Ini Dima-Okojie (born 24 June 1990) is a Nigerian actress from

Edo State, Nigeria Edo, commonly known as Edo State, is a States of Nigeria, state located in the South South, South-South Geopolitical zones of Nigeria, geopolitical zone of Nigeria. As of 2006 National population census, the state was ranked as the 24th populate ...

. She resigned from her job in investment banking to enroll at the

New York Film Academy New York Film Academy – School of Film and Acting (NYFA) is a private for-profit film school and acting school based in New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami. The New York Film Academy was founded in 1992 by Jerry Sherlock, a former film, t ...

. She started her career with the first television appearance on Taste of Love and she has featured on many films including the multicultural

romcom Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

, '' Namaste Wahala'' in 2021 and the Netflix Nigerian original thriller,

Blood Sisters (2022 series) ''Blood Sisters'' is a 2022 Nigerian thriller series produced by Netflix. The series, which has been described as the first Nigerian Netflix Original series, stars Ini Dima-Okojie and Nancy Isime in the lead, with Ramsey Noah, Kate Henshaw, ...

in 2022.

Early life and education

Dima-Okojie is from Esan North-East LGA,

Edo State Edo, commonly known as Edo State, is a state located in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. As of 2006 National population census, the state was ranked as the 24th populated state (3,233,366) in Nigeria, However there was controversy ...

, Nigeria. Her father is a medical doctor and her mother is a retired banker and entrepreneur. She attended Air Force primary school in Lagos and moved to Air Force comprehensive secondary school, Ibadan. She studied at

Covenant University Covenant may refer to: Religion * Covenant (religion), a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general ** Covenant (biblical), in the Hebrew Bible ** Covenant in Mormonism, a sacred agreement b ...

, Nigeria, where she earned a degree in

International Relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

. She quit her job in investment banking to pursue a pathway into acting. This led her to earn a degree in acting from the

Career

2013 – 2017 Dima-Okojie resigned, from her job in the finance industry to pursue a career in entertainment. Her career in

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 ...

started as a production assistant on the film '' Before 30'' and she went on to make her acting debut when she played "Feyisayo Pepple" in the television series, '' Taste of Love''. In 2016, she played "Hadiza Ahmed" in the film ''

North East The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

''; her character was that of a Muslim lady who began a romantic relationship with a man from a different religious background. For her role in the film, she was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the 2017

Nigeria Entertainment Awards The Nigerian Entertainment Awards were established in New York City in January 2006. The awards recognize the contributions of African entertainers with a special focus on Nigerians. Ceremonies * 2006 Nigeria Entertainment Awards * 2007 Nigeria ...

. Dima-Okojie was also nominated for Most Promising Actress at

City People Movie Awards City People Entertainment Awards are an annual accolade presented by ''City People Magazine'' to honour Nigerian and Ghanaian entertainers. The first edition was held in Abeokuta, Ogun State on June 14, 2009. The event was hosted by Governor Gbe ...

around the same time. She was nominated for The Future Awards Africa in 2017. In 2016, she played the role of Hadiza in a web series by

Ndani TV Ndani TV is a web-based channel owned by GTBank. History Ndani TV was established in 2012 by GTBank to offer both entertainment and informative content in order to attract a youthful customer base. It was the first online video content vehi ...

, ''

Skinny Girl in Transit ''Skinny Girl in Transit'' is a Nigerian Comedy webseries by NdaniTV. The first episode was released on NdaniTV's YouTube page on 16 Jul 2015. The idea for the series was pitched by Temi Balogun. The series returned to NdaniTV for its fifth seas ...

''. She also featured in ''

5ive Five (stylised as 5ive) are a British boy band from London consisting of members Sean Conlon, Ritchie Neville, and Scott Robinson. They were formed in 1997 by the same team that managed the Spice Girls before they launched their career. The gro ...

'', ''It's her day'', and ''North East'' in the same year. In 2017, she featured in ''Battleground'' and ''

The Royal Hibiscus Hotel ''The Royal Hibiscus Hotel'' is a 2017 Nigerian comedy film directed by Ishaya Bako. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. Cast * Zainab Balogun as Ope * Kenneth Okolie as Dej ...

