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Genevieve Nnaji is a well-known and extremely influential icon representing Nollywood or the Nigerian film industry. What is Genevieve Nnaji’s net worth, a story of her life? All you will find in this article.
She has made a mark for herself not only in Nigeria but also across the world as an actor, producer, and director. Her movie “Lion Heart” gave her international recognition and a nomination at the prestigious Oscar awards.
She has received many awards and accolades from Nollywood Industry for her brilliant performances. This multi-faceted is an actor, producer, director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, a billionaire, a brand ambassador – all rolled into one.
Biography:
Born on the 3rd of May, 1979in Mbaise in the Imo State of Nigeria, Genevieve Nnaji spent her early childhood in Lagos.
Brought up in a middle-income and close-knit family, Genevieve has seven siblings, she being the fourth among them.
Her mother taught at a nursery school while her father served as an engineer. She pursued her education at the Methodist Girls College in creative arts in the city of Yaba of Lagos State.
She went on to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Arts from the University of Lagos.
Genevieve has a daughter named Theodora Chimebuka Nnaji, whom she gave birth to at the age of 18. Chimebuka is a graduate with a degree in Mass Communications from the Nnamdi Azikwe University.
She has set up her make-up school and owns a makeup and beauty brand called NAJ Makeup Artistry ay Yaba, Lagos. Chimebuga has married Prince Osi Chigozie Ikediwa, who is based in Texas, USA
In an illustrious career spanning over 20 years, Genevieve Nnaji has acted in soap operas, movies, and commercials. She has the distinction of being the first Nollywood personality to have her movie bought and featured by Netflix.
Genevieve Nnaji has diversified herself beyond the movie industry by launching her clothing line. All the proceeds from the sale go to Charity, proving her to be a generous and kind human being.
She serves to be an inspirational figure for women and girls across her country by being a strong and vocal feminist.
And she supports the cause of girls and women and fights the abuse of women and girls again. Also been strongly advocating against arranged marriages and marriages at a young age.
Genevieve Nnaji’s Net Worth:
Genevieve Nnaji is today counted among the richest people in Nigeria. Her success in diverse fields of life has contributed to her riches.
She has come to be reckoned with success- whatever field she stepped in. Forbes has put Genevieve Nnaji at an estimated net worth of 10 million dollars as of 2019 or N3.8 million (Niara – Nigerian currency).
A major chunk of her earnings came from her movie ”Lion Heart” the rights of which were bought by the streaming platform Netflix for $3.8 million. This deal has made Genevieve Nnaji the only billionaire in Nigeria.
Genevieve had become one of the top-paid Nollywood actresses by 2009. A multi-faceted personality, Genevieve Nnaji has also forayed into modelling and was a brand ambassador for some popular brands. Her brand associations with Lux and MUD have proven to be extremely lucrative.
She has also been an entrepreneur, launching her brand of clothing which proved to be quite profitable. Her music career has also been instrumental in getting in some good moolah.
Genevieve Nnaji’s life and style
Genevieve is known to live a big life and in style. She is said to have recently bought a mansion in Accra, Ghana for a princely $4 million.
It also owns two sprawling mansions – one in Lekki and the other one in Ikoyi, both in Ghana. She is said to spend most of her time at her mansion at Ikoyi, which is estimated to be around N100 million (naira).
Genevieve is a lover of classy cars, and they are housed at her mansion in Ikoyi. She owns a Range Rover Evoque which is priced at around N19 million (Niara) and a Mercedes Benz G-Wagon priced at N30 million.
She also has been associated with luxury car brands such as Polo and Citron, which has been another contributing factor to her high net worth.
Career:
Genevieve Nnaji boasts for a very illustrious and significant career spanning over 20 years.
Television:
She started her career in 1987 when she was just 8, as a child actress in soap-opera named “Ripples”, which was already popular by then.
Genevieve Nnaji in Movies:
She made her movie debut in 1998, at the age of 19; Genevieve Nnaji debuted in the Nigerian Movie “Most Wanted”. The subsequent year saw the release of the movie “Camouflage”.
These movies sealed her position as a successful actress. She subsequently starred in over 200 Nollywood movies sealing her fate as one of the top stars of the Nollywood industry. By 2009, she became one of the top paid actresses in Nollywood.
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She made her debut as a producer with the movie “Road to Yesterday”. This movie went on to win the “Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Award” for the Best Movie Overall – West Africa.
The multi-talented Genevieve Nnaji has done a lot of movies in her career. While a lot of them have become popular in Nigeria, several of them have gained international recognition too, putting her firmly on the global movie scene. Some of the most popular movies in her career are listed below:
Moviegraphy
1987: Ripples (TV)
1998: Most Wanted
1999: Camouflage
2001: Love Boat, Death Warrant
2002: Valentino, Fire Dancer, Sharon Stone, Runs!, Power of Love, Formidable Force, Battle Line
2003: Above Death: In God, We Trust, Break Up, Butterfly, Blood Sister, Deadly Mistake, By His Grace, Emergency Wedding, Church Business, Honey, Jealous Lovers, For better or For Worse, Emotional Tears, Last Weekend, Keeping Faith: Is That Love?, Love, Late Marriage, Not Man Enough, My Only Love, Passions, Passion & Pain, Private Sin, Super Love, Player Mr.Lover Man, Sharon Stone In Abuja, Women Affair, The Chosen One.
