The never aging Genevieve is one of Nigeria’s talented and richest actress in Nollywood movie industry. Genevieve has gained a lot of recognition both at home and overseas, even Oprah Winfrey addressed her as the “Julia Roberts of Africa”.
Genevieve without a doubt is very famous and has a great influence in the entertainment industry. She channels her social power into being an activist. In this article we will let you know everything you need to know about the “Julia Roberts of Africa”.
Genevieve Profile
- Full Name: Genevieve Nnaji MFR
- Age: 41 years old
- Nationality: Nigerian
- State of Origin: Imo
- State of residence: Lagos, Nigeria
- Marital status: Single
- Occupation: Actress, Movie Director, Ambassador, Model and Female Activist
Genevieve Age
Genevieve was born on the 3rd of May, 1979 in Mbaise, Imo, Nigeria. She was born into a large family of 8, with her being the fourth child were raised in a middle class family.
Genevieve Education
Genevieve grew up in the western part of Nigeria precisely in Lagos. It was there she completed her primary education before going ahead to Methodist Girls College Yaba, Lagos where she obtained her Senior School Certificate.
Genevieve went ahead to further her tertiary education at the University of Lagos, where she studied creative arts and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Arts.
Genevieve Career
The Julia Robert of Africa started acting at a tender age of 8, in a famous soap opera titled”Ripples”.
In 1998, she starred in the movie “Most Wanted”. She was 19 when she took the role in the movie during the time when Nollywood was still in her early years.
During her years at University of Lagos, she was also auditioning for roles in the Nigerian movie industry. She cleared stated that she enjoyed every bit of her hustle as it helped her to support her family.
In 2004, Genevieve signed a contract with a Ghanaian record label known as the “EKB Records”. Under this record label she released her premier album titled “One Logologo Line”. This album was a combination of R&B, Hip-Hop, and Urban music.
Genevieve has starred in over 200 movies with outstanding ones such as “Half of a Yellow Sun” starring as Ms. Adebayo together with Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, Onyeka Onwenu, and OC Ukeje in 2013.
Two years after, precisely in November 2015, Genevieve produced her debut movie titled “Road to Yesterday”. This movie emerged as the Best Movie Overall-West Africa during the 2016 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards.
In 2018, Genevieve took the path of a movie director and directed her first movie “Lionheart”.This movie became the first Netflix original movie from Nigeria.
Apart from being the first movie on Netflix, it also had its world premiere at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.
Genevieve also starred in a film titled “Farming”, the Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s autobiographical directorial debut where she played a role alongside Kate Beckinsale, Damson Idris, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.
Apart from acting, Genevieve was also into modeling and has featured in many commercials, such Pronto (a beverage product) and Omo detergent.
In 2004, Genevieve received a lot of votes and won the “Face of Lux” in Nigeria. This was a huge sponsorship deal. In addition to this, Genevieve in 2008 initiated the clothing line “St. Genevieve”, which donates its profits to charity.
Genevieve was and still is always promoting a lot of multinational companies like Etisalat and products such as Amstel Malta and Range Rover Evoque. In May 2010, she was given the position of being the official “Face of “MUD” in Nigeria.
Genevieve Nnaji is an activist, her philosophy is based on the liberty of Nigerian girls to be able to make their own decisions on who they choose to marry.
She is also against early marriages for the girl child as it has negative health issues on the girl child.
Genevieve takes a public stand against abuse of women in society. She clearly states that she is a strong advocate for social justice no matter the race or ethnicity. She is known as a strong feminist whose philosophy is based on the female’s right to make her own choices and do whatever she feels like.
Genevieve Relationship
There have been a lot of rumours about Genny’s love life which has died down, some of the rumours associated her to iconic Nigerian celebrity including Nigeria’s former vice president, Atiku Abubakar(which she clearly stated that it was a lie), D Banj, Ramsey Nouah, Patt Attah and Kunle Coker.
However Genevieve has kept a low profile on her love life from the prying eyes of social media and Nigerians. The only thing that is not a rumour is that she has a beautiful daughter which she gave birth to at the age of 17, named Chimebuka Nnaji.
Genevieve Achievement
Genevieve being a public figure has achieved a lot as a woman with some of her achievements like the 2001 City Peoples Awards for the Best Actress.
The remarkable thing about this award is that she was the first actress to receive such an award , since the ceremony only recognized politicians and business conglomerates.
In 2003, Genevieve was also the first actress to be awarded as Best Actress by the Censors Board of Nigeria. In 2005, Genevieve was awarded as the Best Actress in a Leading Role Award at the 2005 Africa Movie Academy Awards.
In 2010, she was awarded as the Best Actress TV Series for “Guinness Ultimate Survivor” at the 2010 Nigeria Entertainment Awards. Also in 2010, she won the 2010 Ghana Movies Awards for the Best Actress-Africa Collaboration in the movie “Silent Scandals”.
Genevieve was awarded as the Best Actress for the movie “The Mirror Boy” at the 2011 Zulu African Film Academy Awards. In the same year she was awarded the Best Kiss with Majid Michel, in the movie “Bursting Out” at the 2011 Best of Nollywood Awards.
In 2012, Genevieve won the Viewers Choice- Female at the 2012 Nollywood Movies Awards. In 2013, she was awarded as the Best Actress Leading Role in the movie “Weekend Getaway” at the 2013 Nollywood and African Film Critics Awards (NAFCA).
In 2014, she won the Best Actress in Supporting Role in the movie “Half of a Yellow Sun” at the 2014 Nigeria Entertainment Awards.
In November 2015, Geney’s debut production film titled “Road to Yesterday” won the Best Movie Overall-West Africa at the 2016 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards.
In 2019, Genevieve won the Outstanding Foreign Film / World Cinema Motion Picture for the movie “Lion heart” at the The 19th Black Reel Awards (FAAAF).
The same Genevieve’s blockbuster movie “Lion heart” in 2019,was chosen by the Nigerian Oscars Selection Committee (NOSC), as Nigeria’s first submission to the Best International Feature Film Category of the 2020 Oscars.
Unfortunately it was disqualified due to the high percentage of English dialogue.
Genevieve Net Worth
Genevieve Nnaji is without a doubt one of Nollywood’s first billionaires and the richest actress in Nollywood with an estimated net worth of $10.5 million ( N3.8 billion).
Genevieve rose to this height after her debut directorial movie ‘Lion Heart’ was boughy by Netflix for $3.8 million (N1.3 billion) in 2019. She also owns a mansion worth $4 million in Accra, Ghana and two more mansions in Lekki and Ikoyi, Lagos.