'' She was nominated for

The Future Awards The Future Awards Africa (previously known as The Future Awards) are a set of awards given by The Future Project, a social enterprise communications firm affiliated to Red Africa. The awards are intended to celebrate young people between the ages ...

prize for acting. She appeared on ''Pulse Nigeria's'' list of the 7 Nollywood actresses of 2017. 2018 – 2021 In 2018 she starred in two movies, ''Sylvia'' where she played Gbemi Ogunlana in a story based on a fiction of spirit lovers. Later that year, she was cast in ''Funke'' where she played the role of Ms. Catherine starring

Jide Kosoko Jide Kosoko (born 12 January 1954) is a Nigerian actor, director and producer. He was born into a royal family, hence his traditional title of prince or "omoba" in the Yoruba language. Early life Prince Jide Kosoko was born in Lagos on the ...

Eniola Badmus Eniola Badmus (born 7 September 1982) is a Nigerian professional film actress, script writer, entertainer and a social media influencer. She came into the limelight in 2008 after she was featured in the movie ''Jenifa''. Early life and educat ...

Segun Arinze Segun Arinze (born Segun Padonou Aina in 1965) is a Nigerian actor and singer. Early life and education He is the eldest of seven children born to Lydia Padonu. He is descent of Badagry, Lagos State. He attended Victory College of Commerce in I ...

and directed by Yemi Morafa. The story which was set in 1996 was centred on a young girl's ultimate dream to become a footballer and her struggle to surmount gender roles inherent in her community. In 2018, her outfit to Heineken Lagos fashion week was featured in British and Germany ''Vogue''. In 2019, she was featured in a role as Laitan Gesinde on the web TV series ''Oga Pastor'' directed by renowned movie director and filmmaker Daniel Oriahi. The series was later pulled down by

In 2020, she starred as Tami in the series, ''Smart Money Woman'', an adaptation from a book of the same title by Arese Ugwu. Also in 2020, ''Who's the boss'', featured Dima-Okojie as Jumoke, a best friend to Liah played by

Sharon Ooja Sharon Onoja (born 6 April 1991) is a Nigerian actress. She came into the limelight after she played the role of "Shalewa" in the web series ''Skinny Girl in Transit''. Biography Sharon Ooja Egwurube is from the Idoma tribe of Benue state. S ...

. In 2021 She featured in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

original – '' Namaste Wahala''. A multicultural romantic-comedy feature film where she played the role of Didi. 2022 In 2022, she starred in the Netflix Original series, Blood Sisters playing the lead role of Sarah, produced by Ebonylife Studios which is owned by

Mo Abudu Mosunmola Abudu, also known as ''Mo Abudu'', (born 11 September 1964), is a Nigerian media mogul, philanthropist, and former human resources management consultant. She has been described by Forbes as "Africa's Most Successful Woman", and rated ...

. The premiere was well attended by Nollywood stars

Personal life

She is the last of four children - two sisters and one brother. Her parents are both devoted Catholics, her father a retired Air Commodore in the Nigerian Air force and a military-trained doctor. Her mother is a licensed lawyer who worked in the banking sector. Dima-Okojie is also noted to have a strong fashion sense, with Pulse Nigeria and other media outlets describing her as one of the most stylish celebrities in Nigeria. Dima-Okojie has cited

Majid Michel Majid Michel (born 22 September 1980) is a Ghanaian actor, model, television personality, evangelist and a humanitarian. He received nominations for ''Best Actor in a Leading Role'' at the Africa Movie Academy Awards in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2 ...

and

Richard Mofe-Damijo Richard Eyimofe Evans Mofe-Damijo (born 6 July 1961), popularly known as RMD, is a Nigerian actor, writer, producer, lawyer, and former journalist. He was also a former Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Delta State in 2009. In 2005, he wo ...

as her favourite Nollywood actors. In December 2020, she opened up on her Instagram page about her struggle and journey with

Uterine fibroid Uterine fibroids, also known as uterine leiomyomas or fibroids, are benign smooth muscle tumors of the uterus. Most women with fibroids have no symptoms while others may have painful or heavy periods. If large enough, they may push on the bl ...

from 2017 In 2021, she announced her engagement to Abasi Ene-Obong, the owner of 54Gene. They tied the knot in May 2022. and received number of nollywood actors and actresses at the wedding.

Filmography

TV shows

Films

TV Host Production

Awards and nominations

Gallery

File:Ini-Dima Okojie Nov 2017.png File:Ini Dima-Okojie on Ndanitv 2019.png File:Following day film Ini Dima-Okojie.png File:Ini Dima-Okojie on Ndanitv April 2019.png File:Ini-Dima Okojie November 2017.png

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dima-Okojie, Ini Living people 1990 births Actresses from Lagos Actresses from Edo State Nigerian television actresses Actresses in Hindi cinema Covenant University alumni New York Film Academy alumni 21st-century Nigerian actresses Nigerian film actresses