..Nollywood’s ‘A’ List Actresses

... Who is an ‘A’ list actress? An entertainment celebrity who frequents the red carpet or the one who constantly adorns the cover of magazines? The controversial and trouble-shooting or the one who is rich and popular but lacking in charisma? The one who, despite his talents and riches, has a mind driven by charity, conscious of her environment and is always available to those in need? Do we have any in Nigeria? Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde and Genevieve Nnaji The duo are bankable Nollywood stars, and if both star in a movie (like they did in ‘Ije’, Nigeria’s highest-selling movie of all time), the probabilities of the producer reaping bountifully are very high. They are famous within and beyond the borders of the country. Lately, both actresses have made strong impacts beyond Nigeria; Omotola was in Germany to shoot ‘Ties that bind’, where she hob-nobbed with United Nations bigwigs, due to her charitable work. Genevieve, on the other hand, not quite long ago, featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show, and was interviewed twice on CNN International. She has also endorsed MUD cosmetics’ products. Omotola has been in the industry for 15 years while Genevieve has put in over a decade. Stella Damasus Immensely popular, and though she is reputed to be among the industry’s top earners, not much has come her way from corporate endorsements. Stella’s face on a film jacket is a huge plus any day. She started her acting career in 1992 with ‘Abused’ and has not looked back ever since. She has gone on to carve a remarkable niche for herself with the debut of her charity-based show, Changing Lives On The Stella Damasus Show, albeit she has not been a constant feature in movies, lately. Uche Jombo what this actress, director, producer, script-writer and brand ambassador lacks in movie roles, she makes up for in corporate endorsements. Her 12-year stint has made her so comfortable that she had to jettison ‘Asaba movies’ for what she called "quality works". In her new capacity as a producer, Uche has to her credit works like ‘Holding Hope’, ‘Damaged’ and ‘Nollywood Hustlers’ in her kitty. The first movie she acted in was ‘Visa to Hell’ in 1999. She also acted in ‘Adure’, an Igbo movie sub-titled in English. She is also conversant with the Yoruba movie genre. Her newest work and socially-conscious movie, ‘Damaged’ is a bold proclamation of her versatility. Kate Henshaw-Nuttal some call her "the ageless Kate", not because of her vivacity, but simply because she’s been there, she’s still there and will likely be there for some time. Also a Glo ambassador, she kicked off her acting career in 1993 with ‘Sunset’ and followed it up with ‘Domitilla’. She’s the face of Onga seasoning, a product of Promasidor and also a spokesperson for the Lagos State government. Scarcely associated with scandals, she has distinguished herself from others. Recently, she starred in Nigeria’s first all-asha oke movie, Saheed Balogun’s Eti Keta was a real plus for her. Rita Dominic Rita Dominic Nwaturocha became popular in the late ‘90s for her numerous romantic roles, most notably in the 1998 flick ‘time to kill’. One of Nigeria’s popular actresses yet, she has several endorsement contracts from Multichoice and Globacom. A stickler for quality, according to her managers, Rita is an embodiment of finesse, a fact which she proved by floating her own production company, Audreysilva. Stephanie Okereke After her ill-fated marriage to footballer Chikelue Illoanusi and surviving an accident that nearly took her life, Stephanie Okereke took control of the reins of her life and has since moved on. Her movie ‘Through the Glass’, was an instant hit, as it grossed N10m at the Box Office. It also set the tone for quality of Nollywood movies at the cinema. The graduate of English and literary studies from the University of Calabar, who ventured into the industry in 1997 with ‘Compromise’ and ‘Waterloo’, became a power broker of sorts, after she joined President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign team. Ini Edo Ini ventured into acting in 2004 with ‘World Apart’ and and ever since, she has consolidated her A-list status. A graduate of English from the University of Calabar, the corporate ambassador for beverage-makers, the House of Chi and Globacom is seen as another Genevieve in many circles, but has claimed that she lives under no one’s shadow. She has upped the ante for herself by co-producing ‘Memories of My Heart’ with Emem Isong. Mercy Johnson Talented, popular and controversial, Kogi State-born Mercy is popular for direct intrepretation of roles and for ruling the tabloids for some weeks now, no thanks to her protracted wedding plans that has seen different turns and twists. She has had her share of bad press, but has managed to keep her head above and concentrate on her job.