Collette Nwadike (born Collete Kosisochukwu Barbara, 6 April 1991) is a Nigerian model,

beauty queen A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

and

Nollywood Nollywood is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in ''The New York Times''. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there ...

actress. She represented Nigeria in the Exquisite Face of the Universe Pageant in

Sao Tome SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U. ...

and emerged winner, becoming the first African to do so. In 2014 she was the winner of Miss Tourism Nigeria. One month after her victory on a courtesy visit, she was appointed S.A to the

Governor of Anambra State This is a list of administrators and governors of Anambra State. Anambra State, Nigeria, was formed on 3 February 1976 when East-Central State was divided into Anambra and Imo (Owerri) states. See also *States of Nigeria *List of Nigeria ...

Chief

Willie Obiano Willie Obiano (born August 8, 1955) is a Nigerian politician, banker and technocrat. He served as the fourth democratically elected Governor of Anambra State from 17 March 2014 to 17 March 2022. Early life Governor Obiano was born at Aguleri, a ...

. She is a representative of the Miss Tourism Nigeria brand.

Early life

Collette was born on 6 April 1991 in

Makurdi Makurdi is the capital of Benue State, located in central Nigeria, and part of the Middle Belt region of central Nigeria. The city is situated on the south bank of the Benue River. In 2016, Makurdi and the surrounding areas had an estimated popula ...

Benue State Benue State is one of the North Central states in Nigeria with a population of about 4,253,641 in 2006 census. The state was created in 1976 among the 7 states created at that time.The state derives its name from the Benue River which is th ...

, to Mr & Mrs Simon and Angelina Nwadike. She has five sisters and a brother and she is the last daughter and second to last child. Although a native of Nise in

Awka Awka () is the capital city of Anambra State, Nigeria. The city was declared capital on 21 August 1991, after the creation of Anambra and Enugu state, which moved the capital from Enugu to Awka (an administrative center since pre.-colonial times). ...

-South Local Government Area,

Anambra State Anambra State is a Nigerian state, located in the southeastern region of the country. The state was created on August 27, 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State to the south, Enugu State to the east and Kogi State ...

, Nwadike grew up in

in the middle belt of

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, where she did her primary and junior secondary education before moving to

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

to complete her senior secondary school. In an interview with Nwadike, she said: "As a young girl growing up, I was always seeing myself as a eautyqueen when I was three. I kept on looking up to people like

Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu Bianca Odinakachukwu Olivia Odumegwu-Ojukwu (, born 5 August 1968) is a Nigerian politician, diplomat, lawyer, and businesswoman. She is the widow of former Biafra president Chukuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu is a multiple in ...

Regina Askia-Williams Regina Askia-Williams (born Imaobong Regina Askia Usoro) in Lagos on 16 December 1967. She is a Nigerian-born, to an American-based family nurse practitioner (FNP), healthcare and educational activist, television producer, writer, and public ...

. I saw how beautiful they were and how glamorous they looked. I thought of being like these people someday! This is a dream I’ve had for a long time. And it's like I’m living my dreams now." Even as a child she had the ambition of becoming a

; she was called princess among family and friends. She was inspired in 2001 after watching

Agbani Darego Chief Ibiagbanidokibubo Asenite 'Agbani' Darego, MFR (born 22 December 1982) is a Nigerian model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss World in 2001. She was the first black African to win Miss World. Early life Abonnema-native Darego was born ...

Education

Collette went to

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

's Heritage Nursery and Primary School,

(1993-1995) and Holy Ghost Nursery and Primary School,

in 2000. She later proceeded to Anglican Secondary School,

Makurdi, Benue State Makurdi is the capital of Benue State, located in central Nigeria, and part of the Middle Belt region of central Nigeria. The city is situated on the south bank of the Benue River. In 2016, Makurdi and the surrounding areas had an estimated popula ...

from 2001 to 2006 and completed her O'Level in Caro Secondary School, Olodi-Apapa,

Lagos State Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West (Nigeria), southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, states, it is both the List of Nigerian states by population, most populous and List of Nigerian state ...

. At the age of 16 in 2007, she got admitted into

Nnamdi Azikiwe University Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, also called UNIZIK or NAU in short is a federal university in Nigeria. It consists of two campuses in Anambra State. Its main campus is in Awka (the capital of Anambra State), while its other campus is in Nnewi. ...

, where she studied English and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

under the tutelage of professors Joy Chinwe Eyisi and

Rems Umeasiegbu Rems Nnanyelugo Umeasiegbu (born 1 October 1943), is Nigerian professor, scholar, novelist, poet and folklorist from south-eastern Nigeria. . He was also a Principal Lecturer at the Institute of Management Technology, Enugu (1978-1982), and Hea ...

as her notable lecturers. In an interview with Collette Nwadike regarding her choice of course she studied in the university, she said, "I got the form myself and I actually filled in

English Language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

and

Literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

for the first time but when it didn’t work out, I got another form and filled in the same course the second time. My interest in English is really in

. I love reading books and that was one of the reasons I went for literature as a course. I’m really interested in Nigerian literature."

