Stella Umeh Explained

Stella Umeh
Fullname:Stella Umeh
Birth Date:27 May 1975
Birth Place:Toronto, Ontario
Hometown:Mississauga, Ontario
Discipline:WAG
Level:Senior International Elite
Collegeteam:UCLA Bruins (1994-1998)
Module:
Child:yes
Notable Works:Varekai
Retired:1998
Show-Medals:yes

Stella Umeh (born 27 May 1975) is a Canadian former artistic gymnast and current actress and performer. She competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics placing 16th in the all-around.[1] She is of Guyanese and Nigerian descent.[2]

Gymnastics career

Umeh's first big international meet was at the 1989 American Cup in Fairfax, Virginia where she finished fifth.[3] She then competed at the 1990 Commonwealth Games but was originally an alternate.[4] She won a gold medal with the Canadian team.[5] She competed at the American Cup again in 1991 but placed 8th.[6] She went to the 1991 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. She finished 17th in the all-around.[7] In 1992, Stella started her season at the American Cup in Orlando, Florida, USA and finished 7th.[8] In April, she competed at the 1992 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Paris, France. She qualified to Vault and Beam finals but placed 8th and 5th.[9] Later, she qualified to the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. She finished 16th in the all-around and 10th with the Canadian team.[10] In 1993, she went to Worlds and placed 15th AA and 8th in the FX final. In 1994, she went to the 1994 Commonwealth Games and won 2 golds and 2 silvers as well as placing 4th and 5th in Floor and Beam finals.

College career

In 1994, she accepted a college scholarship to UCLA and started attending the school in 1994.[1]

Throughout her four years at college, she won three golds, three silvers and one bronze at the NCAA Championships. She was twice the Pac-12 conference all-around champion.[11]

Acting and Entertainment

Stella studied Theatre at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in the hopes of becoming an actress.[12] In 2000, she joined Cirque du Soleil and performed Mystère in Las Vegas. In 2002, she performed in Fire Within and then in Varekai as a triple trapeze in 2003.[13] She played small roles in Ghostly Encounters and Delroy Kincaid. She recently had a leading role in a stage play called, 'Pinteresque' which will be in the SummerWorks Performance Festival.[14]

Currently, Stella lives in Australia.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Stella Umeh (CAN) . 2014-03-16 . 2012-12-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121212232806/http://www.gymn.ca/gymnasticgreats/wag/umeh.htm . dead .
  2. Book: Dan Gutman. Gymnastics. 1 August 1998. Penguin Young Readers Group. 978-1-101-16065-7. 112–.
  3. Web site: USA Gymnastics Online: Results: 1989 McDonald's American Cup . https://web.archive.org/web/20181221114838/https://www.usagym.org/PDFs/Results/americancup_results_1989.pdf . 2018-12-21.
  4. Web site: May Birthday Profile: Stella Umeh | the Couch GymnastThe Couch Gymnast . 2014-03-16 . 2014-04-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140407120134/http://www.thecouchgymnast.com/may-birthday-profile-stella-umeh/ . dead .
  5. [1990 Commonwealth Games#Artistic]
  6. Web site: USA Gymnastics Online: Results: 1991 McDonald's American Cup . https://web.archive.org/web/20181221114837/http://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/americancup_results_1991.pdf . 2018-12-21.
  7. [1991 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships]
  8. Web site: USA Gymnastics Online: Results: 1992 McDonald's American Cup . https://web.archive.org/web/20181221114839/http://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/americancup_results_1992.pdf . 2018-12-21.
  9. [1992 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships#Women]
  10. Web site: USA Gymnastics Online: Results: 1992 Olympics . https://web.archive.org/web/20181221105643/http://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/1992_olympic_results_20080430_031223.pdf . 2018-12-21.
  11. [List of Pac-12 Conference champions#Gymnastics]
  12. Web site: Stella Umeh - For Introduction Purposes . 2014-03-16 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140407093918/http://www.motivatecanada.ca/files/athlete/biographies/Stella%20Umeh.pdf . 2014-04-07 .
  13. Web site: Stella Umeh. IMDb.
  14. Web site: Stella Umeh - Athletes - Welcome to Motivate Canada! . 2014-03-16 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140407093920/http://www.motivatecanada.ca/en/esteemteam/athletes-13-stella-umeh . 2014-04-07 .