Genevieve Nnaji (/nˈnɑːdʒi/; born 3 May 1979) is a Nigerian actress and singer.She won the Africa Movie
Academy Award for Best Actress in
a Leading Role in 2005,
making her the first actress to win the award. In 2011, she was honoured as a Member of the Order of the
Federal Republic by the
Nigerian government for her contribution to Nollywood.
Early Life and Education
Nnaji was born in Mbaise, Imo State, Nigeria but grew up in Lagos, the fourth of eight children and was brought up in a middle
class environment. Her father worked as an engineer and her mother as a nursery
teacher. She attended Methodist Girls College (Yaba, Lagos), before transferring into the University of
Lagos where she
graduated with a bachelor's degree in creative arts. While at the university, she began auditioning for acting
jobs in Nollywood.
Career
Nnaji started her acting
career as a child actress in the then popular television soap opera Ripples at the age of 8. In
1998 at the age of 19 she was introduced into the growing Nigerian film
industry with the movie "Most Wanted". Her subsequent movies
include Last Party, Mark of the Beast and Ijele. In 2010 she starred in
the award-winning film Ijé: The Journey.
She has starred in over 80 Nollywood movies.
Nnaji is considered to be one of the best paid actresses
in Nollywood. Due
to her contributions to the Nigeria movie industry, she became the first
actress to be awarded Best Actress at the 2001 City Peoples Awards, the award
ceremony that previously had only recognized politicians and business
conglomerates. She was also the first actress to be awarded as Best Actress by
the Census Board of Nigeria in 2003. In 2009, she was referred to as
the Julia Roberts of Africa by Oprah Winfrey.
In 2004 Nnaji signed a recording contract with EKB Records, a Ghanaian record label,
and released her debut album One Logologo
Line, a mix of R&B, Hip-Hop and Urban music.
In November 2015 Nnaji produced her first movie called Road to Yesterday, later
winning Best Movie Overall-West Africa at the 2016 Africa Magic Viewers Choice
Awards.
Modeling
Nnaji has
featured in several commercials some of which include those of Pronto beverage
and Omo detergent. In 2004 she became the "Face of Lux" in Nigeria in
a highly lucrative sponsorship deal. In 2008 Nnaji launched the
clothing line, "St. Genevieve", which donates its proceeds to charity. In
May 2010 Nnaji was appointed to be the official "Face of MUD" in Nigeria.
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