Iyabo Ojo bio: daughter, net worth, age, husband, photos
Iyabo Ojo is a producer, director, and, more importantly, a Nollywood actress. She is also in charge of the Pinkies Foundation — an NGO assisting children with special needs. She is a mother to two children that she had with her now ex-husband.
Source: UGC
For the past 22 years, the Nigerian thespian has contributed — directly and indirectly — to more than 150 films. With Iyabo Ojo age being 42 years, it is correct to state that she is on her prime as far as acting and directing films are concerned. Whether you are a fan or you're just curious, Iyabo Ojo biography explores her family, contributions to Nollywood, early life, and her net worth.
Profile summary
- Name: Iyabo Ojo
- Birthdate: 21 December 1977
- Education: Lagos State Polytechnic
- Profession: Nollywood and Yoruba actress, TV personality, director and a philanthropist
- Husband: None (divorced)
Early life
The Nollywood artist was born on the 21 December in 1977. While her parents were originally from the Abeokuta in the Ogun, she was born in southwest Nigeria in Lagos State. Iyabo is the last born of a relatively smaller family, and she has two bigger brothers.
Family
One year after making his debut in the Nigerian film scene, Iyabo Ojo married Ojo — a movie marketer and one of the key players in Nollywood. Iyabo Ojo wedding was not just a lavish event, but it was also a turning point for her career. She made some hard decisions, such as taking a break from acting and writing.
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Iyabo Ojo daughter, Priscilla Ajoke Ojo, and son Felix were born during this time. Felix was born in 1999 and Pricilla in 2001. Iyabo believes that becoming a parent was a turning point for her and her general perception of life.
For example, she realized that most children in West Africa do not have the same opportunities as children from other countries. This revelation is one of the reasons she founded the Pinkies Foundation.
During this transition period, Iyabo Ojo husband (now ex-husband) was supportive of her and journey into motherhood. Unfortunately, she is now divorced. While she has retained her ex-husband’s name since then, Iyabo Ojo has voiced her intention of dropping her surname.
While most Iyabo Ojo birthday parties are private, she has taken a different approach in celebrating her children’s birthdays. On her 19 birthday, for example, QedTV published a video summarizing the event and more importantly, her mother’s contribution.
Career
Iyabo Ojo has been a central figure in the Nigerian film industry. She has acted, produced, and directed some of the best Nollywood and Yoruba films. Some of her key career highlights include:
Iyabo's career as an actress
Iyabo started acting in school. She was an active member of the secondary drama group. Her involvement in the drama group shaped her skills as a young actress. Unfortunately, she did participate in acting at Lagos State Polytechnic.
However, in 1998, Iyabo Ojo made her debut in the Nigerian film industry. She was part of the Satanic (1998) movie, which opened doors for her as an actress. After the success of her debut film, her filmography grown to 11 major films. However, she has contributed directly and indirectly to more than 150 films.
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Iyabo's career as a producer
Apart from being part of major films in Yoruba and Nollywood, Iyabo is a talented producer. In the last 22 years, she has produced more than 14 films under her entity, Iyabo Ojo Films Productions. Her first film as a producer was Bolutife. Since 2014. She has produced some of the most-watched movies in Yoruba and Nollywood, such as Esan, Ololufe, and Bofeboko.
Her films address social issues such as marriage, love, and belief in God. Also, she is passionate about empowering people with special needs through her works. In 2015, she was part of Beyond Disability, which was not only a touching film but also educative on special needs.
Scriptwriting
In addition to acting and directing, Iyabo is one of the most talented writers in the Nollywood and Yoruba film industries. In 2015, she wrote and produced Silence — one of the films with the highest budgets in the last ten years. Also, Iyabo has co-written films with the best West African best film writers, such as Fathia Balogun and Doris Simeon.
Philanthropy
Apart from contributing to the Nigerian film industry, she is also a philanthropist. In 2011, she launched the Pinkies Foundation. The foundation is an NGO, and its main aim is to help less privileged children and, more importantly, children with special needs.
Recognitions and awards
Thanks to her contributions to Nollywood and Yoruba film industries, Iyabo Ojo has received nominations and awards from different bodies. Some of her major recognitions include:
The City People Movie Award for Yoruba has nominated the film star for the Female Personality of the Year two times (2017 and 2018). While she did not win, the nominations created a buzz for her new films.
In 2015, she was nominated for the same awards but on Movie Personality of the Year category. She won, thanks to her contributions that year and, more importantly, the thought-provoking film — Silence. Since then, she has taken a different trajectory and Iyabo concentrates on directing and writing as opposed to acting fulltime.
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Net worth and earnings
Like most movie stars in West Africa, Iyabo Ojo net worth is unknown. However, it is evident from her spending on films that she is one of the wealthiest actresses in West Africa. According to multiple sources, she is worth $600,000.
In the past three years, Iyabo Ojo has graced different red carpets with different cars. In a series of Iyabo Ojo photos published by Nairaland, she has two Range Rovers.
The Nollywood and Yoruba film industries are growing, and the expansion will translate to more income to stakeholders. Iyabo’s worth is, therefore, more likely to grow in the next five years.
Photos
Iyabo is not shy when it comes to taking photos. Her social media pages are full of photos of herself, her children and her friends.
1. Mother-daughter goals
Aside from their love for dancing, Iyabo and her daughter take fitness seriously. What is more striking is how similar they look in the photo.
2. Ready for work
Doesn't she look beautiful? The mother of two rocks a pair of fitting trousers and a white blouse in this photo. Her "where is the money" caption clearly shows she's ready to give it all at her workplace.
3. Daughter-in-law, beware!
Iyabo clearly loves her children and she shows it frequently on her social media pages. In this series of photos, she can be seen pecking her son, Felix.
Iyabo Ojo's journey in the film industry is a perfect illustration of consistency, hard work, and creativity. Also, she has been able to redefine spending in this market. Thanks to Iyabo Ojo precedence in budgeting, producers, and scriptwriters are now spending more money and resources in films. This tradition has made Nollywood and Yoruba film industries the fastest growing in Africa.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
