Clark Backo, the Venom: The Last Dance actress, was raised by parents of diverse ethnicities—her father is Cameroonian, and her mother is Canadian. Although Clark is Canadian by birth, she has roots in Central Africa, too. Her father is also a prominent celebrity who has spent considerable time on the big stage.
Backo, famous for playing Rosie in Letterkenny (2016-23), grew up in a rich and diverse background; she is one of the few people in Hollywood and the entertainment industry who is of Cameroonian-Canadian descent.
Since she was born to a singer dad and a ballet dancer mom, enthusiasm for performing arts was naturally coming.
Throughout these years, Clark made notable appearances in TV series like 21 Thunder, Designated Survivor, Supernatural, and The Changeling.
Moreover, in 2024, she landed her feature film breakthrough with Venom: The Last Dance, starring Tom Hardy as Venom. Other casts in the film include Rhys Ifans, Juno Temple, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Stephen Graham, Alanna Ubach, Peggy Lu, Ivo Nandi, and Otis Winston.
Key Takeaways:
- Clark Backo is Canadian by birth but has a biracial ethnicity from her parents.
- Clark’s father, Njacko Backo, is a Cameroonian singer originally from Bazou.
- Backo’s mother, Sam, is a Canadian ballet dancer.
- After Clark’s parents divorced, her father remarried a Dutch woman named Valery Woloshyn.
- Clark has a half-brother named Koko (from her dad’s side), who is often seen with his parents in their home in Quebec.
Clark Backo’s Biological Parents Are Divorced: Father Is Remarried
Clark Backo has parents from different backgrounds and ethnicities. She was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on September 5, 1993, to a Cameroonian father, Njacko Backo, and a Canadian mother, Sam Benson. After her parents divorced, her dad and mom co-parented as they raised her.
As reported, Backo’s father, a Cameroon-born man, first traveled to France before settling in Amsterdam. It was in the Netherlands that he met Clark’s mother, Sam. The former worked as a musician, while the latter was a ballerina at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.
The two began dating shortly after and even got married, followed by the birth of their son.
Since Njacko was an immigrant, it took him some time to reunite with his then-wife and child in Montreal, Canada. In 1989, he moved to Canada and welcomed two more children with Sam.
One of the two children was none other than their daughter Clark, who became one of Hollywood’s most anticipated actresses.
However, by the late 1990s, Njacko and Sam (Clark’s parents) divorced.
Subsequently, her father married Valery Woloshyn (Clark’s stepmom). On the other hand, Sam has maintained a very low profile since her divorce, and it is unknown if she has remarried.
In March 2021, Mr. Backo made a Facebook post that appreciated all mothers worldwide, including his wife, Valery, and his former wife, Sam. The caption read, “thanks specially my wife Valery, mother of our son, and Sam mother of my three older kids.”
As for Valery, in late 2022, she shared a LinkedIn post where she ‘met her husband Njacko 22 years ago’, i.e., they met in the early 2000s.
Clark Backo’s Father Is A Musician: Success After Struggle As A Child
Clark Backo’s father, Njacko Backo, is a famous Cameroonian celebrity- a musician, writer, choreographer, poet, composer, and performer. He was raised in a musically inclined household and was born in 1958.
Njacko’s parents “divorced” when he was only seven years old, which was a disgraceful crime by the local moral standards of the time. His parents neglected him, and other kids avoided him.
He moved on to live with his grandmother, who supported his passion for music and introduced him to the local elders who taught him how to play the African harp (zaa koua), the kalimba (thumb piano), and the hand drum (toumkak).
He left Cameroon around 16-17 and traveled around West Africa. After that, he went to France before settling in the Netherlands.
He has collaborated with several African performers, such as dancer Zab Maboungo, Oumar Diayé, and the late musician Boubacar Diabaté. In 1990, he founded the bands Njacko Backo and Kalimba Kalimba. As of now, he has independently released 11 full-length songs.
Among many other events, Njacko appeared at the Louisiana Folk Festival (Lafayette, LA), the Montreal Jazz Festival, and the Houston International Jazz Festival (Houston, TX). In addition, he has written music for the motion pictures Spirit in the Tree, Born Free, and To Walk with Lions.
As a music educator for Mariposa in the Schools, Njacko teaches music and other subjects in the Greater Toronto Area. He has created three instructing DVDs and CDs on African drumming.
Read More: How Much Is ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ Actor Ivo Nandi’s Net Worth? Earnings And Assets
Backo’s Stepmother, Valery Woloshyn, Is The Regional Delivery Leader at Stantec
Valery Woloshyn has been a regional delivery leader at Stantec for nearly three years. She has also held various other positions in the same company, such as Senior Project manager, Project Management Leader, Senior Associate, and Organizational leader in the GTA Water department.
According to her LinkedIn profile, she started her career as an Environmental Engineering Co-op Student at CH2M HILL between January 2001 and August 2002.
She then took the position of International Co-op Student at Ramboll Engineering Consultants. In April 2003, she worked as her husband’s Personal Assistant and Administrator.
After that, she returned to CH2M Hill and worked as a Project consultant before being promoted to Associate Project Manager and, ultimately, Project Manager. Val took a career break as caregiving between August 2013 and September 14.
When she’s not at work, she tends her vegetable garden, spends time with her family in the neighborhood ravine, and plays the kalimba (African piano) in her husband’s band.
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Clark Backo Has A Biracial Ethnicity
Clark Backo is of mixed ethnicity, with her origins in Canada and Cameroon. She has Canadian citizenship and was born in Montreal, Quebec.
The 30-year-old actress seems very proud of her origins and often shares posts about her background on her social media. Her biracial ethnicity might have had some effects during her childhood. However, she has utilized her diverse background to become one of the most versatile actresses in Hollywood.
In an Instagram post in June 2020, Clark discussed her ethnicity. She said she was of mixed Cameroonian and white Canadian heritage.
The passage of her career has made her feel heard and seen as a human being, in addition to providing me with affirmation for being Black. She has been able to have a deeper awareness of her privilege as a light-skinned Black woman. She implores everyone to regularly examine their privilege, which is not limited to matters of race.
Backo says, “Are you transgender? Unrestrained? Fit and strong? Are you upper class or middle class? Is attending college a possibility? We should all ask ourselves these questions because, if the answer is yes to any of them, there is at least one area of society in which you may have an impact. The oppressed cannot be forced to perform the labor. Making change is the responsibility of the affluent.”
Her two most well-known roles are as Emma in the AppleTV+ television series The Changeling (2023) and as Wayne’s love interest, Rosie, in the television series Letterkenny.
Related Cast: ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ Cast Otis Winston’s Net Worth: How Much He Makes As An Actor?
Clark Backo Has Three Siblings, Including A Half-Sibling
Backo has three siblings- her father and his mother, Sam, welcomed three kids, including herself (Clark).
According to a few reports, the Canadian actress has a sister and a brother. However, in social media posts or interviews, Clark has never mentioned her siblings. Clark’s dad, Njacko, shared a picture of all of the siblings in an Instagram post uploaded on October 7, 2018, in what seems to be a birthday party.
Likewise, Clark also has a half-brother named Nkoni, commonly known as Koko. He was born on September 3, 2014. Nkoni is a very talented singer and instrument player who has been playing drums since he was 5.
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Bidhya Sagar Shrestha is an experienced content writer with a solid content creation and digital marketing background. His majors in entrepreneurship and marketing give him a deep understanding of business environments and marketing strategies.
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