Right now she has us on the edge of our seats— us being movie lovers who cannot wait for the November release of her latest movie, The Wedding Party, starring Richard Mofe-Damijo, Ireti Doyle, Shola Shobowale, Adesua Etomi, Banky W, Beverly Naya, Frank Donga, and Ali Baba amongst others. And this in addition to the fact that we were already eagerly anticipating her documentary series, King Women, previews of which had us clapping, sighing and tearing up!
Here are 10 interesting things about this phenomenal woman, Kemi Adetiba:
1. She has a law degree from the University of Lagos.
2. She was born to high achievers. Her father, Dele Adetiba, was a distinguished advertising and broadcasting veteran and her mother, Mayen Adetiba was once president of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.
3. She was in not one but two OMO detergent TV commercials as a child!
4. She started her career as a radio personality on Rhythm 93.7FM while still an undergraduate, eventually hosting two well-loved shows: Soul’d Out and Sunday at the Seaside.
5. She came to limelight as a presenter and producer on MNET’s Studio 53 and Temptation Nigeria, both of which she co-hosted with IK Osakioduwa. She also hosted Maltina Dance All for three seasons.
6. She had a very short stint as a presenter on SoundCity back when it was just a music and lifestyle show.
7. Feeling stagnant in her field, she left Nigeria to do a one-year course in filmmaking and television at the New York Film Academy which she finished in 2008.
8. Across the Bloodied Ocean, her international-standard short film starring Osas Ighodaro was screened at the 2009 Pan-African Film Festival in Los Angeles and the National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta.
9. Her first music video was TY Bello’s “Ekundayo”. This excellent music video director has over 10 outstanding videos under her belt, including Niyola’s “Toh Bad”, Waje’s “Onye”, “Today na Today” by Omawumi, and Olamide’s “Sitting on the Throne”.
10. Awards love her. Her first video, “Ekundayo”, won Best Female Video at the 2009 SoundCity Awards and “Today na Today” won Best Female Video at the 2010 Nigeria Entertainment Awards. She was nominated 5 times in a row for On-Air Personality of the Year at The Future Nigeria Awards and in 2011 she was nominated for both this category and the Screen Producer/Director of the Year category, becoming the first double-nominee in the ceremony’s history. She was nominated for Best Music Video Director of the Year at The Headies 2014 and in 2015 she won the City People Entertainment Award for Best Music Video Director of the Year.
We just can’t get enough of Kemi Adetiba’s outstanding work! More power to her!