Iyabo Ojo is a popular Nigerian actress
She is the youngest of three children and only girl, was born as Alice Iyaba Ogunro on the December 21st, 1997 in Lagos, Nigeria. She hails from Abeokuta, Ogun State. She’s an actress, director and producer; having featured in over 150 films, and has produced over 14 of her own.
She attended National College, Gbagada, Lagos before proceeding the study Estate Management at Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH), Ikorodu.
Iyabo’s career as an actress started out in 1998, having been involved in a drama
group while she was in secondary school. Through the help of Bimbo Akintola.
Talking about her start, she has said: "So after I had come of age, I went to Bimbo Akintola, after watching one of her movies ... and told her that I wanted to be an actress and she did help me. Through her guidance, I registered with the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) and afterwards she took me around, introducing me to a lot of the people she knew in the industry."
Her first role was in a 1998 English-language movie titled Satanic which turned out to be a success for despite being her first time in front of a camera.
She got married in 1999 to a Lagos-based movie marketer, taking a break from her career. She gave birth to a son and a daughter in 1999 and 2001 respectively, namely Felix and Priscillia Ojo. However, she has since divorced her husband,blaming the breakup to getting married at a young age.
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| Her ex husband with their children. |
She also insinuated her husband had only married her out of necessity not love.She revealed in an interview that he had told her on their wedding night he married her because she was pregnant and that he didn't love her.
Realising she wasn't happy,she decided to divorce her husband,taking her son and daughter with her.
One of the things that made her popular was
her rumoured affair with Muka Ray.They always appeared in Yoruba films together often playing husband and wife.Neither of them has confirmed the rumour,but there were very strong indications that they were a couple.
In 2002, she made her Yoruba-language debut with Baba Dariji won and has since featured in several films such as Okanla (2013), Beyond Disability, Silence (2015), Ipadabo Awusa (2016), Tori Ife (2016), Kostrobu (2017) and so on.
In 2004, she started producing her own films with Boluwatife as her first production. After Boluwatife, she made Bofe boko, Ololufe, Esan, and Okukun Biribiri. In January 2015, her film Silence which featured Alex Usifo, Doris Simeon and Fathia Balogun premiered at the Silverbird Cinemas, Ikeja, Lagos.
Iyabo in the stretch of her career has been nominated for City People Movie Award for Yoruba Movie Personality of the year on three occasions; 2018, 2017 and 2015. She was also nominated for best actress in 2017, 2016, and 2015 (where she won) at the City People Award.
She also won the award for Most Promising Actress in Nigeria at City Peoples Awards, Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the Africa Movie Academy Awards and Best Yoruba Actress at the Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Award.
You can always trust the stars to have controversies though.One of the most recent is the fight between Iyabo and Fathia Balogun who were once very good friends.
The friendship between the two,took a turn for the worse after their trip to Turkey where some fans of the actresses organised a few birthday celebrations for Faithia.
Ojo allegedly had plastic surgery in Turkey in 2018 to improve her body,there were then rumours that she almost died in the process and was in a coma.The younger actress accused her older counterpart of being the one who started the rumours and wanted her dead.
She called Fathia a traitor and a fair-weather friend, who befriends young people in the movie industry for material gains.
Then there was also her very public fight with Kemi Olunloyo,with the journalist claiming she was responsible for her going to jail.That was a very nasty time,with both parties accusing and abusing each other online.Thankfully they ended their battle and Iyabo actually held a party for Kemi to solidify their new friendship.
But its not all fights though,one of her best friends in the industry is Mercy Aigbe.The two are frequently seen at parties and events dressed alike and being very lovey dovey.
Ojo is seen as one of the richest and most influential actress in Nigeria, with an estimated net worth of $600,000. She runs a NGO, PINKIES Foundation, which caters to children with special needs and less privileged. The NGO was launched on May 11, 2016.