Dr. Omotola Jalade Ekeinde

Dr. Omotola Jalade Ekeinde is one of Nigeria’s most celebrated and recognisable faces, an actress, singer, philanthropist, and former model whose story reads like something out of the very films she has starred in. She made her Nollywood debut in 1995 and has since appeared in more than 300 films, with her breakout role in Mortal Inheritance, where she played a young woman battling sickle-cell anaemia, earning her widespread critical praise and setting the tone for a career that would grow beyond anything she had imagined.

In 2013, she was honoured in Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world, standing alongside names like Michelle Obama and Beyoncé, a moment that cemented her place not just in Nollywood, but on the global stage. She has won over 40 domestic and international awards, including the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, the BEFFTA Icon Award, and she holds the national honour of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR). She is married to Captain Matthew Ekeinde and is the proud mother of four children, Princess, Meraiah, Captain E, and Michael Ekeinde.

Beyond the camera, Omotola is a woman deeply committed to the world around her. She became a United Nations World Food Programme Ambassador in 2005, going on missions to Sierra Leone and Liberia, and has been active in the Walk the World project, including a campaign with former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Her NGO, the Omotola Youth Empowerment Programme (OYEP), has brought hundreds of young Nigerians together through empowerment walks and conventions, while she has also partnered with Save the Children UK, Amnesty International, and SME100 Africa to advocate for human rights, education, and women’s empowerment. She was the first Nigerian celebrity to have her own reality television show, Omotola: The Real Me, which aired on Africa Magic and became one of the most viewed series on the continent.