Biography
Genevieve is not just the most well-known female face in Nollywood, but also maybe in all of Nigeria. She marries her timeless beauty with flawless cinematic talent and a penchant for scented long-lasting women’s perfumes.
The spectacular rise of Genevieve Nnaji to fame as an actress, producer, and director has always served as a lesson in how important it is to value one’s humble beginnings.
From attending school in the crowded alleys of Yaba to becoming one of the few people whose first names are enough to recognize them.
One person only comes to mind when the name Genevieve is mentioned across Africa and beyond: the delicious, dark-skinned actress from Nigeria.
Early Life & Education
On May 3, 1979, Genevieve was born in Mbaise, Imo State, Nigeria. She is the fourth kid out of eight; her mother is a teacher and her father was an engineer.
Genevieve Nnaji is a graduate of the University of Lagos, where she studied in Creative Arts on a part-time basis. She previously attended Methodist Girls College in Yaba.
Genevieve Nnaji left school in the late 1990s because she couldn’t balance performing and her studies.
Early in her career, Genevieve struggled to land acting roles in Surulere, the Film Capital of Africa, and was compelled to move from audition to audition in an effort to become a household name.
On May 3, 1979, Genevieve was born in Mbaise, Imo State, Nigeria. She is the fourth kid out of eight; her mother was a teacher and her father an engineer.
Genevieve Nnaji is a graduate of the University of Lagos, where she studied in Creative Arts on a part-time basis. She previously attended Methodist Girls College in Yaba.
The actress was exposed to television at a very young age because her primary school, Kemstar, was located in Surulere, a city known for creating future movie stars.
As a result, she made her debut on television as a child actress at the age of 8 in Ripples, one of the most popular Nigerian soap operas of the 20th century.
When Genevieve Nnaji was a young girl, her family was forced to move from Surulere to Egbeda because of financial difficulties brought on by her father’s two job losses.
Genevieve Nnaji is a graduate of the University of Lagos, where she studied in Creative Arts on a part-time basis. She previously attended Methodist Girls College in Yaba.
The actress was exposed to television at a very young age because her primary school, Kemstar, was located in Surulere, a city known for creating future movie stars.
As a result, she made her debut on television as a child actress at the age of 8 in Ripples, one of the most popular Nigerian soap operas of the 20th century.
When Genevieve Nnaji was a young girl, her family was forced to move from Surulere to Egbeda because of financial difficulties brought on by her father’s two job losses.
Nigerian Gospel Singer “Sammie Okposo” is dead – Dies at 51
Daughter
After becoming pregnant and giving birth to her daughter, Chimebuka Theodora, at the age of 17, Genevieve Nnaji dropped out of secondary school, which further motivated her to seek an acting career.
Elvis Obaseki, the director, recalls seeing Genevieve dejected and on the edge of tears when he decided not to cast her in a movie.
Obaseki first agreed to a payment of 1,500 naira (about 26,000 naira in today’s currency), but changed his mind because of financial constraints.
But five years later, at the height of her fame, Obaseki offered Genevieve a fee for appearing in a movie that would be the equivalent of 2.5 million naira in today’s money; she turned him down.
When Genevieve Nnaji was 19 years old, she made her professional debut as a news reporter in a cameo appearance in Ralph Nwadike’s Most Wanted.
Two years later, City People Magazine named her the Best Actress of 2001, a first for the prestigious journal, which had hitherto only recognized corporate and political leaders.
Nollywood ban and Music
Genevieve made her debut in the music business in 2004, when major film studios in Lagos and Onitsha forbade producers from hiring well-known actors due to compensation demands.
Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Stephanie Okereke, Stella Damasus, and Rita Dominic—collectively known at the time as “The Big Five Girls”—were also included on the blocklist.
Producers were reluctant to pay these celebrities’ claimed demands of up to 3 million naira because the majority of movies had tight budgets.
The euphemism “monsters made by the marketers” used by producer Eddie Ugbomah was supported by Remmy Ohajianya, who was then in charge of the Actors Guild of Nigeria’s Lagos Chapter.
Genevieve was one of the most sought-after actors in Nigerian cinema during the year of the embargo since she had at least 12 film roles under her belt.
Genevieve, who was unemployed, released her debut album, “One Logologo Line,” which featured the well-known hit song “No More.”
Despite the fact that No More as a whole was a commercial disaster and was called “wacky,” it persevered and is now regarded as a classic.
Is Genevieve Nnaji sick
What is going on with Genevieve?
