Genevieve Nnaji started out as a model with Alex Usifo, but hardly broke even. Gradually, she inched into soap operas, and also hardly got noticed; but a chance came for her to play a newscaster in Ralph Nwadike’s film, ‘Most Wanted’ which got her little recognition until she clinched the lead role in ‘Sharon Stone’, which made her an issue in the African continent and that would shape Genevieve’s future. Today she has over one million registered fans on her various internet platforms and receives about 3,000 fan letters in a week. In September 2009, Oprah Winfrey named her one of the 100 most famous people in the world.
She is also by far the highest paid actress per movie and the first to earn a million naira in a single movie. In 2009 she raised the bar by earning her artiste fee in dollars for ‘Ije’. As the Face of Lux, she earned N25m for two years. Between 2004 and 2006 she earned a whooping of N40m. Major part of the money N25m came from her two-year deal with Lux. With no great interest in real estate she has two buildings in Lagos and another one in her home town, Mbaise. Genevieve’s passion lies in fashion, where she has sunk some millions of naira. She launched her clothing line, St. Genevieve in 2008 which is presently being managed by fashion icon, Zizi Cardow. St.Genevieve is worth over N30m today. She also signed another contract for Loya milk as well as becoming the face of MUD cosmetics.
In 2013, she earned N40m from a deal with Coscharis to be the face of Range Rover Evogue and in 2014, she inked another deal with Amstel Malta, worth N35m alongside soccer star, Mikel Obi. Sometimes she gets paid as much as N1m to attend an event in government circles.
OMOTOLA JOLADE EKEINDE
She shares the same status with Genevieve Nnaji and together they are the two biggest actresses in Nollywood. In 2011 alone, she grossed N25 million from few movie roles. Omotola takes it easy with her life and also has great passion for cars. She drives more expensive cars than any actress in Nollywood and her garage is estimated to be worth N20 mililion. In 2013, she was named one of the ‘100 Most Influential People in the World’ by American news magazine, Time, a status that sounds priceless in terms of monetary evaluation.
FUNKE AKINDELE
She has earned more from home videos in the past two years than any other actress in Nollywood. Akindele who goes by the sobriquet, Jenifa, has proven that being a cross-over actress could be rewarding as she smiles to the bank with her comic roles starring alongside Nkem Owoh, Charles Awurum, Charles Inojie, and John Okafor.
These efforts are estimated to have made her richer by N40m in the past two years. She actually came on TV as a youngster on the set of I Need To Know, before she finally went to study Law in the university. Away from the movies, her several endorsements have earned over N60m in the past two years.
KATE HENSHAW
Humble and hardworking, she is what one may call the silent millionaire. She became one of the actresses to try out other ventures. The Cross River-born star has a company which specialises in different businesses but with passion for real estate. She currently has three buildings buildings and several landed properties scattered all over the country. By 2006 she had earned N10 million and the following year, she reached N12 million. She has never looked back since then. The actress is also the Face of Onga, a brand of seasoning which she advertised with singer, Flavour in a deal worth N20m.
PATIENCE OZOKWOR
She got into acting, the career that brought her money and fame because she was sacked as a broadcaster. That gave her the lee way into Nollywood, where she is one of the most-paid actresses earning over N1.5m per movie at the moment. She lives inside Enugu GRA, a mansion she completed in 2010. She also opened a plaza in Enugu metropolis which houses her fashion business in 2013, aside joining the telecoms endorsement train which saw her inking a deal with Glo.
INI EDO
Ini believes in landed properties and has invested in this area more than any other Nollywood sister. She has five buildings, one in Abuja, and others in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Uyo. Most of the buildings are being rented to tenants. In 2007 she had earned N15.7 million from movies. Her modeling deal with a Chinese hair accessory marketing outfit in Nigeria fetched her N15m, and plans are currently on to renew the deal at the end of 2014. Her movie project, ‘Memories of The Heart’ is reputed to worth N100m
RITA DOMINIC
Rita is one of the most recognizable faces from Nollywood in East Africa which fetched her acting deal of $400,000 in Kenya two years ago. She was once Face of Nokia and the former Glo ambassador. Her assets include landed properties and two homes estimated to be worth over N40 million. Between 2008 and 2009, she earned N16million from home videos.
MERCY JOHNSON
As at 2012, Mercy Johnson had appeared in over 60 movies, earning N50 m. The following year, she earned N13 million and she featured in the Emen Isong hit movie, ‘Guilty Pleasures’. She is also an investor in properties and made waves a few years ago by completing two building projects at once. She also owns landed properties in Ajah area of Lagos.
Are They Models?
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