In honor of the newest bee to join the Nollywood 40s, flawless and still relevant in the game female club, Dakore Egbuson-Akande, we take a look at today’s Nollywood star actresses revered as ‘living legends’ in the industry, and despite the coming in of new faces on the screens are still holding on to their legacy and buzzing awards and nominations from season to season
Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde
In the mid and late 90s to the early 2000s, every household had in its closet a multiple copy of an Omotola movie, DVD. Her beauty and radiance on the screen brought and continues to bring smiles on people’s faces as her stature alone turns heads for the gentlemen and her eloquence in speech and performance in interpreting roles puts ladies on the quest to become their own version of ‘Omotola’. At age forty, the one-time Glitz Africa cover girl is still defying odds in the industry as she is currently the first and only Nigerian actress to become a member of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences.
Funke Akindele Bello
We call her the ‘queen of African comedy’, the multiple award-winning actress/producer Funke is best known not for nudity nor flaunting boobs on social media, which appears to be the biz for most youngsters in the game for attention; but her easy way of bringing laughter to everyone who watches her on the screens. Her popular Soap Opera comedy show, Jenifa’s diary, which made its debut on the small screens in 2015 generated lots of buzz in award shows, fetching her an AMVCA and a Nigerian Entertainment Award. She doubles as one of the most followed personalities in Africa on Instagram with a whopping 5.4 million followers.
Rita Dominic
At the mention of who a true actor and a fashion goddess is, the name Rita Dominic can never pass through deaf ears as she is a forefront runner in every respect. At age 43, Rita continues to rule red carpets with her sizzling outfits and face beats turning blogs upside down. Dominic forms part of the handful of African actresses to have won an AMAA, City People’s Award, Golden Icon Academy Movie Award and a multiple AMVCA in the both categories of comedy and drama. Rita’s command on the screen and on red carpets can never be compromised.
Omoni Oboli
A mother of three, wife, actress, producer, director, author and yet still a radiator of beauty with intelligence. Omoni Oboli at age 40 is tipped as one of the top Nollywood film producers ever. Breaking records in cinemas with her back-to-back film releases. The Nollywood extraordinaire in her 40th age still graces sold-out magazine covers and signs on to ambassadorial deals that many have fallen short of even at the age of 30 and counting. Crowning her 40th birthday this year, Omoni released her book titled ‘The Stars Are Ageless’ which centers on her delightful journey so far up to the Nollywood escalator. We certainly can’t stop bragging about the remarkable achievements of Omoni.
Dakore Egbuson-Akande
Yes! she is finally 40 and we can’t stop but wonder if she is now 20. Dakore, who has been on the Nollywood screens from 1999, never runs-out of style, when it comes to her fashion game, likewise she is never missing in action in cinemas as she continues to star in award-winning films every now and then. She may not be the everyday actress we catch a glimpse of on our screens, but definitely one whose 1 movie supersedes 10 films shot by an actor within a year. She turned 40 yesterday and we welcome her to the club of 40s and still sexy.
Kate Henshaw
It’s almost as if our list of the 40s club members cannot end without paying homage to the queen of the 40s gang. At the age of 47, Kate Henshaw has proven beyond doubt that respect and legacy pays off than popularity. You cannot mention veterans in Nollywood without Kate. Her contribution to the industry continues to recognize her as a living legend of our time.
