Lights, cameras, action! For the past twenty one years, this is what many have known Nigerian actress, producer and director, Genevieve Nnaji for. From starting out as a child actress at the age of eight, to climbing up the ladder of her profession. Over the years, Genevieve has shown that there is beauty in simplicity. No one knew she had spent well up to two decades in the industry, until the last day of 2018 when she took to her Instagram page to write: “As 2018 comes to an end, I mark 20 years in the art of filmmaking. I’m grateful for my life, journey, and growth thus far”.
For a woman, waiting to get a marriage proposal from the man she loves and adores is as certain as waiting for the proverbial hen to lay a golden egg. Our own very beautiful screen goddess, Genevieve Nnaji, has all the beauty, wealth and status to make a good wife, yet she’s still one of the eligible spinsters in Nollywood. Despite probably being the most popular name in Nollywood, Genny, as she’s fondly called by close friends is yet to find a man to call her own. Although she has been romantically linked with some top male celebrities, she hasn’t confirmed the speculations.
The Imo State-born diva who is a single-mother however revealed in an interview that she is still single because she is afraid of divorce. “If I get married, I really want to stay married and staying married is not an easy thing. It means you are completely in tune with your partner. It means you have found your soul mate because you will have to be able to stand a lot of disappointments that would definitely come but then again you have to learn to forgive,” she said.
Genevieve explained that she was born and raised Catholic and she does not believe in divorce. According to her, before she decides to walk down the aisle with any man, she’d have to ask herself if he is the kind of man she’d be willing to forgive when the time comes and if her answer to that question is no, he is not the right man for her.
“If you know you can look into someone’s eyes and say yes, this is the most you can do to me. If you actually cheat on me the first time, I can find it in my heart to forgive you. If you can answer that question honestly and truthfully to yourself, then you will know if that person is your partner or not,” she added.
She further explained that it is every woman’s dream to get married but the problem is finding someone you are compatible with, adding that she’s had opportunities to get married but she realised getting married is not the problem but compatibility. The mother of one said she wants to get married but it has be with someone she’s compatible with. She said, “So compatibilty is the word, aside from the physical attributes that have to go with it. I need to be comfortable because I am a woman and I’m used to certain lifestyle.”
It is a known fact that the gorgeous multi-award Nigerian actress and savvy businesswoman, Genevieve Nnaji has always had an eye for handsome, successful and powerful men. Take a look at all the eye candy men that the successful and gorgeous mother of one has dated. Below is a list of the successful and handsome men that Nollywood’s queen has dated:
Ramsey Nouah
Genevieve also dated the handsome Nigerian actor, Ramsey Nouah. The two both denied the rumours of them being in a relationship but rumours of an old fling hasn’t been far off. Genevieve has never addressed her relationship with Ramsey Nouah publicly and this is what Ramsey Nouah had to say about the rumours “I have never had such feeling for her. We were just colleagues who wanted you people to feel the way you are feeling now. It tells you that we played our roles very well”.
D’banj
The gorgeous Nigerian actress dated the Nigerian musician, D’banj between the years of 2008 and went on to be featured in his 2008 music video titled “Fall In Love”, which sparked many rumours about the two having an affair. Genevieve has never confirmed that she dated the musician but the world trusts D’banj enough to trust his “government”. In 2013, D’banj said he wanted to marry Genevieve. D’banj said “I would love to have Genevieve as my wife. I have studied her and I released that anyone that has her as his woman has found himself a treasure”.
Patt Attah
Genevieve also dated the Nigerian actor, Patt Attah but it is a tale of two stories. Genevieve said that she sees Patt like a big brother and they never dated and on the other hand, Patt admitted he dated Genevieve in an interview with Hearts Magazine back in the days and went on saying that he doesn’t regret dating the Nollywood actress.
Kunle Coker
Nollywood’s queen and multi-award actress, Genevieve Nnaji dated the Nigerian actor, Kunle Coker early in her career in the entertainment industry. The actress acknowledge that she dated the actor when she was asked of Kunle brought her into the entertainment industry. She responded to the question by saying “Yes, Kunle Coker was actually my boyfriend but he did not ring me into the industry”.
Baby Daddy (Unknown)
The amazing actress is a mother of a teenage girl named Chimebuka Nnaji and it is believed that she has the child when she was in her teens. It is also understood that her daughter is a result of a relationship with a man she believed she would have married and not a one night affair however there is scarce information about the man’s whereabouts.
After having dated all these powerful and successful men, the savvy businesswoman and gorgeous actress does not show any signs of tying the knot anytime soon. Having featured in more than 80 movies, Genevieve has come to master the art of making a character in a given script seem beyond real. Like a master storyteller, she makes use of empathy in engaging the emotions of viewers. This she did so well in ‘Mirror Boy’, a Nigerian fantasy movie which cost an estimated £250,000 where she was made to play the role of mother who had to cope with a delusional son.
“Acting is all about creativity. It is about taking on the soul and spirit of the character, using imagination to bring the character to life and making people believe in the role. I have respected myself as an artiste. I think the success stems from the fact that I have given acting my all. I have not deviated from the realisation that all I ever wanted to do was act. It’s hard to tell, what I would do differently if I were to do it all over. The fact is, I can’t imagine my life any other way,” she said.
In all these years, one thing has made Genevieve the special breed she is — that she is not the kind of actress that features in every movie script that is thrown her way. Like a professional distiller, she handpicks the best and transforms the script with the uniqueness she brings to the art, into premium blockbusters.
How time flies? That is the question that comes to mind when one begins to come to terms with the fact that the young Genevieve of yesterday has grown to become a queen whose film ideas have transcended the local shores of Nigeria into international quarters, with the latest in her achievements being the September 2018 announcement by Netflix that it has acquired the worldwide rights to her movie, ‘Lionheart’.
Veteran Nollywood actress, Genevieve Nnaji is definitely pushing the needle in Nollywood. The actress became Nollywood’s first billionaire as Netflix bought Lion Heart for N1,385,100,000($3.8 million). The Netflix movie which had everyone buzzing definitely brought the spotlight to Nigeria. Reacting to the recent development, Genevieve Nnaji took to Instagram to appreciate the support for Lion Heart, in a post which read: “Thank you, everyone, for accepting @lionheartthemovie into your homes and your hearts. Worldwide. This is how we change the narrative. together. Let us continue to bridge the gap.”
For a society where marriage is seen as the highest form of achievement for a lady, it is not uncommon to see single women in their mid-30s who are successful being discriminated against. People say things like she will never be able to keep her home with so much success happening in her life. As a matter of fact, most unmarried Nigerian ladies dread hitting the “Big 30”. Once you are 30, you are no longer a single lady but a “matured single lady”.
For single Nigerian women in their 40s, which is Genevieve’s category, society sees them as cursed with no hope of redemption. Witches and all sorts of elements of the supernatural are blamed for their misfortune. Even the biological clocks of these women are said to be ticking faster by this time. Even if the society tries to help by giving them the choice of husbands they will end up with mostly by match making. Only a few emotional & psychologically strong women, like Genevieve, are able to withstand the pressures that the society puts on them as regards marriage. We are glad she is changing the story and motivating several young Nigerian ladies. You can be successful without getting married, marriage is not a prerequisite for success!