Ngozi Ezeonu is a Nollywood actress known for her role in movies like Glamour Girls and Pretty Serpent.Her career in Nollywood spans over 3 decades which makes her a veteran in the industry.
In this post, we take a look at the personal life of the fair skinned and vivacious Ngozi Ezeonu, her career and the movies she has featured in.
Early Life
Ezeonu hails from Ogbunike in Anambra State and she was born on the 23rd of May, 1965 to Mr and Mrs D.O Ikpelue. The actress has 6 siblings, 5 males and 1 female.
She lost her mother in 2014 who was a popular figure in Ogbunike. Mama Ikpelue was popularly called Madam Go Slow because she showed care to everyone in the community.
Marriage
Ezeonu is happily married with 4 children.
Career
Ezeonu started out as a hairstylist after her secondary education before going back to school to enrol in a diploma course in Journalism.
After her degree, she had a stint in journalism. She worked at Radio Lagos and Eko FM before venturing into full-time acting in 1993.
The actress was introduced into acting by popular Nollywood producer, Zeb Ejiro. It was through his connection that she was offered a role in the movie, Nneka, the Pretty Serpent.
This was her first major role in a supporting lead role in the movie. However, the movie that shot her into limelight was Glamour Girls in which she featured alongside the like of Eucharia Anunobi, Liz Benson and Zack Orji.
The actress revealed that she has featured in over 500 movies since she began acting. She also claimed to be the first set of actresses produced by Nollywood.
Marriage
Ezeonu has been married for over 15 years and her marriage has produced 4 children. There have been rumours of their marriage breaking up but the actress revealed that there’s nothing wrong with her marriage.
Nomination
In 2012, Ezeonu starred in the movie, Adesuwa, a role that earned her a nomination at the 8th Africa Movie Academy Awards as the Best Supporting Actress.
Movies
Ezeonu has featured in over 150 Nollywood films since she debuted as an actress in the early 90s and some of these include:
- Glamour Girls
- Shattered Mirror
- The Pretty Serpent
- Tears of a Prince
- Cry of a Virgin
- Abuja top Ladies
- Family Secret
Weight Loss
Ezeonu used to be plus sized but she has since lost the excess weight. But there were rumours that she was battling an undisclosed ailment which was responsible for her drastic weight loss.
But the actress has since refuted those claims. She disclosed that she has been working on her weight and the recent pictures are a result of that.
Some have claimed that the reactions from fans was justified as the same trend was noticed with another actress, Ngozi Nwosu who had stepped out a few years ago looking quite trim. When asked if she had any illness, she had denied it but it was later revealed that she was battling heart and kidney related ailments which was responsible for her slim frame.
However, Ezeonu has revealed that this doesn’t apply to her as she just decided to work on her weight because she wanted to and not because of any health issues.
Nude Acting
The actress revealed that she would never act nude in any movie no matter how much she’s been offered for the role but she doesn’t mind playing romantic roles.
Absence in Movies
In recent times, Ezeonu hasn’t featured in movies as she used to in the past. According to the actress, these days, she’s quite selective with the roles she plays because she believes she’s a role model to money. As a result, she can’t afford to play any role that will affect her positive image.
Female President
Ezeonu believes that women make great leaders because of their ability to multitask. She also claimed that what would totally overwhelm a man won’t do the same to a woman. The actresses added that the compassion of women enables them display excellent leadership traits.
Sexual Harassment
The actress revealed that she never experienced sexual harassment because she came into the industry as a married woman with kids.
As a result, she was respected by producers and oftern referred to as madam. But the actress believes that sexual harassment is a choice as no one is ever forced into it. She also mentioned that sexual harassment isn’t only restricted o those in the movie industry, it happens in every other industry but it seems more frequent in Nollywood because their industry is always in the face of the media.
Fame
Ezeonu revealed that the perils of fames are a necessary evil. According to her, you can’t enjoy the good side of limelight alone.
Hobbies
When she’s not acting, Ezeonu revealed that she loves travelling as well as doing her business. According to the actress, she loves empowering people. This is why she intends to set up her own production company which can serve as an avenue to take care of people and to empower them.
Marriages
Ezeonu has linked the high level of failed marriages in Nollywood to lack of readiness. According to the actress, if a woman goes into a marriage without being prepared, she would walk out of the wedding in no time.
The actress also revealed that a lot of men these days are irresponsible as a result they look for rich women to settle down with so that they can depend on them.
She also advised that women should be careful and consult God before venturing into marriage at all.
Nollywood
The actress has used two words to summarize the problems of Nollywood which is finance and depth. Although she also stated that the industry has been growing and developing extensively despite these challenges.