Omotola Jalade Ekeinde: Biography, net worth, movies, family

Any discourse on the quality of actors and actresses Nollywood has spawned creates a special place for Omotola Jalade Ekeinde for all the joy she has put on the faces of her audience.

Omotola Jalade Ekeinde is a woman whose acting career is an avalanche of success. Not just in acting, but in every area she has rendered her service, she always took the spotlight like she was destined for it. And when you scrutinise her life, you will be left to reckon with a final evaluation; all her achievements were deserved.

Omo Sexy, as her fans often call her, plays other non-acting roles aside from being an accomplished actress. She is a seasonal singer, a philanthropist and an ambassador without pretensions. She was also a model.

Table of Content hide 1Omotola Jalade Ekeinde Biography 1.1Wedding 1.2Acting career 1.3Movies 2Controversy and acting hiatus 3Music 4Reality Show 5Philanthropy and ambassadorship 6Net worth 7TEFFEST 8Award and recognition 9Omotola Jalade family 10Conclusion

Omotola Jalade Ekeinde Biography

Contrary to many celebrities out there who have a history of being born without a silver spoon, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde was born into a noble home. She was born in Lagos, Nigeria, on the 7th February 1978. Her parents were Yoruba; it is no surprise that her ancestry could be traced from Ondo State.

Her father, Oluwashola Jalade, worked and served as a member of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) and the Lagos Country Club, and her mother, Oluwatoyin Jalade, née Amori Oguntade, worked at J. T. Chanrai.

Her parents were blessed with three children, and she was the eldest amongst her brothers, Tayo and Bolaji Jalade.
Omotola Jalade’s early life began in Lagos, where she went to Chrisland School, Opebi, Lagos State.

Subsequently, she moved to Oxford Children’s School to complete her primary school. For a change of environment, her parents took her to Kaduna State and there, she attended Command Secondary School. In 1993, she acquired her West Africa School Certificate.

Furthermore, her educational quest continued to tread on a smooth course as she secured admission into the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Osun State. However, she failed to finish school. Instead, she went back to Lagos State and secured admission in 1996 into Yaba College of Technology, also known as YabaTech.

In 2004, she bagged a degree in Estate Management. Her previous ambition was to study Business Management, but she didn’t have it the way she dreamt. While she waited for her result from school, she took to modelling.

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Wedding

Omotola Jalade tied the knot with Captain Mathew Ekeinde in a court wedding on 23rd March 1996. She was just 18 years of age. In 2001, their white wedding followed suit and became the most gossiped about white wedding around.

Acting career

As she affirmed in an interview, her prelude to acting was purely coincidental. She was courteous to her friend when she escorted her to an audition. As she was there, she was also encouraged to try the audition. Surprisingly, she landed a role in the movie. And the rest they say is history.

Omotola Jalade Ekeinde’s debut in Nollywood was in Venom of Justice, a 1995 movie by Reginald Ebere, at age 17.

Later on, she received a lead role in the film, Mortal Inheritance, produced by Zeb Ejiro and directed by Andy Amenechi. The movie received accolades for being one of the best movies from Nollywood. After such a breath-taking start, she became a wanted actress because of her stellar performances.

Then she starred in a lot of notable movies from 1997. Some were; Lost Kingdom, Scores to Settle and Korosogun.

In the early 21st century, Omotola Jalade rose like a phoenix to become a famous actress. Her name was mentioned shoulder to shoulder with elites of Nollywood. At this juncture, she starred in Blood Sisters beside Genevieve Nnaji, a Nollywood veteran. Thus, the movie boosted Omotola Jalade’s fame and fandom.

The world was now at her feet. But she didn’t stop there; her marvellous dramatic résumé landed her a big role in the movie, Ije, a 2010 movie that was the highest-grossing movie in West Africa.

A film which garnered an international audience and reviews. In 2012, Omotola Jalade also featured in Last Flight to Abuja, which moved up to be the second-highest movie to come near Ije in West Africa.