A social media blogger had reported that Genevieve was battling drug addiction and she’s currently in a mental facility in Texas.
The story broke out after fans expressed their worries over Genevieve’s absence on social media on May 3rd, 2022, a day she clocks 43
Net Worth
The richest actress in Nigeria is Genevieve Nnaji, who has a net worth of approximately 5 billion naira, or $12 million.
When her Netflix film Lion Heart debuted for an estimated $3.8 million at the box office, she became the first millionaire in Nollywood.
Genevieve is the owner of numerous prestigious properties in Ghana, Abuja, Ikoyi, and the Lekki corridors.
Among the high-end brands in her fleet of vehicles are Range Rover, BMW, and Mercedes Benz.
Endorsements
Over the years, Genevieve has forged endorsement relationships with a number of illustrious companies, such as Etisalat, Range Rover Evoque, Omo, Pronto, Amstel Malta, and MUD cosmetics.
She will serve as an ambassador for the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2020.
Genevieve surpassed music superstars P-Square, Don Jazzy, D’banj, and Wizkid to become the richest celebrity in Nigeria in 2014, according to a Vanguard research.
The first Nigerian to accomplish this milestone, Genevieve beat off a number of other celebrities to become the Face of Lux in 2004.
With this achievement, she joined the ranks of icons like Demi Moore, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Patti Boulaye, Marilyn Monroe, and Patti Boulaye, all of whom had fronted the beauty soap.
Genevieve Nnaji’s husband
Why is Genevieve not married?
Genevieve has never married and claimed in October 2015 that the dread of a failed marriage is the primary restraining factor.
“If I get married, I want to stay married, and staying married is not easy. It means you are completely in tune with your partner.
“It means you have found your soul mate and will have to be able to stand a lot of disappointments that will definitely come, but then again, you have to learn how to forgive,” Genevieve stated.
This dreadful anxiety may explain why the actress has been involved in a number of unsuccessful relationships.
Okechukwu Joseph, a well-known Nollywood actor, referred to their brief romance as “a disaster,” while Pat Attah, who also dated the actress for just two years, characterized their relationship as “great.”
Movies
Since her 1998 debut, Genevieve has appeared in more than 500 films, including blockbusters like
- Mildred Okwo’s 30 Days,
- Obi Emelonye’s The Mirror Boy,
- Mahmoud Balogun’s Tango With Me,
- Adewale Agbaje’s Farming, and
- Desmond Elliot’s star-studded Weekend Getaway, starring Ramsey Nouah, Monalisa Chinda, Ini Edo, Uti Nwachukwu, Alexx Ekubo, Bryan Okwara, Beverly Naya and Uru Eke.
Netflix’s Lion Heart
In 2018, Genevieve made her long-awaited directorial debut with the film Lion Heart, instantly acquired by Netflix before its release for a reported $3.8 million, becoming the first Netflix Original from Nigeria and making Genevieve the first billionaire in Nollywood.
The film was an immediate hit and Nigeria’s first entry for the Oscar in the “Best International Feature Film” category.
However, after being first approved, it was controversially dismissed by the Oscar Committee due to linguistic irregularities, a widely criticized decision.
One of Genevieve’s retaliatory tweets said, “We did not pick who colonized us.” The movie was, however, recognized by several other reputable international award platforms.
The Black Reel Awards for Outstanding Foreign Film/World Cinema Motion Picture is, as of 2022, the film’s most prestigious honor.
Controversies
In 2004, Genevieve alienated the Nigerian people and media when she made an inappropriate remark on a visit to Sierra Leone.
In the spur of the moment, Genevieve compared herself to the mythical prophet undervalued in his native nation after being swamped by ecstatic supporters who metaphorically rolled her on a red carpet and worshipped the ground she walked on.
Feminism
Genevieve is a staunch champion for women’s rights, frequently speaking out against girl-child marriage, and considers herself “a proud feminist who embraces her femininity.”
Awards
In 2005, Genevieve Nnaji solidified her superstar status by winning Best Actress in a Leading Role at the first African Movie Academy Awards, held in Bayelsa, Nigeria. She was the first actress to win the honour.
She added two additional AMA awards to her collection in 2008 and 2010 for her performances in “30 Days” and “Tango With Me,” making her the second-most honoured actress at the gala, behind only Jackie Appiah.
In 2008, Genevieve reaffirmed her supremacy over Ini Edo and Mercy Johnson to become the first-ever “Sexiest Woman” in Nollywood, as chosen by fans at the Vanguard Newspapers Award ceremony.
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