Background
Born as Rita Uchenna Nkem Dominic Nwaturuocha on the 12th of July, 1975, Rita Dominic is a member of the Royal Nwaturuocha family of Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State. She is the youngest of four children. Both of Her late parents were healthcare professionals. Her Dad was a medical doctor and her Mom was a nursing officer. Dominic attended the prestigious Federal Government College Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, before heading to the University of Port Harcourt, where she graduated with a BA (Honours) Degree in Theatre Arts in 1999.
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Career and Reputation
Rita started acting in local television dramas at the age of 5; performing as a child, appearing in school plays and children’s television shows in Imo State. In 1998 she starred in her first movie, A Time to Kill, which became a hit. After she graduated from the University of Port Harcourt with a BA in Theatre Arts, she joined the Nigerian film industry in 1999.
Rita is best known for her roles in the groundbreaking films “76”, The Meeting, and Shattered for which she won several prestigious awards. She is the only actress to have won the AMVCAs Best Actress award in both the Drama and Comedy categories. She is also the only West African actress to have won Kenya’s Kalasha Awards. Undisputedly one of Africa’s biggest movie stars, CNN describes her as a ‘Silver screen icon’, “embodying a range of colourful characters”. Rita was just recently appointed by the Afrexim Bank to be an IATF Goodwill Ambassador. She has been the face or Ambassador of several global brands in Nigeria.
The movie ‘White Waters’, in which she starred in 2008 received 12 nominations at the African Movie Academy Awards in 2008, of which it won 4 awards, including the awards for Best Cinematography and Best Sound.
Other awards she has garnered or won include (at least, the following)
- City Peoples Awards as Outstanding Actress (2004),
- Kalasha Film Festival and Television Awards Kenya as Best Actress for the movie ‘Shattered’ (2012)
- 8th Africa Movie Academy Awards as Best Actress in a Leading Role for ‘Shattered’ (2013)
- Best of Nollywood Awards as Best Actress as Supporting role English film ‘Finding Mercy’ (2013)
- Nollywood Movies Awards as Best as Actress in lead role in the movie ‘The Meeting’ (2013)
- Nigeria Entertainment Awards as Best Actress in Lead Role film in the movie ‘The Meeting’ (2013)
- Africa International Film Festival Special Jury Mention Award
- ELOY AWARDS Female Producer of The Year for ‘The Meeting’ (2014)
- Best of Nollywood Awards as Best Supporting Actress English Film for The Meeting (2014)
- Golden Icons Academy Movie Awards as Best Actress Lead Role for ‘Iyore’ (2014)
- 2015 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards for Best Actress In A Comedy [12] The Meeting Won
- 2017 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards as Best Actress – Drama/TV Series for ‘76’ (2017)
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Beyond being a multiple award-winning actress and producer, Rita Dominic is also the Co-Founder of The Audrey Silva Company. She has become known for her ability to thoroughly embody characters and continues to receive critical acclaim for her portrayal of iconic roles. She has starred in over 100 Nollywood productions alongside the biggest names in the movie industry in Africa.
Sources:
Imdb
Wikipedia
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