Movies

She has starred in over 300 movies and is still acting. Below are some of the movies she starred in.

• Mortal Inheritance (1995)
• Scores to Settle (1998)
• Lost Kingdom 1 & 2 (1999)
• Kosorogun 1 & 2 (2002)
• Beyond Belief 1 & 2 (2003)
• Blood Sister 1 & 2 (2003)
• I Have a Dream (2003)
• I Will Die for You (2003)
• Market Sellers (2003)
• My Best Friend (2003)
• Naomi (2003)
• Oyato (2003)
• Rescue (2003)
• The Outsider (2003)
• The Silent Book (2003)
• Touching Love (2003)
• True Love (2003)
• Shackles and the Rugged Cross (2003)
• A Kiss from Rose (2004)
• All My Life (2004)
• Die Another Day (2004)
• In Totality (2004)
• Last Wedding (2004)
• Masterstroke (2004)
• My Blood (2004)
• No One But You (2004)
• Pretty Woman (2004)
• Royal Family (2004)
• The Woman in Me (2004)
• Worst Marriage (2004)
• Brave Heart (2005)
• Games Women Play (2005)
• Queen of Hasso Rock (2005)
• Taste of Sin (2006)
• Jealousy (2006)
• Sister’s Heart (2007)
• Final War (2007)
• Desperate Sister (2007)
• Tomorrow Must Wait (2008)
• Temple of Justice (2008)
• Beyonce & Rihanna (2008)
• My Last Ambition (2009)
• Ije: The Journey (2010)
• Mind Game (2010)
• A Private Storm (2010)
• Ties That Bind (2011)
• Last Flight to Abuja (2012)
• Amina (2012)
• Blood in the Lagoon (2015)
• Alter Ego (2017)

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Controversy and acting hiatus

In 2004, some professional Nollywood actors were said to be banned from acting for a year. This was so because the actors demanded unreasonable to pay for their roles in movies. These actors and actresses were known as “Nollywood G8”. Omotola Jalade was amongst them.

Other actors and actresses included were Ramsey Nouah, Genevieve Nnaji, Emeka Ike, Nkem Owoh, Stella Damasus, Richard Mofe-Damijo and Jim Iyke. With their source of earnings blocked, some actors started music, and Omotola Jalade happened to be one of them.

Between 2014-2017, she went for a long break from acting. Her reasons were based on the realisation that Nollywood had been ‘dulling’ her theatrical creativity. According to Omotola Jalade, the roles she was given were nothing novel. She felt like there was no significant improvement in the industry, so she took a hiatus.

She also took her time in an interview with Channels TV to express her thoughts on Nollywood.

“It is really hitting me how disorganised my industry is and how much we have not done structurally. I know there are very intelligent people in this industry, but somehow, we have not just coordinated ourselves. Individually, some of us are doing very well, but as a body, we are not.

“So I have decided to fall back. I am not doing movies for now because most times when I talk to producers, I tell them since I acted Ije, every movie I have acted in had royalties in my contract. So if you are not going to put royalties in my contract, I am not going to do your movie. You don’t just pay me off and go.

“If I die tomorrow, let my children to have something to hold on to,” she said.

Also referred to as the ‘Queen of Film,’ Omotola Jalade said it is irresponsible performers that would allow themselves to be used and discarded by producers.

“I think it is irresponsible that we are doing this or that we are allowing people to do this to us,” she added.

When questioned whether actors requesting royalties are justifiable in Nollywood, she confidently said “It is very sustainable.”

Music

While she was suspended from acting, she released her debut album Gba in 2005. The album consisted of 10 tracks and was produced by OJB Jezreel. Omotola Jalade featured Ruggedman, Pasto Goody Goody, Six O and Rymzo De Gusto on this album.

In 2014, she unveiled the song titled Barren Land.

However, she could not replicate her Nollywood success in music.

