Genevieve Nnaji grew up in Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of
Nigeria. She is fourth of eight children and was brought up in a
middle-class environment. Her father worked as an engineer and her
mother as a teacher. She attended the Methodist Girls College before
heading to the University of Lagos. While at the university, Genevieve
began auditions for acting roles in Nollywood productions.
Nnaji started her acting career as a child actress in soap operas at
the age of eight and was also featured in several TV commercials. In
1998, at the age of 19, she made her debut in the growing Nigerian film
industry with the movie Most Wanted. Her subsequent movies included Last
Party, Mark of the Beast, and Ijele. She has starred in over 80
Nollywood movies.
Nnaji received several awards and nominations for her work, including
the Best Actress of the year award at the 2001 City People Awards and
the Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 2005 African Movie Academy
Awards. In 2004, she signed a recording contract with EKB Records, a
Ghanaian record label, and released her debut album, One Logologo Line, a
mix of various styles of urban music.
Nnaji in 2008, launched a clothing line, “St. Genevieve”, which
donates its proceeds to charity. In May 2010 she was appointed as the
official “Face of MUD” in Nigeria. She won the Best Actress at the
inaugural AMAA and was voted as the official face of Lux beauty soap for
sub-Saharan Africa in 2004.
She appeared in Maria Claire Magazine alongside Halle Berry, Jennifer
Lopez, Paris Hilton, Jennifer Aniston, and Catherine Zeta-Jones in an
article The Most Beautiful Woman in Your World, in which she emerged
fourth. She was the first woman to host The Gulder Ultimate Search and
also the first host of “Gulder Ultimate Search–Celebrity Showdown.” Gene
as she is fondly called by her friends and colleagues loves Angelina
Jolie for her humanitarian work.
Genny has been dubbed the ‘Julia Roberts of Africa’ by Oprah Winfrey
and Cable News Network (CNN), and at the peak of her career, she ranked
#19 in Forbes “40 Most Powerful Celebrities In Africa”
#AMAZING LADY!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment