Charming actress Omoni Oboli needs no introduction. Her latest movie, Wives on Strike co-starring Chioma Akpotha, Uche Jombo and Ufuoma Ejenobor, returned to the cinemas last month by popular demand. In 2014 she co-produced, directed and starred in a romantic comedy, Being Mrs Elliott, which made waves in more ways than one, and in 2015 she lit up the screen as Maria in the movie Fifty, but did you know that:
- Omoni is an Urhobo girl who grew up in DSC, as the Delta State Complex belonging to the Delta Steel Company in Aladja, Warri is popularly called. Although she was born in Benin City, her hometown is Mosogar in Delta State.
- Omoni made her debut film appearance in 1995. You thought she just came on the scene a few years ago, right? Nope! She played Liz Benson’s housemaid in Shame (remember the movie where Liz was torn between RMD and Sola Fosudo?) and in 1996 she played the role of a secretary in Bitter Encounter (starring Kesse Jabari Akamune, Ola Davis Ofor and Iyabo Lawani).
- She had been acting even longer than that. She acted in her first play when she was just three years old.
- She took a long break from Nollywood, part of which she spent in England raising a family. This explains why she was considered a new actress by many when she resurfaced ten years later with a bang in Kunle Afolayan’s 2009 movie, The Figurine, the same year Entanglement, where she worked alongside Desmond Elliott, Yemi Blaq and Mercy Johnson, was released.
- Omoni’s Francophilia predates her time at the University of Benin where she studied Foreign Languages and majored in French. She was already fluent in the language as a secondary school student, serving as president of the French club and representing her school at various national and international competitions.
- Omoni is multi-talented. Besides her training in digital filmmaking at the New York Film Academy, she’s also a gifted screenwriter, director and producer, as her work in Being Mrs Elliott and Wives on Strike proves. In 2007, she was producer and set designer for The Rivals, a movie for which her friend Blessing Effiom-Egbe came up with a unique story idea. It was the first African film to win Best International Drama at the New York Film and Video Festival.
- She is married to Dr. Nnamdi Oboli, an optometrist who recently authored “For Better For Worse Us” inspired by their 15-year marriage. They have three sons aged 14, 12 and 10 (even though she doesn’t look it!) and together they run Dioni Visions, which is a combination of her film production company and his optometric practice.
We certainly look forward to seeing more of the beautiful, gifted Omoni’s skilled acting, screenwriting, directing and producing, and wish her all the best!
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