Patricia Ngozi Komlosy OBE (née Ebigwei; born 3 May 1954), known professionally as Patti Boulaye, is a British-Nigerian singer, actress and artist who rose to prominence after winning New Faces in 1978 and was among the leading black British entertainers in the 1970s and 1980s. In her native Nigeria she is best remembered for starring in Lux commercials and Bisi, Daughter of the River, as well as her own series, The Patti Boulaye Show. Her stage name is said to have been inspired by the actress Evelyn "Boo" Laye. Early life Boulaye was born after her mother went into labour in a taxi that was passing through two towns in Mid-Western Nigeria and was raised in a strict Catholic household with nine children, including airline pilot Tony Ebigwei, who was killed in the Nigerian Airways plane crash of 1978. She is of Efik and Igbo origin. As a teenager Boulaye survived the 1967–70 Biafran war and attributes this to her strong faith. At the age of 16 she left Nigeria for the United Kingdom where she decided to become a nun. However, during a sightseeing trip in London, Boulaye stood in a queue for what she assumed was Madame Tussauds but turned out to be an audition for the original London production of Hair and soon won a part, which launched her career in musicals. Her father, who did not approve of showbusiness, disowned his daughter but later forgave her. Career Stage After Hair, she featured in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, but landed her first starring role as Yum Yum in The Black Mikado under her birth name, Patricia Ebigwei. Other stage productions she has starred in include the title role in Carmen Jones (at London's Old Vic Theatre, in a production directed by Simon Callow) and Jesus Christ Superstar. In 2003 Boulaye launched her West End musical, Sun Dance, which took twelve years to put together. Hailed as a celebration of "the colors and music of Africa in a display of ceremonial dances, rituals and initiation ceremonies, all played out to the beat of African drums". It was written and produced by Boulaye herself and opened at the Hackney Empire. Boulaye featured in an excerpt from the show forming part of the interval act at the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest, staged at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham. she received the Officer of the Most Excellent Order of