Kendra Oluchi Etufunwa is a Nigerian model and actress, best known for her lead role on the M-Net hit TV series ''

Jacob's Cross Jacob's Cross is an African prime time drama series that premiered on M-Net in January 2007 and ended its 8 series run in 2013. Produced in South Africa, the show initially aired on M-net series but was later repurposed as a drama for M-Net's Afri ...

''. She has been featured in top publications such as South African ''Elle'' magazine and ''

Glamour Glamour may refer to: Arts Film * ''Glamour'' (1931 film), a British film * ''Glamour'' (1934 film), an American film * ''Glamour'' (2000 film), a Hungarian film Writing * ''Glamour'' (magazine), a magazine for women * ''The Glamour ...

'' (SA) and modeled in advertisements for brands such as

Castle Milk Stout Castle Lager is a South African pale lager. It is the flagship product of South African Breweries and has been recognised as the National Beer of South Africa , based on the fact that it is 100% grown and produced in the country, and for its abili ...

, Pepsodent and Knorr. In March 2012, the technology company

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and Nigeria appointed Etufunwa as brand ambassador for their lifestyles' division. Kendra moved to New York City from South Africa in 2010 and walked the runway for Lilly Ghalichi’s brand “want my look” at the New York Fashion Week in 2012.

Early life

Kendra grew up in the suburbs of

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 ...

State, Nigeria, with her mother and sister. Kendra is the daughter of a businesswoman and a retired banker. She studied physical and health education at Delta State University (Abraka Campus). Etufunwa went on to further her education by signing up for a two-year course in human resources at the London School of Business, located in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, South Africa.

Career

During the 2006 Lagos auditions for the ''Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria'' (''MBGN'')

pageant Pageant may refer to: * Procession or ceremony in elaborate costume * Beauty pageant, or beauty contest * Latter Day Saint plays and pageants, run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or by members local to the area of the pageant * ...

, she was discovered by an agent, and from there, she started her career in modeling. Becoming one of Nigeria's most sought-after models, she landed modeling jobs for

Diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...

Bank and was also selected to be one of 26 models who appeared on M-Net's ''

Deal or No Deal ''Deal or No Deal'' is the name of several closely related television game shows, the first of which (launching the format) was the Dutch ''Miljoenenjacht (Netherlands), Miljoenenjacht'' (''Hunt/Chase for Millions''). The centerpiece of this f ...

'' TV game show. Her first appearance in print was sharing the cover of West African magazine ''True Love'' with English television presenter and former footballer John Fashanu. In October 2011, the producers of hip-hop awards invited Kendra to present an award at the "Hip-Hop" World Awards. Held in Nigeria. On May 17, 2012, Etufunwa was announced as the ambassador for the ''International African Hair Expo''.

Johannesburg

In 2007 Kendra relocated to Johannesburg, South Africa. She was a lead in the TV commercials; Clorets Gum,

Cell C Cell C Limited (stylised as Cell ©) is as a private mobile operator based in Sandstone, South Africa. It was founded in November 2001 by Lambert Moloi. As of August 2019, the Company’s current CEO is Douglas Craigie Stevenson Douglas may re ...

- mobile network and Knorr Cubes, Castle lite beer, Eclairs candy. She has worked on shoots for ''Cosmopolitan'', ''Elle'' and appeared in an ad for Lacoste perfume that featured in ''Glamour'' (SA) magazine. Etufunwa has walked the runway on various fashion weeks held in South Africa and around the world, Most notable in a show for UK renowned designer - Karen Millen.

Jacob's Cross

While on holiday, the producers of MNET's ''

'' TV series summoned Kendra to come in for an audition to play the part and supporting role of an angelic daughter by day, and an evil temptress by night. Kendra's performance impressed the producers, and shortly after she was signed on for another season to become the lead actress.

Television and movie

Kendra caught the eye of international directors of a

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...

production
''Inside Story''
following the story of a young girl who falls in love and has to deal with life issues and the contraction of

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

. ''Inside Story'' was released to a South African audience in December 2011 and to an international audience in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, in the United States in January 2012."'Inside Story' Makes World Premiere on World AIDS Day, Combines Entertainment & Education in Fight Against HIV/AIDS"
Discovery Communications, 1 December 2011.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Etufunwa, Kendra Oluchi South African television actresses Living people Nigerian female models People from Johannesburg Actresses from Delta State Delta State University, Abraka alumni 1993 births