Chioma Chukwuka-Akpotha; Actress, Producer and Nollywood’s Sweetest Heart

Any avid fan of Nollywood [Nigeria’s movie industry] from the beginning of the new millennium must have watched with pride as she matured and upped her game from movie to movie and year to year. From minor roles to challenging lead roles, Chioma has surely made her mark in Nollywood for all time.

Born in 1980, the dashing damsel, wife and mother of two’ hails from Anambra State in Eastern Nigeria. Her early education was at Onward Nursery and Primary School, Lagos State at the conclusion of which she proceeded to Federal Government Girls College, Onitsha, Anambra State. Chioma is an alumnus of Lagos State University and a graduate of Banking and Finance.

The talented Chioma did not undergo any professional training in the arts; sheer aptitude and a passion for acting were all the tools she required to make an indelible stamp in the industry and the hearts of her ever-increasing fan base. In 2000, she starred in her first movie, ‘The Apple’ where she acted as an obstinate 17-year old who felt she was sufficiently matured for marriage.

A mere seven years after her first movie, Chioma was nominated for, and won the ‘Best Actress in a Leading Role’ award at the prestigious Africa Movie Academy Awards in 2007 for her role in ‘Sins of the Flesh.’ She has since featured in over 60 movies, the most recent being ‘On Bended Knees’ which she also co-produced alongside veteran Producer and Director, Emem Isong; who is very much on my to-do list of star features. Other previous movies include Red Soil (2008), Double Game (2007), Ass on Fire, Asunder, Chinwe Okeke, Dead in Faith, Desperate Ambition, End of Discussion, Games Men Play, Holy Family, Last Dance, Naked Sin, On My Wedding Day, Royal Doom, Royal Insult, The Saint, Saviour, and the Serpent in Paradise all in 2006; a lot on her plate for just one year! A lot more movies happened between 2002 and 2005 as well.

Like I have been known to say, when you have got your acts right, men, nay kings of men will come knocking at the door of your enterprise; and so it is with our Nollywood sweetheart who is also a brand ambassador for telecom giant, Globacom and FMCG Company, Reckitt Benckiser.

Chioma’s movie as a pioneer Producer was premiered in May, 2013 and set to show in cinemas around the country. In an interview with Bella Naija, Chioma stated her hopes and plans come 2014; “I hope that by my next birthday, I would have done another movie and grown from this level. There is no stagnancy in the industry. If you don’t see an actor for a period of time in movies, it doesn’t mean they are not doing something. Some are directing, some are producing, some are rebranding. There is no dry moment. For me, I want to move to another level by my next birthday.”