I grew up in Surulere, Lagos, as the fourth child out of eight. Life was very hard. My father lost his job twice, and we had to move to Egbeda to survive.
My mother was a school teacher, but that wasn’t enough. She also sold goods just to keep us going.
I used to help her hustle, carry things, run errands, do whatever we could to make ends meet. At 17, I got pregnant and had to leave school.
That was one of the hardest moments of my life. I felt pain, shame, and fear, but deep inside, I told myself this cannot be the end of my story.
At 19, I got my first acting role in ‘Most Wanted’, and later I starred in ‘Mortal Inheritance’, which changed everything.
By the early 2000s, I was winning awards, and in 2001, I became the first actress to receive the City People Best Actress award.
In 2018, I directed Lionheart, the first Nigerian film on Netflix. I haven’t forgotten where I came from.
I support girls’ education and small businesses, because if a teenage mother from Egbeda can rise, then others can too.
— Genevieve Nnaji
