Iyabo Ojo


Alice Iyabo Ojo is a Nigerian film actress, director, and producer. She has featured in over 150 films, and has produced more than 14 of her own.

Early life and education

Iyabo Ojo was born as Alice Iyabo Ogunro on 21 December 1977 in Lagos, Nigeria, although her father was from Abeokuta, Ogun State. She was the youngest of three children, having two older brothers. She went to school in Lagos at National College, Gbagbada, before proceeding to study Estate Management at Lagos State Polytechnic.

Career

Having been involved in a drama group at secondary school, Iyabo Ojo commenced her acting career in 1998. She registered with the Actors Guild of Nigeria through the help of Bimbo Akintola, she was also able to network to other people
Ojo has scripted and featured in several Nigerian films. Her first role was in 1998's Satanic, an English-language film. In 2002, she made her Yoruba-language debut with Baba Darijinwon. In January 2015, her film Silence, which features Joseph Benjamin Alex Usifo, Fathia Balogun, and Doris Simeon, premiered at the Silverbird Cinemas, Ikeja, in Lagos.
In 2004, Ojo started producing her own films. Ojo's first production was Bolutife, after which she made Bofeboko, Ololufe, Esan and Okunkun Biribiri. She also divorced her husband before her fame started.

Personal life

Marrying a Lagos-based movie marketer in 1999, when she was 21, she took a break from pursuing her career. She gave birth to a son and then a daughter, namely Felix Ojo and Priscilla Ajoke Ojo, but is now divorced from their father. She has attributed the breakup of her first marriage to marrying too young. She has spoken of her intention to stop using her former husband's surname, Ojo.

Pinkies Foundation

Iyabo Ojo launched her NGO, Pinkies Foundation, which caters to the children with special needs and the less privileged, in May 2011. She celebrated the fifth anniversary of the foundation on 1 May 2016 at the R&A City Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.

Selected filmography