We will be talking about the Top Nigerian Nollywood Actresses and the year they were born. Many have written about the top richest Nigerian Nollywood actresses but we want to concentrate on something different. These are the best of all, we made some research and came up with this compiled list of these celebrities. Many other blogs have written about Nigerian actresses who died recently or passed away, the richest, half-caste, not married yet, who did plastic surgery and bleach their skin. Our focus is on the top Nigerian actresses that have made a name for themselves and we will touch a little on their short biography and profile. Some of them are married to their husbands and some are over 50 and started their careers in the 90s. All the names of the actresses are linked to their individual bios.
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Top Nigerian Nollywood Actresses
1. Genevieve Nnaji – 3 May 1979
Award-winning actress Genevieve Nnaji has been in the Nigerian movie industry for over two decades. She’s among the best Nollywood actresses, and many see her as the best. She has appeared in both Nollywood and even in Hollywood movies. Genevieve is of Igbo ethnic group and hails from Imo state.
2. Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde – 7 February 1978
Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde once ruled the movie industry in Nigeria alongside Genevieve Nnaji. She has achieved much in the movie industry and like her colleague, she also won many awards and has also appeared on the Forbes list. She’s also a singer and philanthropist. Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde is married to her husband Capt. Matthew Ekeinde.
3. Rita Dominic – 12 July 1975
We can’t forget the elegant actress Rita Dominic who is among the Top Nigerian Nollywood Actresses. Her full name is Rita Uchenna Nkem Dominic Nwaturuocha and has been in movies as long as 1998. Just like the others we mentioned earlier, her awards are numerous and she’s a great talent to behold.
4. Funke Akindele (Akindele-Bello Olufunke Ayotunde) – 24 August 1977
If you love comedy movies then you will definitely love Funke Akindele. With an outstanding performance in the show Jenifa’s diary, she’s among the best in the Nollywood movie industry. She has a unique acting talent which makes her stand out among others. She has won over 15 awards.
5. Mercy Aigbe – 1 January 1978. Edo State
Another great actress Mercy Aigbe usually features in Yoruba indigenous movies. She’s not just an actress but she studied to be an actress, after graduating from the University of Lagos in 2001 with a degree in Theater Arts. Mercy is also a filmmaker, director, and model.
6. Stella Damasus – Unknown
We can’t forget Stella Damasus, a very popular actress in the early 2000s. Currently, she’s not that active in the movie industry and is now based abroad. She won some awards in the past but has now diversified into other things as she’s a lady of many talents. Stella is also a producer, coach, and publisher.
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7. Kate Henshaw – 19 July 1971
She has been in the industry for nearly three decades. The ever-energetic woman has been a force to reckon with both on-screen and in the fitness world. We can’t forget her first major role in the movie “When The Sun Sets”, way back in 1993. Kate won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 2008 for the movie “Stronger than Pain”.
8. Uche Jombo – December 28, 1979
All the way from Abiriba, Abia State, Nigeria, Uche Jombo Rodriguez made the list in the top Nigerian actresses. She rose to stardom in the early 2000s when the Nollywood movie industry was about to be the biggest movie industry in Africa. Her acting style is always a hot one, people love her for adding flame to any movie she features on. Did I forget to mention that Jombo is also a movie director, yea of course she is.
9. Nse Ikpe-Etim – 21 October 1974
Highly talented Nse Ikpe-Etim can’t be overlooked when top actresses are mentioned in Nigeria. She grew up in the northern side of the country but hails from the southern part ( Akwa Ibom State) of Nigeria, which makes her to be adaptive for different roles. To crown her talent in the movie section, she studied Theater Arts at the University of Calabar. She wasn’t left out in the awards section, in 2014, she won Best Actress in a Drama award at the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards.
10. Monalisa Chinda – 13 September 1974
From Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Monalisa Chinda made a name for herself in the movie industry. Like some other actresses, she studied Theatre Arts at the University of Port Harcourt. She diversified her career a bit, as she’s also a movie producer. Monalisa won the “Best Actress, Afro Hollywood Award 2009 at the Monte Carlo Television Festiva”.
11. Stephanie Okereke – 2 October 1982
Many remember Stephanie Okereke Linus for her height, as she’s among the tallest actresses in Nigeria. She’s also a film director and model and hails from Imo state. Stephanie holds a degree in English and Literary Studies. Many of you won’t be aware of this, she started her acting career as a teenager, in 1997.
As a model, she was the runner-up for the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria beauty pageant of 2002. She has won over 10 awards in her career.
12. Ini Edo – 23 April 1982
Her acting career began in 2000 and has made her featured in over 100 movies. For her education, she has a Diploma in Theatre Arts from the University of Uyo and later got a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Calabar.
