.com/2010/03/19/congratulationsdentaa-gives-birth-to-another-cute-baby-boy |title=Congratulations:Dentaa Gives Birth to Another Cute Baby Boy |author=Chris-Vincent Agyapong Febiri |publisher=Ghana Celebrities.com |date=19 March 2010 |access-date=3 December 2012 |archive-date=6 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241206142348/https://www.ghanacelebrities.com/2010/03/19/congratulationsdentaa-gives-birth-to-another-cute-baby-boy/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 2005, she released a gospel album entitled ''Wu Ye Nyame'', through Alordia Promotions and Goodies Music Production. The album received airplay on radio stations in Ghana, and Dentaa supported the release with a global tour.<ref name="Album" /><ref name="Jamati" />
=== ''The Dentaa Show'' ===
In 2006, Dentaa produced and fronted a new TV show for British ethnic minority channel OBE (Original Black Entertainment) TV called ''The Dentaa Show''. The 30-minute syndicated magazine programme, broadcast on Sky Channel 155, was filmed in front of a live audience and split into three segments exploring the Ghanaian and African entertainment scene through interviews with celebrities, coverage of entertainment events and a focus on the latest music chart videos.<ref name="Joy" /> The show was Ghana's most-watched entertainment programme.<ref name="Ambassador">{{cite journal |journal=The Ambassador |year=2010 |volume=1 |issue=1 |page=11 |title=GUBA to honour Ghanaian businesses in the UK |author=Davis, Rickie |url=http://issuu.com/magazineproduction/docs/ambassadormag_ezine |access-date=3 December 2012 }}</ref> and in its first year, scored the highest ratings in first-run syndication in the 18 – 40 years demographic, out-performing established talk shows.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.modernghana.com/music/16065/3/dentaa-show-to-hit-your-screens.html |title=Dentaa Show To Hit Your Screens |publisher=Modern Ghana |date=31 August 2011 |access-date=3 December 2012}}</ref> ''The Dentaa Show'' ran for three seasons.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.voiceofafricaradio.com/faces-of-the-week/432-faces-week-12-2010.html |title=Faces of the Week |publisher=Voice of Africa Radio |access-date=3 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130021300/http://voiceofafricaradio.com/faces-of-the-week/432-faces-week-12-2010.html |archive-date=30 November 2012 }}</ref>
=== Other TV shows and hosting appearances ===
Dentaa co-hosted Miss Ghana UK in 2007<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=129910 |title=Mzbel, Wutah, FBS storm U.K |publisher=GhanaWeb |date=31 August 2007 |access-date=3 December 2012}}</ref> and the following year became a co-host on the fourth series of ''Mentor'' – Ghana's equivalent of ''The X-Factor''<ref name="Ambassador"/> — on Ghanaian TV channel TV3, alongside Kofi Okyere Darko (aka "KOD").<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.modernghana.com/music/8492/3/tv3-mentor-returns.html |title=TV3 Mentor Returns |author=Ameyaw Debrah |publisher=Modern Ghana|date=6 December 2008 |access-date=3 December 2012}}</ref> In 2009, she co-hosted the Ghana Music Awards, performing a duet with Batman Samini, and in 2010 presented Ghana's first make-over show, ''Darling Beauty Diaries''. She did not, however, return for the fifth series of ''Mentor'' in 2010 as she was by then pregnant with her second child.<ref name="Ghana Celebrities" />
In August 2012, it was announced that Dentaa would be making a return to TV with new weekly show ''Dinner with Dentaa'', which features celebrity guests cooking for her.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ameyawdebrah.com/dinner-with-dentaa-coming-soon/ |title= Dinner with Dentaa coming soon! |author=Ameyaw Debrah |publisher=Modern Ghana |date=30 August 2012 |access-date=3 December 2012}}</ref>
== GUBA Awards ==
{{main|Ghana UK-Based Achievement Awards}}
Outside of broadcasting, Dentaa is known as the founder and CEO of non-profit organisation the Ghana UK Based Achievement (GUBA) Awards, which organises an annual awards ceremony in Britain recognising the "hugely significant" contribution that British-Ghanaians make to society.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.voice-online.co.uk/article/tony-and-cherie-blair-back-guba-awards |title=Tony and Cherie Blair back GUBA awards |work=The Voice |date=30 October 2012 |access-date=3 December 2012 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304042120/http://www.voice-online.co.uk/article/tony-and-cherie-blair-back-guba-awards |url-status=dead }}</ref> Dentaa founded the awards in 2009, with the first awards ceremony taking place in London, England, in October 2010.<ref name="Fab">{{cite web|url=http://fabmagazineonline.com/fab-event-guba-2012-so-far/ |title=FAB Event: GUBA 2012 So Far |author=Claudia Andrews |work=Fab Magazine |date=4 November 2012 |access-date=3 December 2012}}</ref> Dentaa, who describes herself as a "proud Ghanaian", had the idea to set up the awards as she felt that there was "nothing out there promoted and enriched my heritage".
