Genevieve’s countless steps to stardom

Genevieve Nnaji was born on 3 May 1979  to an engineer father and a mother who is a teacher. She was raised in a middle class family. She is the fourth of eight siblings. Today, what started as a hobby for the star at age eight has taken her to places beyond her wildest imagination. She is the highest paid actress in Nigeria; Geny as she is fondly called by her fans is the only Nigerian invited by Oprah Winfrey to her show in the United States.
She is a brand Ambassador to so many companies and has numerous investments. One would not be speaking out of place if he or she says that Geny has gotten to her climax. In this edition, I present to you an award winning Actress, Singer, Model, mother, brand ambassador, daughter to her parents, sister to her siblings and all that she is.
Enjoy!
Genevieve has featured in countless movies, but these days she is concentrating more on cinema movies and acts alongside Americans or America-based Nigerians.  She was born in Eastern Nigeria, precisely in Mbaise, Imo State, but was raised in Lagos state.  She attended Methodist Girls College Yaba, Lagos and even while in primary school, and some part of her secondary school days, she featured in the then popular television soap opera titled Ripples.
Geny was only 8 years old when she began acting. She was 19 years old when she was starred in the movie “Most Wanted” in 1998. Nnaji won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 2005.  In 2011, she was honoured with the title (MFR) as a Member of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for her immense contribution.
In 2010 she starred in the award winning film, Ijé, alongside Omotola Jalade and recently featured in another award winning movie titled “Dr. Bello” with some Americans and America-based Nigerians. She is one of the highest paid acts in Nollywood. In 2009, she was referred to as the Julia Roberts of Africa by Oprah Winfrey.
Although her music career didn’t see the light of day, she tried her hands in 2004 and actually signed a recording deal with EKB Records, a Ghanaian record label. She released her debut album One Logologo Line, a mix of R&B, Hip-Hop and Urban music.
Endorsements/ Awards
Nnaji has featured in several commercials, some of which include those of Pronto beverage and Omo detergent. In 2004 she became the “Face of Lux” in Nigeria in a highly lucrative sponsorship deal. In May 2010 Nnaji was appointed to be the official “Face of MUD” in Nigeria.
Nnaji has received several awards and nominations for her work, including the Best Actress of the year award at the 2001 City People Awards and the Best Actress in a Leading Role award at the 2005 Africa Movie Academy Awards. Geny is also the brand ambassador of Coscharis Range Rover SUV. The offer went with a white Range Rover sports. Recently, she became the brand ambassador of Etisalat.
Charity
She is known to have given her own quota each time she is invited by her friends and colleagues for charity projects and she is also involved in a lot of projects herself as her give-back to the society. In 2008, she launched her clothing line, “St. Genevieve”, created to donate its proceeds to charity.
Fashion statement
Geny is considered the best dressed female celebrity with a class of her own. She always stands out in red carpet events even though she doesn’t wear everything other celebrities wear to occasions. She believes in simplicity when it comes to dressing. To her there is beauty in simplicity as less is more fashion statement than more of everything that amounts to being overdressed.