Stephanie Okereke: Biography, Career, Movies & More

Stephanie Okereke is a popular Nollywood actress and film director. She is also a model and a former MBGN runner up.

The actress has received several awards and nominations for her work as an actress. In this post we take a look at her personal life, career and movies.

Early beginning

She was born on the 2nd of October 1982 in Ngor Okpala in Imo State. The actress is the sixth child from a family of eight.

Education

She attended her primary and secondary education in Delta State before proceeding to the University of Calabar in Cross River State where she bagged a degree in English and Literary Studies.

Career

Okereke began acting as a teenager as far back as 1997. Her debut movies were Compromise 2 and Waterloo.

In 2002, she contested in the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria in 2002 where she was the first runner up.

The actress began film making after she returned from the New York Film Academy.

She enrolled at the Academy in 2007 and subsequently released the movie, Through the Glass. She was the director, scriptwriter and producer.

The movie won the award of Best Screenplay in 2009 during the Africa Movie Academy Award. This award came with a brand new car.

Movies

Okereke has featured in over 150 movies.

  • Compromise 2 (1997)
  • Waterloo
  • Pretender (2002)
  • Blind Justice
  • Aristos (2003)
  • Emotional Crack
  • Genesis of Love
  • Private Sin
  • Queen Sheba
  • The Cross of Love
  • Together as One
  • Beautiful Faces (2004)
  • Critical Decision
  • Deep Loss
  • Diamond Lady
  • Dream Lover
  • Eye of the Gods
  • In the Name of Love
  • Last Girl Standing
  • Magic Moment
  • Mama-G in America
  • Miss Nigeria
  • More Than a Woman
  • My Mother My Marriage
  • Official Romance
  • Promise & Fail
  • Promise Me Forever
  • Right Man for Me
  • Sensational Spy
  • Strength of a Woman
  • To Love Again
  • Virgins Night Out
  • Working Class Lady
  • A Time to Die (2005)
  • Days of Bondage
  • Lucia
  • Guys on the Line
  • Lonely Hearts
  • .. the Morning Sun
  • Omalinze
  • Price of Ignorance
  • Princess of Wealth
  • Royal Battle
  • Street Fame
  • Windfall
  • Woman on Top
  • Behind the Plot
  • Daytime Lovers
  • Binta
  • Efficacy
  • Shut In
  • Sitanda
  • The Law Students
  • The Preacher
  • Upside Down
  • A Time to Love
  • Hope
  • Governor’s Wife
  • Mission to Nowhere (2008)
  • Hidden Treasure
  • Through the Glass
  • Reloaded (2009)
  • Dry (2014)
  • Make Me Fabulous (2015)
  • Boonville Redemption (2016)

Okereke recently released a movie, Dry. According to the actress, the movie was inspired by the true-life stories of children who have been forced into early marriages and ended up having Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF).

She revealed that it was her way lending her voice to the Child not bride Campaign.

The movie has been screened in several African countries. These include Nigeria, Zambia and Gambia.

Awards

Below is a full list of all her awards and nominations

  • Runner-up at the 2002 Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria \
  • Best Actress at the 2003 What a Year Awards
  • Best Actress – English at the 2003 Reel Awards
  • Most Outstanding Actress at the 2004 Afro-Dublin Awards
  • Award for Excellence at the 2004 Film Makers of Nigeria
  • Best Actress at the 2006 Afro Hollywood Award
  • Best Actress in a Leading Role 2009 5th Africa Movie Academy Awards for her role in Reloaded
  • Achievement in Drama and Entertainment at the 2013 Montage Africa Women of Excellence Awards
  • Movie with the Best Social Media at the 2015 Best of Nollywood Awards
  • Best Protagonist at the Bentonville Film Festival
  • Best Actress at the ZAFAA Global Awards
  • Best Nigerian Movie at the 12th Africa Movie Academy Awards
  • Best Overall Movie in Africa at the 2016 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards
  • Narrative Feature at the Pan African Film Festival Programmers’ Award
  • Best Actress in a leading role at the NAFCA Awards
  • Face of Nollywood at the DALA awards
  • Best Supporting Actress at the 2017 Truth Awards based on her role in Boonville Redemption

The actress was also nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the Africa Movie Academy Awards in 2005, 2009 and 2010.

Personal life

In April 2005, Okereke was involved in a road accident which left her with burns and a broken leg. The accident happened on her way to the African Movie Academy Awards which was held in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State that year.

Okereke married Chikelue Iloenyosi on the 31st of August 2004 but the actress moved out of her matrimonial home on the 14th of January 2007.

The actress eventually filed for divorce citing infidelity and treachery as her reasons for the dissolution of her marriage.

Okereke remarried in April 2012 to Linus Idahosa. The wedding event was a private ceremony in Paris, France. Her first son was born in October 2015. According to the actress, it was her choice to wait that long before having her first child.

Lawsuit

The actress was slammed with a N100 million lawsuit by author, Daniella Madudu who claimed that her Dry movie was a copyright infringement of her book titled: “Behind Her Veil.”

Madudu claims that major parts of her book were lifted and used without any form of acknowledgement to her in the movie.

But Okereke has since responded to her claims. According to her, the movie was registered with the National Copyright Commission since 2012, while the book was officially published in 2014.

According to the lawsuit, Madudu demanded that Okereke credits her with ownership of her work, pay the sum of N60,000,000 and royalties, or face a ‘campaign of calumny.’

Despite the controversies, Dry has received international accolades and many other awards.

Networth

Stephanie Okereke is said to be one of the richest and most influential actress in Nigeria with an estimated net worth of $3.2 million.

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