Below are the songs she released;

Gba Album

• Dance
• Things U Do
• Don’t Flip
• Honey Boy
• Gba
• Life or Death
• What U Looking At
• Baby Girl
• Show Me, Love
• Things U Do To Me

Single(s)

• Barren Land (2014)
• Strong Girl (Remix) (2015)

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Reality Show

Omotola Jalade started a reality show in 2012. She called it “Omotola: The Real Me”. The programme was shown on Africa Magic Entertainment, broadcasting on DStv.

The reality show aimed to show the everyday life of her family and her achievements. It was created for the fans to know more about their idol.

According to Pulse, Omotola Jalade completed her maiden edition of the TV show, and there is no news on the second yet.

Philanthropy and ambassadorship

Acting as aforementioned has not been the only place she contributed her quota; Omotola Jalade has been a heaven-sent woman to society. Her magnanimous donations have wiped away the sorrows from people’s lives.

She was made an ambassador of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in 2005. With the power vested upon her, she visited Liberia and Sierra Leone and participated actively in Walk the World Project.

This monumental star also oversees an NGO programme called Youth Empowerment Programme (OYEP), where she bettered the lives and conditions of young people. And ultimately, she used the influence and power of her voice to back the 2010 Rewrite The Future Campaign of Save The Children UK.

In 2011, she helped campaign for Amnesty International as a medium to create awareness for maternal mortality in Sierra Leone.

In 2017, Omotola Jalade was made an ambassador for United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. She was a former brand ambassador for Knorr, a seasoning brand. She was also a brand ambassador for appliances in Nigeria for Scanfront.

Net worth

Omotola Jalade’s fortune and endorsement deals have proven that she has amassed great assets. So she has an estimated net worth of N1.24 billion ($3m).

TEFFEST

In 2019, she founded an annual festival known as TEFFEST (The Entertainment Fair and Festival), whose aim, according to her, is to sanitise the industry by helping those in the profession to better understand the business and help them to be at par with their global counterparts.

TEFFEST 2020 was also focused on the female gender and how they can also contribute to the development of the entertainment industry.

Award and recognition

Omotola Jalade was honoured with so many awards and recognitions. She was recognised by the UN for her philanthropy.

CNN Travel also stated that Omotola Jalade’s accent found its way into the 12 world’s sexiest accents.

The King of Ondo Kingdom, Oba Victor Kiladejo, granted her a traditional title in 2013.

In 2013, TIMES MAGAZINE also enlisted her among the 100 most influential people in the world from TIME 100.

In 2014, the Nigerian government awarded with a Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) honour for her legacies in entertainment.

Importantly, in the 2018 Oscars, Omotola Jalade was licensed as a Voting Member of the Academy Awards.

She was also awarded an honorary doctorate by the popular Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, in 2019.

Below are the awards she received.

• The Movie Awards (THEMA) for Best Actress English (1997).
• The Movie Awards (THEMA) for Best Actress Overall (1997).
• City People Awards for Excellence for Best Actress (2004).
• Global Excellence Recognition Awards for Best Actress & Grand Achiever (2004).
• Civil Enlightenment Organization of Nigeria (CEON) for Best Individual & Symbol of Creativity (2004).
• NUSEC Awards for Best Actress (2004).
• 1st Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (2005).
• Youths Benefactor’s Award for Most friendly Actress (2006).
• 2011 Ghana Movie Awards for Best Actress-Africa Collaboration (2011).
• Eloy Awards for Actress of the Year (2012).

Omotola Jalade family

Omotola Jalade has four children with her husband, Mathew Ekeinde. They are Princess Ekeinde, Mathew Johnson Ekeinde, Meraiah Ekeinde and Michael Ekeinde.

She recently posted on her Instagram congratulating Princess Ekeinde for bagging a Master’s degree.

Conclusion

Omotola Jalade Ekeinde’s contributions to Nollywood are commendable. Her interest in bettering the lives of others across the world in every facet has shown that she is an accomplished woman.

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