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Eniola Olorundare
When Forbes magazine released the names of 100 prime players on the flying lane, it is not surprising that star actress, Genevieve Nnaji’s name is conspicuously there. On the list are stars such as Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,Omotola, Davido, Burna Boy and Wizkid. The reason is that Genevieve’s stardom has been as constant as the northern star. Here is an actress who practically broke for Nollywood the jinx that seems to be their lot as far as Netflix is concerned.
Genevieve Nnaji is a 41 years old renowned Nigerian actress, producer, director and women activist born on 3rd May, 1979. She hails from Mbaise, Imo State, Nigeria but grew up in Lagos State. Nnaji is a graduate from the University of Lagos.
Having spent decades in the movie industry, she has profiled alongside some celebrities and business executives. In 2011, she was honoured as a Member of the Order of the Federal Republic by the Nigerian Government for her notable contributions to Nollywood. Genevieve attended Methodist Girls College at Yaba, Lagos before proceeding to the University of Lagos, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Creative Arts. She started
auditioning for acting jobs in Nollywood while she was in the university.
Genevieve comes from a family of eight children. While she is fourth, her father was an engineer and her mother worked as a nursery school teacher. She already started acting while she was little in the then-popular television soap opera ‘Ripples’ (8 years old). By 19, she was introduced into the growing Nigerian film industry with the movie ‘Most Wanted’. Ever since then, she has grown relevant in and starred in over 200 Nollywood movies.
She is worth about $1 million dollars as her source of wealth includes entertainment, endorsement and real estate. Her debut movie, ‘Lionheart’, is the first Netflix Original from Nigeria and first Nigerian submission for the Oscars. The movie was disqualified for having most of the dialogue in English.
In 2004, Nnaji signed a recording contract with EKB Records, a Ghanaian record label and released her debut album ‘One Logologo Line’. It is a mix of R&B, Hip-Hop and Urban music. The same year, she got a very profitable deal with Lux as “Face of Lux”. In 2005, she won the Africa Movie Academy Award (AMAA) for Best Actress in a Leading Role, becoming the first actress to win the award.
Oprah Winfrey once called her ‘The Julia Roberts of Africa’.
As of 2009, Nnaji was regarded as the best-paid female actors in Nollywood. She has a daughter named Theodora Chimebuka Nnaji; which she usually hides from the public. There are eavesdrops that she is married.
In the year 2015, Genevieve produced her first movie called ‘Road to Yesterday’, which won the Overall West Africa at the 2016 Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Awards.
As a woman activist, she is strongly against early marriages for young girl abuse of women in society.