Ini Edo has bagged many endorsements from different companies. Between 2009 and 2018, she has won about 8 awards. The beautiful actress is from Akwa-Ibom.
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13. Mercy Johnson – 28 August 1984
The most diverse Nigerian actress has played different roles in many movies. From Okene in Kogi State, Mercy Johnson’s fame started in the 2000’s and since then she has won over 6 awards. Her great talent in the movie industry has made many movie directors feature her in their movies and this has made her appear in over 100 movies.
14. Toyin Abraham (born Olutoyin Aimakhu) – 5 September 1982
We have Toyin Abraham, a lady of many talents, apart from her career as an actress, she’s also a filmmaker, director, and producer. Her acting career began in 2003 but most of her movies are Yoruba Indigenous movies. She won Best Actress in a Drama at the Africa Magic viewers’ choice awards 2020.
15. Oge Okoye – 16 November 1980
She has been in the movie industry since 2001 making it two decades. Born in London, she relocated back to Nigeria at a young age and completed her education at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka with a degree in Theatre Arts. Many came to know about her in a 2002 movie known as Spanner. Oge is from Anambra state and she’s also a movie producer and a model.
16. Tonto Dikeh – 9 June 1985
The light-skinned beauty from Rivers State was among the leading actresses some years ago. Tonto was known for her hot energetic talent in carrying out her roles but as time went by she decided to give it a shot in the music industry, The actress and singer have won many endorsements and have always been on the news for different reasons. Her acting career hasn’t been active lately, but she was able to set up Tonto Dikeh Foundation.
17. Regina Daniels – October 10, 2000
Her fame came as a storm and swept all away. Regina started as a child actress and her mother Rita Daniels is an actress and producer who helped introduced her into the movie industry. She has featured in many movies until her marriage to Nigerian billionaire Ned Nwoko sparked a huge fire on social media which increased her fame more. Regina Daniels Instagram followers have grown massively to a whopping 9 million followers which keep increasing daily.
18. Chioma Chukwuka – March 12, 1980
Born in Lagos State, Chioma Chukwuka Akpotha is a versatile actress, director, and movie producer. She hails from Anambra State, located in southeast Nigeria. For her education, she had her primary and secondary education at Lagos state and came back to her hometown Anambra state where she attended Federal Government Girls College in Onitsha. Chioma crowned it all by graduating from Lagos State University with a degree in Banking and Finance.
She has been in the movie industry for over two decades. In 2007, she won Africa Movie Academy Award as Best Actress in a Leading Role and later Afro Hollywood award in 2010.
19. Chika Ike – 8 November 1985
Here’s a lady you can find in almost every career in life. She’s a television personality, former model, philanthropist, actress, movie producer and businesswoman. She was very popular in the movies between 2006 and 2012. Her career as an actress started in 2005 when she was only 20 years of age.
Chika has won about 7 awards and as a philanthropist, she launched a foundation known as Help the Child which has helped many poor children. She deals on cosmetics known as Chikacosmetics.
20. Queen Nwokoye – 11 August 1982
From Anambra State, Nigeria is one of the best top actresses in Nigeria. What makes her unique is her ability to play different roles perfectly. Though she studied sociology and anthropology at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, it didn’t stop her from discovering her talent as an actress. Queen Nwokoye won Fresh Scandal Free Actress at 2011 Best of Nollywood Awards.
21. Mide Martins – 12 April 1979
How can we continue with this list without the mention of Mide Martins? She’s also a Movie Producer and of course an actress. Almost all her movies are Yoruba-speaking indigenous movies and she has made a name for herself in that section. Mide has grown her followers to more than 3 million followers on Instagram which has made her to also become a brand influencer.
22. Rachael Okonkwo – Unknown
You must have seen her in movies several times, her name is Nnenna Rachael Okonkwo. Many know her as Nkoli Nwa Nsukka and she hails from Enugu State, South-Eastern part of Nigeria. She’s also a dancer, her career in that aspect started when she couldn’t get movie roles during her early years.
Her Instagram followers has grown to over 3 million followers on Instagram, and her fan database keeps increasing.
23. Iyabo Ojo – 21 December 1977
The ever-talented actress, director, and producer Iyabo Ojo have been a force to reckon with in Yoruba-speaking Nigerian movies. From the age of 20 to 21, she started her career as an actress in 1998. Though her career started in English-speaking movies, she later joined the Yoruba indigenous movies in 2002. She hails from Ogun state and has featured in over 150 movies. Iyabo studied Estate Management at Lagos State Polytechnic.
