Nigerian actress, singer and philanthropist, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, clocked 39 on Tuesday.
Making her Nollywood debut in Venom of Justice in 1995, Omosexy has gone on to appear in over 300 productions, making her one of the most recognised faces in African cinema.
Here are 10 of her outstanding achievements at 39.
- Most watched actress in Africa
She was one of the pioneers of the video film era of Nigerian cinema, becoming the most watched actress in Africa. Her 2010 film, Ije, which co-stars perhaps her biggest screen rival, Genevieve Nnaji, was the highest grossing Nollywood film at the time
- First African celebrity to receive 1million Facebook likes
Omosexy is the first African celebrity to receive over 1 million likes on her Facebook page. She currently has a total of 3 million followers on Facebook
- United Nations WFP ambassador
The mother of four became a United Nations World Food Programme ambassador in 2005. She has since gone to missions in Sierra- Leone and Liberia.
- Amnesty International activist
Omotola became an Amnesty International campaigner in 2011 and has participated in campaigns in Sierra- Leone and Niger Delta in Nigeria, where she shot a video asking Shell and the government to Own Up, Clean Up, Pay Up and take responsibility of the oil spills in the region.
- Fifth on CNN Travel’s list of world’s 12 sexiest accents
CNN Travel noted Omotola’s famous tongue (accent) on their list of the world’s 12 sexiest accents in 2012
- First Nigerian celebrity to star in her own reality show
The award-winning actress launched her own reality show, Omotola: The Real Me, on Africa Magic Entertainment, an M-Net subsidiary broadcast on DStv in 2012.
- Time magazine’s list of 100 most influential people
In 2013, she was honoured in Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world alongside Michelle Obama, Beyoncé and Kate Middleton. She appeared in the icons category.
- Speaker at 2013 WISE Summit
On November 2, 2015, Omotola spoke at the 2013 edition of World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) in Doha, Qatar.
- Member of the Order of the Federal Republic
In 2014, Omotola was honoured by the Nigerian government as a Member of the Order of the Federal Republic, MFR for her contributions to Nigerian cinema.
- Founder of OYEP
A fierce human rights campaigner, she is the founder of the NGO Omotola Youth Empowerment Programme (OYEP).
