Nollywood happens to be one of the most successful part of the Nigerian entertainment industry. It is famous for its movies that have displayed comedy and tragedy in diverse ways and in various concepts.
Truth be told, most Nigerian movies being watched by Nigerians have been watched because of the actual individuals starring those movies. Below are some of the stars that have stimulated Nigerians to watch certain movies.
Genevieve Nnaji
Genevieve Nnaji was born in was born on the 3rd of May 1979 in Mbaise, Imo State, Nigeria. She is an actress, producer, director and former model. Her career as an actor began when she was 8 years old where she starred in a soap opera with the title, Ripples. She was brought into the Nigerian movie industry when she was 19 and she starred in “Most Wanted” and from then on she has starred in more than 80 films.
She won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 2005, she was awarded Best Actress at the 2001 City Peoples Awards, and in 2009, Oprah Winfrey referred to her as the Julia Roberts of Africa. In 2015, she produced her first film titled Road to Yesterday and on September 7th, the movie she directed – Lion Heart – was acquired by Netflix.
Omotola Jalade Ekeinde.
Omotola Jalade Ekeinde was born on the 7th of February, 1978. She is an actress, a singer, philanthropist and former model. She first appeared in Nollywood in the year 1995 where she starred in “Venom of Justice” and since then she has starred in close to 200 movies and sold a lot of video copies. The first big character she ever played was in a movie titled “Mortal Inheritance” and this movie earned her an award of “Best Actress in an English Speaking Movie” and “Best Actress Overall” at the 1997 THEMA (The Movie Awards).
Omotola Jalade Ekeinde is one of the creators of video film era of Nigerian cinema and this made her the most viewed actress in Africa and in 2013, she appeared in a movie series by VH1 titled “Hit the Floor”.
Stella Damasus-Aboderin.
Stella Damasus-Aboderin was born on the 24th of April, 1978 in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. She is an actress and a singer who has starred in a lot of Nollywood film productions. Her first appearance in the Nollywood movie industry was in 1992 where she starred in a movie titled “Abused”. Be that as it may, the movie that won her fame across Nigeria was her second movie titled “Breaking Point” which was produced by Emem Isong and Francis Agu did the directing.
Stella Damascus won the award for Best Actress at the Nigerian Entertainment Awards in 2007, in 2012, she won the award for Best Actress in the movie titled “Two Brides and a Baby” at the Golden Icons Academy Awards in Houston, Texas, and in 2009 she was proposed for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the Africa Movie Academy Awards.
Kate Henshaw-Nuttall.
Nigerian actress, Kate Henshaw-Nuttall was born on the 19th of July, 1971 in Calabar, Cross-River State, Nigeria. She also happens to be a model, a television personality, a philanthropist and a businesswoman. She made her first appearance in the Nollywood film industry in the year 1993 where she tried out for a leading role in a movie titled “When the Sun Sets”, a role which she got. From that time on, the actress has made an appearance in more than forty-five (45) Nigerian movies.
In the year 2008, she won the African Movie Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role, she is an ambassador and the face of Onga, and she is also a judge in the Nigeria’s Got Talent Hunt Show.
Stephanie Okereke Linus
Stephanie Linus was born Stephanie Onyekachi Okereke on the 2nd of October, 1982 in Ngor Okpala, Imo State, Nigeria. She is an actress, a director and a model. When she was a teenager, she starred in two movies titled “Compromise 2” and “Waterloo”. In 2002, she was the runner up in the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria beauty pageant.
In 2003, she got eight nominations in the 2003 Reel Awards out of which she received two – “Best Actress – English” and “Best Actress of the year 2003”. She won the 2006 Afro Hollywood Award for Best Actress. She won the Best Overall Movie (Africa) in the 2016 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards. Also in 2016, she won the Programmers’ Award Narrative Feature, Best Actress in Leading Role, and Best Overall Movie in the Pan African Film Festival. Out of 34 award nominations, she won 20.
