James Ikechukwu Esomugha, popularly known as Jim Iyke (born 25 September 1976), is a Nigerian actor and one of the stars of the movie ''

Last Flight to Abuja ''Last Flight to Abuja'' is a 2012 Nigerian disaster thriller film written by Tunde Babalola, directed and produced by Obi Emelonye, and starring Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, Hakeem Kae-Kazim and Jim Iyke. Shot in Lagos, the film received 5 nominati ...

'' alongside

Omotola Jalade Ekeinde Omotola Jalade Ekeinde ( ; born Omotola Jalade, 7 February 1978) is a Nigerian actress, singer, philanthropist and former model. Since her Nollywood film debut in 1995, Ekeinde has appeared in over 300 films, selling millions of copies. Omoto ...

and

Hakeem Kae-Kazim Hakeem is an Arabic-language given name, a romanization variant of Hakim. It can also be used as a surname. Notablle people with the name include: Given name * Hakeem Abdul-Saboor * Hakeem Abdul-Shaheed * Hakeem Adeniji * Hakeem al-Araibi * Hakee ...

Early life and education

He was born in

Libreville Libreville is the capital and largest city of Gabon. Occupying in the northwestern province of Estuaire, Libreville is a port on the Komo River, near the Gulf of Guinea. As of the 2013 census, its population was 703,904. The area has been inh ...

, Gabon. His parents, from Ogwugwu Village in Enugu Agidi town of

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 ...

, changed their name from Okolue to Esomugha. He is the only boy in a family of eight children. He attended secondary school in F. G. C. Kwali

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 ...

from 1985 to 1991, then earned a diploma in Banking and Finance and a BSc in philosophy from the

University of Jos The University of Jos, abbreviated as Unijos, is a Federal University in Jos, Plateau State, central Nigeria. History What became the University of Jos was established in November 1971 from the satellite campus of the University of Ibadan. ...

Plateau State Plateau State is the twelfth-largest Nigerian state. It is in the centre of the country includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau, its capital, and the entire plateau itself. Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and To ...

Career

Jim Iyke began acting in 2001. , he was one of the highest paid actors 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 ...

, he has appeared in over 150 films. He started a movie production company, ''Untamed Productions'' in 2007, and also has his own music record label, Untamed Records. His first album, titled ''Who Am I?'', featured some of Nigeria's top musicians, such as TuFace Idibia and

Sound Sultan Sound Sultan (born Olanrewaju Abdul-Ganiu Fasasi; November 27, 1976 – July 11, 2021) was a Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, comedian, and recording artist. He was regarded as one of the pacesetters of modern hip hop music in Niger ...

Controversy

A video of Jim Iyke's purported 'deliverance' from an evil spirit at The Synagogue Church of All Nations, led by Pastor T.B. Joshua, provoked intense debate on social media. The spirit reportedly confessed that it was behind Iyke's inability to find a wife.

Philanthropy

He is the founder of Jim Iyke Foundation for Children with Special Disabilities. He visited Kenya in December 2012 in support of the Make a Change Campaign, a charity project founded by Christopher Grey and Jamaican dance hall artist Cécile.

Personal life

Iyke holds a black belt in

taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...

. In April 2019, he announced the birth of his son.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * 1970 births Living people Nigerian male film actors People from Libreville 21st-century Nigerian male actors University of Jos alumni Actors from Anambra State Igbo actors Nigerian film producers Nigerian film award winners {{Nigerian-film-actor-stub