24. Ebube Nwagbo – 24 February 1983
Her career started early, by 2003 at the age of 20, she was already in the movie industry. Ebube Nwagbo hails from Anambra State, Eastern Nigeria, and attended Nnamdi Azikiwe University where she studied Mass Communication.
25. Destiny Etiko – 12 August 1989
When it comes to being versatile and energetic, we remember Destiny Etiko. The award-winning Nollywood actress, Model, and Brand Ambassador hails from Enugu state. She joined the Nollywood movie industry in 2011 as a student at Nnamdi Azikiwe University where she studied Theater Arts.
Destiny shot to limelight in 2012 after her amazing role in a movie known as Idemili. She has gained many followers both on Instagram and Tiktok due to her comic and vibrant videos.
26. Eniola Badmus – 7 September 1983
Eniola Badmus is unique because of her beautiful plus-size figure and comic roles in movies. Like Destiny Etiko, she also studied Theater Arts at the University of Ibadan and later proceeded to bag her M.Sc degree in Economics from Lagos State University. Many of you might not be aware of this, Eniola has been in the movie industry since 2000 but shot to fame in 2008.
27. Yvonne Jegede – 25 August 1983
The beautiful actress with glowing ebony skin made the list of our top Nigerian actresses. Her movie career started in 2004 but her major video appearance was in the popular music video African Queen by 2Face Idibia back in 2005. She hails from Edo state and got her Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of Cyprus.
28. Chizzy Alichi-Mbah – 23 December 1993
She made the list of Top Nigerian Nollywood Actresses. Her full name is Chigozie Stephanie Alichi. Her acting career began in 2010 and apart from the fact that she’s beautiful, Chizzy got great curves and a good height to complement them. She hails from Enugu state in Southeast Nigeria. Chizzy has featured in many movies which have landed her over 2 million followers on Instagram.
29. Chacha Eke – 17 July 1987
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Her real name is Charity Eke Faani and she has gained many fans following her unique way of interpreting her roles in movies. She hails from Ebonyi state in the southeastern part of Nigeria where had her primary education. Chacha gained her Accountancy degree from Ebonyi State University.
30. Eve Esin – 17 October 1981
Eve Esin is loved by many for her beautiful round eyes and great acting skills. She hails from Oron, Akwa-Ibom state in the Southern part of Nigeria. The award-winning actress worked as a banker before finally joining the movie industry back in 2008. She won the 2015 City People Entertainment Awards for Most Promising Actress in Nigeria. She’s a graduate from the University of Calabar where she earned a degree in Theatre Arts.
31. Angela Okorie – 29 October 1985
Multi-talented Angela Okorie started her career as an actress but has now diversified into music. The tall light-skinned beauty started her acting career back in 2009 and has since won the hearts of many in over 100 movies she has featured in. Angela hails from Ebonyi state in southeast Nigeria and had her tertiary education at the University of Lagos where she studied theatre arts. Some of her songs are Baby Chuchu, and Legit.
32. Ruth Kadiri – 24 March 1988
You must have seen Ruth Kadiri in your TV screens. She’s not just an actress but also a screenwriter, and film producer. Like Angela, her acting career also started in 2009 and she’s one of the top actresses currently in Nigeria, all thanks to her more than 4 million followers on Instagram which is a prove of her fame.
33. Adunni Ade – 7 June 1987
How could we forget the gorgeous Adunni Ade? She’s among the top actresses in Nigeria. From the color of her skin you could assume what am about to say now, her mother is German Irish while her father is Nigerian. In 2008, she graduated with a degree in Accounting from the University of Kentucky. Though she spent years outside Nigeria, Adunni still came back to Nigeria to venture into the entertainment industry.
34. Nancy Isime – 17 December 1991
The 5ft11inches tall beauty with a unique white sprayed short hair made our list. Nancy Isime is not just an actress but a Multi-Award Winning TV Host and model. In her career as a model, she was crowned Miss Valentine International beauty pageant in 2009. The Edo state-born talent started her acting career in 2011.
35. Adesua Etomi – 22 February
Her full name is Tolulope Adesua Etomi and she has been in the movie world since 2012. Though she was born in Owerri in Imo state, she’s from Edo state. She has proven to be a very brilliant woman as she graduated from the University of Wolverhampton with first-class honors where she studied drama and performance. Her fame became more eminent when she married Nigerian superstar artist Banky W.
36. Omoni Oboli – 22 April 1978
I call her the woman of many talents and a hard worker. She’s an actress, filmmaker, movie director, producer, and scriptwriter. Concerning her education, she graduated from the University of Benin with a degree in Foreign Languages (majoring in French). Omoni didn’t just stop there, she went ahead to study at New York Film Academy. She bagged the Best Actress Narrative Feature at the Los Angeles Movie Awards in 2010 and Best Actress at the Harlem International Film Festival. Her acting career has been active since 2009.