2004: Promise Me Forever, Dangerous Sister, Goodbye NewYork, He Lives in Me, Into Temptation, My First Love, Never Die For Love, We Are One, Treasure, Stand By Me, Unbreakable, Bumper to Bumper
2005: Darkest Night, Critical Decision, Rip-off, Games Women Play
2006: 30 Days, Girls Cot
2007: Letters to a Stranger, Keep My Will, Warrior’s Heart, Unfinished Business, Winds of Glory
2008: Beautiful Soul, Critical Condition, Broken Tears, My Idol, River of Tears, Love My Way
2009: Felicima, Silent Scandals
2010: Bursting Out, Ije: The Journey, Mirror Boy, Tango With Me
2011: Sacred Lies
2012: Weekend Getaway
2013: Half of a Yellow Sun, Doctor Bello
2014: The Truth with Olisa
2015: Road to Yesterday
2018: Farming, Lion Heart
She made her directorial Debut in 2018 with the movie “Lion Heart” which has a world-premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Netflix acquired the streaming rights for this movie, making it the first film to be featured on the streaming platform from Nigeria. This movie also made Genevieve Nnaji Nigeria’s first billionaire.
Music:
In 2004, Genevieve Nnaji released her first music album called ”One Logologo Line” in association with EKB Records, a Ghanian label. This album featured a fusion of Urban music, R&B, and Hip-Hop.
Modelling:
Genevieve Nnaji has modelled for “Pronto” beverages and “Omo” detergent brand commercials.
In 2004, she was chosen “Face of Lux” for Nigeria through general voting. She emerged the winner among several celebrities and went on to be featured on various billboards and print ads. This campaign also brought her global recognition as the first Nigerian personality to represent the brand.
2010 saw her association with beauty and make-up brand MUD (Make-Up Designory). She was appointed as a brand ambassador for Nigeria. This deal seemed to have worked out well for both parties as MUD ended up being the top make-up brand in Nigeria.
Entrepreneur:
Genevieve Nnaji launched her own clothing line St. Genevieve, in association with the online retailer “Jumia”. The proceeds of all the sales were donated to charity.
Talk Shows:
In 2009, Genevieve Nnaji featured on “The Oprah Winfrey” show, becoming the first Nigerian to appear on the show. In keeping with her multi-faceted personality, Oprah Winfrey gave her the moniker The Julia Roberts of Africa.
Brand Associations:
Genevieve Nnaji has been associated with many brands because of her popularity. She has been associated with the make-up brand MUD.
She has also been a brand ambassador for popular car brands like Citron, Polo, Range Rover, and Etisalat. Genevieve is known to be a lover of exclusive cars, and her taste can be seen in her brand associations.
Women and Girls’ Right Activist:
Genevieve is an ardent women’s rights activist and a staunch feminist. She believes that women need to give a choice of who they want to marry.
As she is against the concept of arranged marriages of young girls which is rampant in her part of the world. Through her celebrity status, she tries to spread that word that women have the right to make their own choices and must stand against any form of abuse.
Genevieve Nnaji’s Philanthropy
Genevieve believes in giving back to the society which has given so much success and riches. Through her clothing line St.Genevieve, she aims to achieve this.
A percentage from the proceeds of the sale of her brand of clothes donated to various charities. The brand is quite popular and has a high turnover.
Awards and Recognitions:
As an ace actress and a shining star, Genevieve attained popularity as well as critical acclaim. Throughout her career, she has bagged a host of awards, some of them on the international scene as well.
2001: City People Entertainment Awards – Best Actress
2005: African Movie Academy Awards – Best Actress
2008: African Movie Academy Awards – Best Actress in a Leading Role for 30 Days and Keep My Will
2010: Best of Nollywood Awards – Nomination for Best actress In the leading role.
African Movie Academy Awards – Silent Scandal
Ghana Movie Awards – Best Actress- Africa collaboration award – Silent Scandals.
2011: African Movie Academy Awards- Best Actress in the Leading role Nomination for Tango with Me.
Nigeria Entertainment Awards – Best Actress Film/Short Story Nomination for Tango With Me
2013: Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards – Best Actress Drama TV Series Nomination – The Mirror Boy
Nollywood and African Film Critics Award – Best Actress in Leading Role – Weekend Getaway
Nigeria Entertainment Awards – Best Actress in a Leading Role Nomination – Doctor Bello
2014: Nigeria Entertainment Awards – Best Actress in a Supporting Role- Half of a Yellow Sun
2016: Nigeria Entertainment Awards – Leading Actress in a Film and Best Picture Nominations for Road To Yesterday
International Awards:
2018: Toronto International Film Festival – Grolsch People’s Choice Award Nomination – Lion Heart
2019: The 19th Black Reel Awards – Outstanding Foreign Film/World Cinema Motion Picture – Lion Heart
2020: 92nd Academy Awards – Best International Feature Film Nomination – Lion Heart
Other Recognitions:
Genevieve was the first actress to be honoured by the Censors Board of Nigeria as the Best Actress in 2003
She also became the first actor to be honoured at the City Peoples Awards. She was awarded the Best Actress at the award function in 2011.
In recognition of her contributions towards the growth of Nollywood, she was awarded the Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) Order of the Niger in 2011 by the Goodluck Jonathan Government
She was awarded the title of Chieftaincy in 2014 as the Eze Ada 1 of Amuzu Nweafor in Imo State.
Genevieve Nnaji’s Net Worth Summary:
Genevieve, one of the greatest actors from Nollywood, managed to create a successful and comfortable life for herself. She is an inspiration to women.
In a career that spanned over 20 years, she acted in more than 80 movies. She started her career at a very young age and managed to carve a niche for herself in acting and various other fields.
She broke the barriers in a male-dominated society to show that hard work and determination can lead to success in the most difficult situations.
Though born in a middle-class family, through her hard work and perseverance, she ended up being among the richest people in Nigeria with a very high net worth.
