Genevieve Nnaji and Akande took Nollywood by Storm with different approaches.
Within the African entertainment industry, we all cannot overlook prominent names like Genevive Nnaji and Dakoree-egbuson Akande. They’re two women who have timelessly uplifted the face of nollywood in general.
The nollywood industry cannot overlook the value of these women in the industry. Genevieve Nnaji is an award winning actor who has appeared in multiple films over the years. She is a prominent face who has been involved in many Movies as an actor, director and producer. Likewise, Dakoree-Egbuson Akande is a multi award winner and multi brand ambassador. They are the storm of nollywood and have given the industry a notable name internationally.
She broke the chain of inclusivity as the woman who sold her award winning movie Lion Heart to Netflix in the year 2018. She is a woman who did not limit her projects to Nigeria and also evolved across the globe, paving the way for many nollywood producers and directors till date.
A little back story into her rise to stardom. Born on may 3rd, 1979 to a middle aged family in Mbaise, Imo State. She started off her career as a child actress who featured in the movie Ripples at the age of 8. Some of her movies include Blood Sisters, Half of a Yellow Sun, The Mirror Boy, Ije, and the most recent Lion Heart. She was the first to receive the African Movie Academy Award As best lead actress.
On the other hand, Dakore-egbuson Akande is also one of the most remarkable talents in the nollywood industry. She is a Multi award winner, multi brand producer and a CEO. She has aired in various movies, which brought her into stardom. As we all know, nollywood is a very fast paced and improving industry, which is reflected in the way at which we are seeing remarkable change in recent times with movies being noticed all around the world.
Dakoree hails from Bayelsa state and is the first child of her parents. She started her movie career in 1999 and has featured in over 50 movies till date. She got married in 2011 to Olumide Akande and has two kids.
Genevieve and Dakore both go back in time from the 90s; although they might not be in a lot of movies in recent times but have sure made their mark over the years. What makes them stand out in the nollywood industry is their ability to look beyond their region and create a place for nollywood in other countries across the globe.
Genevive Nnaji is the first Nollywood actor to become a billionaire naira movie with her directorial debut, Lionheart. Lionheart was bought by netflix in 2018 for 3.8 million dollars which equals #1,385,100.000 as at 2018. This gained global recognition and up until today is been looked up to by other actors.
Similarly, Dakoree is the only nollywood actress with multinational deals like Amnesty International, Amstel Malta and Oxfam of America. Although they haven’t aired in movies in recent times, their relentless approach in carrying nollywood to a global place is very remarkable.
Written by Adebanke Adewumi