37. Dakore Egbuson-Akande – 14 October 1978
If you have been a great fan of the Nollywood movie industry in the early 2000s, you’ll definitely know this amazing actress. She has featured in many movies and has won many awards in her career. One of the awards Dakore Egbuson has won is AMAA Best Actress 2018. Her career has been active since 1999, she got married in 2011 to Olumide Akande and they have two kids together.
38. Nkechi Blessing Sunday – 14 February 1989
The energetic actress, scriptwriter, movie producer, director, and content creator came like a storm in the entertainment world. Originally from Abia state, the southeastern part of Nigeria but she usually features in Yoruba indigenous movies. For her tertiary education, she has a diploma in theatre arts at Lagos State University. This didn’t stop her from attaining more heights, she went on to study International Relations at Houdegbe North American University. Nkechi Blessing Sunday won the 2018 City People Movie Award as Most Promising Actress of the Year (Yoruba).
39. Moyo Lawal – (Age Unknown)
The award-winning alluring actress has made a name for herself in the Nollywood industry. She graduated from the University of Lagos in Creative arts. Her career started as an actress in small play productions before she came into the limelight. Moyo Law al won the 2012 Revelation of the year award at BON Awards.
40. Nuella Njubigbo – 18 March 1984
TV personality, actress, model, and filmmaker has been in the Nollywood movie industry for a long time, starting from her early years. She graduated from Imo state university where she studied Government and Public Administration. Nuella Njubigbo won the 2012 Rising Star Award.
41. Bidemi Kosoko (Age – Unknown)
Popular Yoruba award-winning actress Bidemi Kosoko has been a force to reckon with in the Nigerian movie industry. She’s the daughter of popular actor Jide Kosoko. Her energetic vibes is second to known, and she has shot to the limelight with her amazing talent.
42. Belinda Effah (Age – 14 December 1989)
Her full name is Grace-Charis Bassey Effah and she has been in the movie industry for over two decades. Her talent wasn’t difficult to notice as she won the following awards in 2012; Most Promising Act (female) at Best of Nollywood Awards, Best New Actress at the Golden Icons Academy Awards, and Best Rising Star in 2013 Nollywood Movies Awards.
43. Uche Ogbodo (Age – May 17, 1986)
Popular Nigerian actress Uche Ogbodo has featured in many movies. Making her debut as an actress in 2006, she won the 2015 Fashion Icon Awards, as Fashion Icon of The Year.
44. Bukunmi Oluwasina (Age – Unknown)
Award-winning actress, writer, movie producer, singer, and director have made a landmark in the entertainment industry. Her fame came like a wildfire and has circulated the whole of Nigeria and beyond. The petite beauty from southwest Nigeria keeps soaring high in her career and much is expected from her soon.
45. Uju Okoli (Age – April 26th)
From Southeast, Nigeria is the beauty with light skin. She has appeared in many movies though haven’t been that long in the Nollywood movie industry.
46. Luchy Donalds (Age – 28 May 1991)
Multiple Award-Winning Actress and model is rated among the top Nollywood actress in Nigeria. Luchy Donalds has won the hearts of many of her fans with her new talent and the movie roles she presents well.
47. Halima Abubakar (Age – 12 June 1985)
She has been on the movie screens for over a decade. Halima studied Sociology at Bayero University, Kano, a course not related to her career but she followed her talent and is a big name in the Nollywood industry. She has won multiple awards and her career is still active.
48. Esther Ene Audu (Age – 22 March 1982)
You must have seen her on your screens if you’re a fan of Nollywood movies. She’s not just an actress, but also an entrepreneur and brand ambassador.
49. Bimbo Ademoye (Age – 4 February 1991)
Award-winning actress Bimbo Ademoye has won the hearts of many with her amazing talents. Her acting career started in 2014, and since then she has grown to become one of the best current actresses. Following her amazing talent, she won 2018 Best of Nollywood Awards as the Best supporting actress, the 2019 City People Movie Award as the Most Featured Actress In Cinema Movies, and 2020 Best of Nollywood Awards as the Best Actress in a Supporting Role (English). Bimbo Ademoye hails from the Southwestern part of Nigeria.
50. Ruby Ojiakor (Age – December 25, 1994, not confirmed)
I call her an energetic actress, she brings in lots of energy when she performs her roles in movies. Apart from her acting career, she’s also a brand ambassador and influencer, all thanks to her more than 1 million followers on Instagram.
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