Genevieve Nnaji (born on 3 May 1979) is a Nigerian actress, producer, and director.
1998
In 1998, at the age of 19, she was introduced into the growing Nigerian film industry with the movie Most Wanted.
Her subsequent movies include Last Party, Mark of the Beast, and Ijele.
2001
Due to her contributions to the Nigerian movie industry, she became the first actor to be awarded Best Actress at the 2001 City People's Awards, the award ceremony that previously had only recognized politicians and business conglomerates.
Nnaji has received several awards and nominations for her work, including the Best Actress of the Year Award at the 2001 City People Awards and the Best Actress in a Leading Role Award at the 2005 Africa Movie Academy Awards.
2003
She was also the first actor to be awarded as Best Actress by the Censors Board of Nigeria in 2003.
2004
In 2004, Nnaji signed a recording contract with EKB Records; a Ghanaian record label, and released her debut album One Logologo Line.
It is a mix of R&B, Hip-Hop, and Urban music.
In 2004, Genevieve Nnaji was with the most votes after contending with other celebrities for the search for the face of Lux in 2004.
In 2004, she became the "Face of Lux" in Nigeria in a highly lucrative sponsorship deal.
2005
She won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 2005, making her the first actor to win the award.
In 2005, she won the Africa Movie Academy Award (AMAA) for Best Actress in a Leading Role, becoming the first actress to win the award.
2008
In 2008, Nnaji launched the clothing line "St. Genevieve", which donates its proceeds to charity.
2009
In 2009, Nnaji was one of the best-paid female actors in Nollywood.
In 2009, she was referred to as the Julia Roberts of Africa by Oprah Winfrey.
2010
In 2010, she starred in the award-winning film Ijé: The Journey.
She has starred in over 200 Nollywood movies.
In May 2010, she was appointed to be the official "Face of MUD" in Nigeria.
2011
In 2011, she was honoured as a Member of the Order of the Federal Republic by the Nigerian government for her contributions to Nollywood.
Her directorial debut movie, Lionheart, is the first Netflix film from Nigeria and the first Nigerian submission for the Oscars.
The movie was disqualified for having most of its dialogue in English.
2015
In November 2015, Nnaji produced her first movie called Road to Yesterday, later winning Best Movie Overall -West Africa at the 2016 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards.
2018
In January 2018, it was reported that Genevieve would be replacing Funke Akindele as a member of the Dora Milaje in Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War.
This was later debunked as an internet prank and the actor did not appear in the movie.
On 7 September 2018, her directorial debut Lionheart was acquired by online streaming service Netflix, making it the first Netflix original film from Nigeria.
The movie had its world premiere at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, alongside Farming, the Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje's autobiographical directorial debut where she starred in alongside Kate Beckinsale, Damson Idris, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw.
Genevieve Nnaji is also a women's activist.
She advocates for Nigerian girls to be able to have a say in who they choose to marry.
She is against early marriages for the girl child.
She is strongly against the abuse of women in society.
Genevieve says she is a strong advocate for social justice.
Further, Genevieve Nnaji is a strong feminist.
She states her type of feminism is the woman who has the right to make her own choices and do whatever she feels like.
Nnaji has featured in several commercials, including for Pronto (beverage) and Omo detergent.
2020
After having spent decades in the movie industry, she was profiled alongside some celebrities and business executives in 2020 in two new books by publisher and Editor in Chief of Yes International! magazine, Azuh Arinze.
Genevieve was born in Mbaise, Imo State, Nigeria, and grew up in Lagos.
The fourth of eight children, she was raised in a middle-class family; her father worked as an engineer and her mother was a nursery school teacher.
She attended Methodist Girls College (Yaba, Lagos), before proceeding to the University of Lagos, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in creative arts.
While at the university, she began auditioning for acting jobs in Nollywood.
Nnaji started her acting career as a child actor in the then-popular television soap opera Ripples at the age of 8.
