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Here comes the queen of the Nollywood movie industry! Genevieve Nnaji is a famous Nigerian actress, who made her first TV appearance way back in the late 1980s. She is regarded by many as the most successful Nollywood actress today.
She achieved a significant feat in her career only a month ago, when American movie-streaming giant, Netflix, acquired her most recent production, Lion Heart. Genevieve Nnaji is, indeed, the unrivaled queen of the Nigerian movie industry.
Genevieve was born May 3, 1979 in Mbaise, Imo state to a royal family. She was born into a family of ten; her father, mother and seven siblings.
She relocated to Lagos at a very young age and she’s been living there ever since. She was enrolled at the Methodist Girls College in Yaba, where she acquired her secondary education and duly obtained her SSCE.
Genny, as she’s fondly called, is a trained and certified Creative Artist. Shortly after obtaining her SSCE, she was offered admission to study Creative Arts at the University of Lagos, Akoka. She started her acting career while in school, as part of the requirements of her programme. She duly obtained her B.A (honours) in Creative Arts.
Genevieve has had an incredibly successful career, so far, in Nollywood. In fact, she was honoured by the Federal Government in 2011, when she was conferred with Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) honour. However, her personal life has always been riddled with controversies. Some of these controversies centre around the identity of her daughter, her marital life/spinsterhood and many more.
Genevieve Nnaji Husband
While Genny has taken up many roles as a housewife in movies, she is still a revered member in the realm of spinsterhood in real life! There has been rumours regarding the identity of the lucky man in Genevieve’s life. This has remained one of the unsolved mysteries in the Nigerian movie industry.
The star actress has been linked to the likes of D’Banj (popular music artiste), Atiku Abubakar (former Vice President of Nigeria) and Ramsey Nouah (a Nigerian star actor). While we are not certain about the nature of relationship(s) she had with these men (if any), she’s definitely not betrothed to any of them.
About a year ago, she posted a picture of herself with a white man, whose name was later revealed as AJ Cham. The man in the picture was perceived by many to be Genevieve’s fiance/boyfriend. However, the rumours were later dismissed.
Genevieve Nnaji Daughter
The screen diva has a daughter (her only child), who goes by the name Chiebuka Theodora Nnaji. She is fondly called Dora by her mother. For many years, Genevieve kept Dora’s identity from the public. She was born in 1996, when Genevieve was only 17 years old. She is, today, 22 years old.
Theodora was raised by Genevieve’s mother, her maternal grandmother. She acquired her secondary education in Ondo state, at FGC Akure, before proceeding to Nnamdi Azikwe University, where she obtained her bachelors degree.
According to reports, Theodora got married to her US-based boyfriend in 2016. The wedding introduction reportedly held at Mbaise, Imo state (Genevieve’s home town).
Is Genevieve Nnaji Married?
The star actress is not married, yet! Although, there’s been rumours flying around regarding her marriage. Some time last year, it was widely reported that, Genny got married secretly to an unidentified man in Portugal. The report eventually turned out to be false.
While Genevieve has been a strong advocate of feminism and gender equality, she has not completely shut the door on marriage. According to the actress, she is willing to settle down and get married, if a man of her dreams comes her way.
Genevieve Nnaji Movies
Genevieve started her professional career in 1998; 11 years after making her first TV appearance at the age of 8 in 1987. She made her professional debut in a movie titled Most Wanted. She has since racked up hundreds of movie features. Today, she is arguably the most celebrated Nollywood actress and one of the highest paid Nollywood artistes. Rumour has it that, she is paid in the range of 1.5 million to 3 million per movie feature.
In 2002, the actress starred as the lead character in a movie, Sharon Stone, which enhanced her image and popularity. Her sterling performance in the movie won the hearts of many movie lovers, not only in Nigeria but also in many parts of African. She was, during this time, the pioneer of Nollywood. Movie lovers from across the globe began to watch Nollywood movies, basically to see the beautiful star actress. This greatly improved Nollywood’s global audience and popularity.
Genevieve debuted as a movie producer in 2015, when she produced Road to Yesterday. She starred alongside popular Ghanaian actor, Majid Michel, in the movie. Her top movie production, however, is the one currently trending; Lion Heart. She released the movie earlier this year. While she’s the executive producer of the movie, she equally directed it and also starred as the lead character; Adaeze.
Lion Heart was recently acquired by Netflix (a prominent movie-streaming platform), making it the first original Nollywood movie to be hosted on Netflix. The star actress described the acquisition of Lion Heart by Netflix as an indicator of Nollywood’s meteoric rise and prominence at the global stage.
Genny has starred in many popular movies such as Ije: The Journey (an award winning movie), A Trip to Abuja, Sharon Stone, Road to yesterday, Mark of the Beast, and many more. Over all, her movie features number well over one hundred.
Below are some selected movies of the star actress.
- Lion heart (2018)
- Farming (2018)
- A Trip to Abuja (2017)
- End My Tears (2016)
- Road To Yesterday (2015)
- Half of a Yellow Sun (2013)
- Weekend Getaway (2012)
- Ije: The Journey (2010)
- Silent Scandals (2009)
- Broken Tears (2008)
- Beautiful Soul (2007)
- 30 Days (2006)
- Games Women Play (2005)
- Darkest Night (2004)
- Critical Decision (2003)
- Blood Sister (2002)
- Sharon Stone (2002)
- Valentino (2001)
- Camouflage (1999)
- Most Wanted (1998)
- Ripples (1987) – child actress
Genevieve’s success on the big screen has been duly accompanied by well-deserved laurels, accolades and awards. She is arguably the Nollywood actress with most awards. She has won movie awards at both national and international levels. She won Best Actress of the Year at the maiden edition of City People Movie Awards in 2001. She also won Best Actress at the premier edition of African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) in 2005. Her movie, Road to Yesterday (2015), won Best Movie West Africa at AMVCA 2016.
Genny has had a relatively successful career in Nollywood, where she has amassed a sizeable wealth for herself. She also has myriads of top-paying endorsement deals, as well as her clothing line, St. Genevieve among other investments. With respect to the aforementioned, Genevieve Nnaji’s estimated net worth is 1 billion Naira.
Genevieve Nnaji Daughter Age
Genevieve gave birth to her daughter and only child in 1996, when she was only 17 years old. This sums up her daughter’s age to be 22 years today. Hence, Chiebuka Theodora Nnaji, Genevieve’s daughter, is 22 years old.
Note: The figure (age) above is an extrapolated figure, as there is no concrete information about the actual birth day and month of Genevieve’s daughter, Dora.
Theodora Chiebuka, fondly called Dora is a graduate of Nnamdi Azikwe University and she’s also an entrepreneur. Dora is into make-up artistry. She owns a setup, which she named NAJ Artistry. Her business is rumoured to enjoy the patronage of many top Nollywood actresses, which many attributed to her mother’s influence.
Genevieve Nnaji Wedding
Some time last year (2017), there were unconfirmed reports of a supposed secret wedding involving star actress, Genevieve and an unidentified man. The secret wedding reportedly took place somewhere in Portugal.