GUBA was the first ceremony of its kind to specifically recognise Ghanaian achievement<ref name="Africa News" /> and has since been endorsed by dignitaries and organisations including the Ghana High Commission to the UK and Ireland, the British High Commission in Ghana, the Ghana Ministry of Tourism, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie, Lord Paul Boateng, Diane Abbott MP and FIFA President Sepp Blatter.<ref name="Fab" />
Dentaa's achievements with GUBA were acknowledged in 2011 when she was announced as one of the "Young Social Entrepreneurs of the Year" in the annual Future 100 Awards, and again in 2013 when she received the African Women in Europe (AWE) Award.<ref name="AWE" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.modernghana.com/music/16632/3/dentaa-of-speak-to-dentaa-guba-awards-named-one-of.html |title=Dentaa of Speak To Dentaa & GUBA Awards named one of the Future 100 Young Social Entrepreneurs for 2011 |publisher=Modern Ghana |date=15 November 2011 |access-date=3 December 2012}}</ref> Dentaa was nominated for two categories at the annual Women4Africa awards in London in May 2014, being adjudged best organizer of the year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gubaawards.com/2014/05/dentaa-amoateng-adjudged-best-event-organizer-of-the-year-at-3rd-women4africa-awards-in-london/|title=Dentaa Amoateng adjudged best event organizer of the year at 3rd Women4Africa Awards in London|website=GUBA Awards|date=12 May 2014|access-date=11 November 2023}}</ref>
== Connection with professional football ==
Dentaa has a strong connection to the world of football. She is the Manager of Ghana and former Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan, and played an "influential role" in helping Ghana's national football team, popularly known as the Black Stars, secure the services of Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong.<ref name="List">{{cite web|url=http://www.modernghana.com/music/16355/3/guba-ceo-dentaa-makes-the-list.html |title=GUBA CEO Dentaa makes the List |author=Kay Sarpong |publisher=Modern Ghana |date=6 October 2011 |access-date=3 December 2012}}</ref>
In May 2012, she organised the launch of the Benjani Mwaruwari Foundation, set up by Portsmouth and Zimbabwe national football team striker Benjani Mwaruwari to build a football academy for underprivileged youths in Zimbabwe.<ref name="Filla">{{cite web |url=http://www.ghanafilla.net/dentaa-to-host-benjani-mwaruwari-foundation-in-zimbabwe-with-guest-appearances-by-emmanuel-adebayor-yaya-and-kolo-toure-kanu-and-jay-jay-okocha/ |title=Dentaa to host Benjani Mwaruwari Foundation in Zimbabwe |publisher=GhanaFilla.net |date=26 May 2012 |access-date=3 December 2012 |archive-date=10 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910154521/http://www.ghanafilla.net/dentaa-to-host-benjani-mwaruwari-foundation-in-zimbabwe-with-guest-appearances-by-emmanuel-adebayor-yaya-and-kolo-toure-kanu-and-jay-jay-okocha/ |url-status=usurped }}</ref> The following month, in June 2012, Dentaa helped the Arthur Wharton Foundation present a statuette of Arthur Wharton — the first professional black football player – to FIFA President Sepp Blatter.<ref>{{cite web |date=7 June 2012 |title=First black professional footballer, Arthur Wharton honoured by GUBA and FIFA |url=http://www.caribdirect.com/2012/06/11/first-black-professional-footballer-arthur-wharton-honoured-by-guba-and-fifa/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130215162854/http://www.caribdirect.com/2012/06/11/first-black-professional-footballer-arthur-wharton-honoured-by-guba-and-fifa/ |archive-date=15 February 2013 |access-date=3 December 2012 |publisher=GhanaFilla.}}</ref> The Arthur Wharton Marquette Statue is now displayed in the presidents' lounge at FIFA headquarters in Zurich.<ref>{{cite web |date=7 June 2012 |title=World's first black professional footballer Arthur Wharton honoured |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-18340408 |access-date=3 December 2012 |publisher=BBC UK}}</ref>
Dentaa's work in the sporting arena was recognised in 2011, when she was nominated for the 2011 Black List Awards – a UK-based awards scheme that acknowledges the contribution of the black community for achievements across all levels of football, and which is supported by the Football Association, Professional Footballers' Association and Black Collective of Media in Sport (BCOMS), among others. Her management of Gyan and influence in the signing of Frimpong to the Ghana national team were "key factors" in her nomination.<ref name="List" />
== Personal life == Dentaa has four children: Nuquari, Awiyah Amoateng, Adansi Amoateng, and Enijie Amoateng Jr.<ref name="diasporadigitalnews">{{cite web |author=diaspora digital news |date=17 December 2020 |title=Dentaa's children |url=https://diasporadigitalnews.com/meet-8-year-old-entrepreneur-actress-and-model-princess-awiyah/ |access-date=2 February 2021 |publisher=DiasporaDigitalNews.}}</ref> Prominent among them is Awiyah, also known as Princess Awiyah, who at the age of six in 2018 launched her hair brand for children,<ref name="modernghana">{{cite web |author=Modern Ghana |title=Princess Awiyah |url=https://www.modernghana.com/amp/news/1047452/6-year-old-princess-awiyah-launches-product-line.html |access-date=2 February 2021 |publisher=ModernGhana.}}</ref> following that up in 2020 with her Shea butter and black soap products.<ref name="awiyahsheabutter">{{cite web |author=Awiyah sheabutter |title=Princess Awiyah products |url=https://awiyahsheabutter.com/ |access-date=2 February 2021 |publisher=AwiyahSheaButter |archive-date=16 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516155518/https://awiyahsheabutter.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
== Selected honours == * 2013: Winner of African Women in Europe (AWE) Award * 2016: Appointed Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.voice-online.co.uk/article/guba-founders-royal-appointment|title=GUBA Founder's Royal Appointment|first=Claudia|last=Andrews|newspaper=The Voice|date=1 November 2016|archive-date=5 December 2024|access-date=11 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241205044049/https://archive.voice-online.co.uk/article/guba-founders-royal-appointment|url-status=dead}}</ref> * 2017: Ghana Peace Awards Humanitarian Service Laureate * 2025: honored with a diplomatic passport by the minister for foreign affairs(Ghana), Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa through the ministry.<ref>https://mobile.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/entertainment/Meet-the-five-Ghanaian-personalities-honoured-with-diplomatic-passport-2001306#</ref><ref>https://www.myjoyonline.com/wode-maya-rocky-dawuni-anita-erskine-and-two-others-granted-diplomatic-passports-by-foreign-minister/</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == {{sister project links|d=Q5259385|c=Category:Dentaa|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|s=no|wikt=no|species=no}} * [http://www.gubaawards.co.uk/ GUBA Awards website]
Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century Black British women singers Category:21st-century British women singers Category:21st-century Ghanaian singers Category:21st-century Ghanaian women singers Category:Alumni of Buckinghamshire New University Category:Ghanaian emigrants to England Category:Ghanaian television actresses Category:Ghanaian television presenters Category:Ghanaian television producers Category:Ghanaian women television presenters Category:Ghanaian women television producers Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire Category:Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Category:People educated at Walthamstow School for Girls Category:People from Ashanti Region