Career

Modeling and pageantry

Before becoming beauty queen, Nwadike has auditioned and participated in different modelling contests and has been featured in various shows. She works with some talented and well known fashion designers and stylists in Nigeria. Nwadike has judged numerous pageants, and fashion and modeling competitions including Miss Tourism Nigeria 2015 and Mr. Universe Nigeria 2015. Collette Nwadike has contested in different

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

s such as Miss Global Nigeria and

Miss Earth Nigeria Miss Earth Nigeria is an annual national beauty pageant in Nigeria to select its representative to the international Miss Earth pageant. The pageant, with the theme "Beauties for a Cause" is organized by AMC Productions, and began sending repres ...

, where she was a runner up. In 2014, Nwadike was crowned Miss Tourism Nigeria, held in May at

. She represented

, among other 35 contestants representing their states. After a series of screenings, Nwadike was crowned the Pageant Queen that night; her eyes were filled with tears of joy. A month after being crowned Miss Tourism 2015, she went for a courtesy visit to meet the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Chief

. They went for a tour around the state to see the different tourist sights. On her visit she was announced Senior Adviser to the

on tourism. Ever since then, Nwadike has been working with the

State Government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...

while participating in her other career. In December 2015, she represented

in Exquisite Face of the Universe held in

Sao Tome and Principe SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U. ...

, which involved over 50 contestants from different countries of the world. she emerged victorious and brought home the crown making her the first black woman to ever win the title.

Acting

She has work with different veteran film makers in Nollywood such as

Obi Emelonye Obi Emelonye Emelonye a Nigerian film director. He is known for directing award-winning films such as ''Last Flight to Abuja'' (2012), '' The Mirror Boy'' (2011), and ''Onye Ozi'' (2013). In 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, which shut do ...

, Ikechukwu Onyenka, Kasvid Movies, SimonPeaceMaker,

Ndave David Njoku David Njoku (born Ndave David Njoku) is a Nigerian film maker, production manager with Nollywood Industry. Early life Ndave hails from Ukelefi in Nkanu East Local Government Area of Enugu state but was born and bred in Abraka, Delta state, Nig ...

etc. She is the CEO of ScreenGoddessGlobalProductions and successful completed of a movie series title African Beauty yet to be displayed on screens

Filmography

Setbacks and success

As a child she admired many beautiful models and actresses with glamorous dress and attires. She went for her first ever modeling beauty pageant contest where she participated in the 2010 Miss National Association of Students of English and Literary Studies (NASELS), Unizik Chapter, but failed. Then she was in her first year in the

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. She further went ahead to contest for Miss (UNIZIK)

and failed. She thought to try pageant out of school competitions and went for the

Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria – often abbreviated as MBGN – is a pageant organised by Silverbird Group with the main purpose of sending representatives to international competitions. Originally known as Miss Universe Nigeria, it was rena ...

(MBGN) pageant, but unfortunately she didn't even make it pass the auditions. She made it through the Port Harcourt audition but stopped in

. But she didn't back down, she went for

, where she got into camp in

Lekki Lekki is a city in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is located to the south-east of Lagos, Lagos city. Lekki is a naturally formed peninsula, adjoining to its west Victoria Island (Lagos), Victoria Island and Ikoyi districts of Lagos, with the Atlantic O ...

and she did well in camp though she didn't emerge one of the runners-up. The event was held at "Incubator". She was awarded

Miss Earth Miss Earth is an annual international major beauty pageant based in the Philippines that advocates for environmental awareness, conservation and social responsibility. Along with Miss World, Miss Universe, and Miss International, it is one of t ...

Photogenic. Her race to becoming beauty queen continued in 2012 when she competed for the Miss Global Nigeria pageant. She was strengthened by the support of her mum and realized she couldn't stop, wanting to bring happiness and achieving her dreams. She contested for the Most Beautiful Girl in

Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...

and emerged Second Runner-up in 2013. In 2014 she saw the Miss Tourism

pageant on the Internet. She auditioned in

Owerri Owerri ( , ) is the capital city of Imo State in Nigeria, set in the heart of Igboland. It is also the state's largest city, followed by Orlu, Okigwe and Ohaji/Egbema. Owerri consists of three Local Government Areas including Owerri Municipal, ...

Imo State Imo State ( ig, Ȯra Imo) is a States of Nigeria, state in the South East (Nigeria), South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by Anambra State, Rivers State to the west and south, and Abia State to the east. It takes its n ...

. She then represented

. The event was scheduled on 17 May 2014 and was held at Ruby Gardens.The News watch times with Collete Nwadike in an

interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nwadike, Collete 1991 births Nigerian female models Living people