Actress Funke Akindele has credited her rise to stardom to God, hard work and dedication, emphasising that she is a self-made star.
Speaking at the 2025 Media Sales Conference organized by the Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN) in Lagos, the 47-year-old reflected on her journey in Nollywood, stating that she built her career from scratch.
“Nobody made me a star, only God. I wrote my script, and that was it. The first Jenifa was released in 2009, and that was the turning point,” she said.
However, Funke acknowledged the role singer D’banj played in shaping her Jenifa franchise. She recalled an encounter with the singer at a club, where he questioned her decision to move on from the character.
“Amidst the buzz, a club owner invited me to his club, where I met D’banj. He asked what I was doing with the Jenifa brand. I told him I had moved on. But he insisted, ‘No, you have to milk it. That’s a brand. Go and write another script.’ He even gave me some money, and I went back and continued writing,” she recounted.
Funke first gained public attention in the TV series I Need to Know (1998-2002) before becoming a household name with the release of Jenifa in 2008. She later expanded the franchise with The Return of Jenifa and the long-running TV series Jenifa’s Diary.
In 2019, she made her directorial debut with Your Excellency, a political satire. The following year, she co-directed and starred in Omo Ghetto: The Saga, a sequel to her earlier film, which became one of Nigeria’s highest-grossing films.
Akindele continued her success streak with Battle on Buka Street in 2022 and A Tribe Called Judah in 2023, the latter making history as the first Nollywood film to gross over N1 billion at the box office.
In 2024, she expanded her Jenifa franchise with Everybody Loves Jenifa, which raked in N1 billion within 19 days of release.
She also featured in House of Ga’a, a historical drama directed by Bolanle Austen-Peters and most recently appeared in the romantic film Reel Love (2025), directed by Kayode Kasum.
Akindele remains the highest-grossing producer in Nigerian cinema history, cementing her legacy as one of the most influential figures in Nollywood.
