Ebele Okaro is a popular Nollywood actress and movie producer. She is also an entrepreneur, investor, a philanthropist and showbiz personality
In this post, we take a look at the life of this fantastic actress.
Early life
Ebele Okaro was born on the 19th of January, 1964 in London into a devoted Catholic family. She grew up in Enugu, Nigeria. Okaro began acting while attending the Santa Maria Primary School.
After her primary school education, Okaro proceeded to the Nsukka’s Queen of the Holy Rosary Secondary School.
Okaro enrolled at the University of Calabar after her secondary school education where she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts.
The actress revealed in an interview that acting had always been a part of her life, from her days in primary school through her secondary school and up till her university days.
Okaro also comes from a family of entertainers as her parents are entertainers. Her mother was a full-time television producer and her father was an engineer who had a great interest in arts and literature.
Career
The actress began her career at the Nigerian Television Authority after her National Youth Service. She later joined Nollywood in 1996 and she has grown over the years to become one of the most featured actresses on the Nollywood scene.
Okaro has the ability to interpret her roles very well and can fit in any character given to her by movie directors. She has starred in over 200 Nollywood movies since her debut.
There was a time Okaro left Nollywood. During this hiatus, she proceeded to work with the embassy in Lagos; she also worked in the bank before returning to acting.
In 2014, Okaro produced and featured in the movie, ‘Musical Whispers’. The movie was an advocacy project for loving care for children with autism. Musical Whispers featured prominent Nigerian actors and actresses, some of which include Chioma Chukwuka and Kalu Ikeagwu.
Ebele Okaro is popularly called the Mama of Nollywood as she has earned the respect of both fans and colleagues. The actress revealed in an interview that her acting is inspired by God and her love for the arts.
Also, her peers disclosed that she is a workaholic although Okaro has stated that she often finds time to rest when she’s not acting.
Personal life
Currently, Ebele Okaro is married into the Onyiuke family.
Awards
In 2017, her performance in 4-1 Love won her the Best Supporting Actress at the African Magic Viewers Choice Award. She played the role of Uju’s Mother in the movie.
Her other awards include Best Actress in a Leading Role at the Africa Movie Academy Awards, Most Prominent Actress in Nigeria at the Best of Nollywood Awards and Best Actress in Indigenous Drama (Igbo) at the City People.
Movies
Below are some of the movies Ebele Okaro has featured in
- Eziza
- Moving Fingers
- Red Light
- Shallow Waters
- Third Eye
- Hostages (1996)
- 30 Days (2006)
- Bambitious (2014)
- Chetanna (2014)
- Musical Whispers (2014)
- 4-1-Love (2015)
- The Powerful Babies (2015)
- Road to Yesterday (2015)
Networth
Ebele Okaro is currently one of the richest and most influential Nollywood actresses with an estimated net worth of $550,000.
Challenges
Okaro revealed in an interview that her time in Nollywood has been laced with a lot of challenges. For instance, she has always being faced with the challenge of leaving her family to travel long distances for movie roles. Often times, she misses her family and thinks about them while on set.
Also, there is the challenge of working with unserious people as well as the problem of reading scripts that have been poorly written. The actress also spoke about the stress that comes with playing roles that require a lot of physical activity.
Fashion
Okaro revealed in an interview that she loves African fabrics because of her love for Africa.
Also, the actress revealed that she wears African fabric literally all the time. Interestingly, even when she has to wear jeans, she would look for a top made from African fabrics to go with it.
Controversy
Okaro has managed to stay clear of controversies. She revealed in an interview that she is not a loud person and she sticks with the simple things like doing her work on set then going home to take care of her family.
Philosophy of life
The actress disclosed in an interview that her life’s philosophy is to be good to people because you never know who might help you in life as this world is a small place.
Nollywood
Okaro is quite optimistic about the future of Nollywood as she believes the industry is on a journey and they are going very far. Also, she disclosed that the current trend is that Hollywood is coming down to Africa to do movies and these are movies are doing quite well. These include the likes of Blood Diamonds, Hotel Rwanda and many others.
Okaro believes the time is coming when Nigerian stars will feature in top rated Hollywood films shot in Africa and indeed Nigeria.
The actress also reiterated that she expects the government to do more. For instance, they can get involved in providing the equipment, which will be used to shoot high quality films in Nollywood and uplift the standard in Nigeria.
Best moments
Okaro disclosed in an interview that her best moments in Nollywood are the times she spends with fellow actors and crew members when they are like one family. According to her, these are people who are not related to her but there is this bond that holds them together because they have a common goal.
The actress also revealed that her most memorable day on set was when she was on the set of the movie, ‘Ola’ and she interpreted her lines so well that the director, Andy Amenechi, told everyone on set to give her a standing ovation. She felt really happy that day.