Nengi Adoki (born 17 January 1990) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

actress. She is known for her roles 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 ...

films such as ''

Juju Stories ''Juju Stories'' is a three-part anthology film exploring juju (magical) stories rooted in Nigerian folklore and urban legend, written and directed by C.J. Obasi, Abba Makama and Michael Omonua. The film features three stories: "Love Potion" by O ...

'' and ''Chatroom,'' and web series such as ''

The Men's Club ''The Men's Club'' is a 1986 American drama film directed by Peter Medak, based on the novel of the same name by Leonard Michaels. It stars Roy Scheider, Harvey Keitel, Frank Langella, Treat Williams, David Dukes and Richard Jordan. It is noted f ...

.'' She was named one of the Top Nollywood actors in 2021, and is an activist for women's issues and police brutality in Nigeria.

Personal life

Nengi Adoki was born on 17 January 1990 in Port-Harcourt,

Rivers State, Nigeria Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed in 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include: Imo to the north, Abia and Akwa Ib ...

. She was raised in

Toronto, Canada Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

and received her B.A. in Performing Arts and Information Technology from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

in 2013. While at the University of Toronto, she directed and performer in theater productions, including the Afrocentric cultural show ''Sync Afrique'', which was performed in

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

annually from 2009 to 2014. Adoki received the African Scholars' Global Impact Award from the University of Toronto in 2019. In 2014, she received a certificate in performing arts from

Sheridan College Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning (formerly Sheridan College of Applied Arts and Technology) is a public polytechnic institute of technology located in the west-Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada. Founded in ...

Oakville, Ontario Oakville is a town in Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Lake Ontario between Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton. At its Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census population of 213,759, it is List of tow ...

Career

After graduating from Sheridan College, Adoki returned to Nigeria to focus on her acting career. Her debut television role was as a minor character in the final season of ''

Lost Girl ''Lost Girl'' is a Canadian supernatural drama television series that premiered on Showcase on September 12, 2010, and ran for five seasons. It follows the life of a bisexual succubus named Bo, played by Anna Silk, as she learns to control ...

.'' In 2016, she performed in Bolanle Austen-Peter's '' Wakaa! The Musical,'' the first Nigerian musical shown at London's West End. In 2018, she starred in the television series ''Forbidden.'' She has also appeared in other theatrical productions such as ''Heartbeat the Musical'' and ''No More Lies''. In 2021, Adoki made her film debut as Joy in the third installment of ''Juju Stories'', an anthology film directed by C.J. Obasi,

Abba Makama Abba T. Makama is a Nigerian writer, director, visual artist and producer. He is known for directing ''Green White Green'' and '' The Lost Okoroshi''. He is the founder and the creative director of Osiris Film and Entertainment. His films f ...

, and Michael Omunua. She received a prize for acting at the Future Awards Africa in 2022 for her performance. She also appeared in several web and television series, primarily on RedTV, including ''Back to School'', ''The Men's Club'', ''Inspector K,'' and ''Baby Drama.'' Adoki began developing her own comedy web series, ''The Most Toasted Girl'' in 2018, which premiered in 2020. The series is based on real experiences dating in Lagos. In 2022, Adoki played the lead role in Chike Ibekwe's ''Chatroom,'' a movie about

gender-based violence Gender-related violence or gender-based violence includes any kind of violence directed against people due to their gender or gender identification. Types of gender-related violence include: * Violence against women (sometimes referred to simply as ...

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 ...

, and appeared in the second season of the show ''Little Black Book.'' She also starred in the 2023 film ''The Trade.''

References

Nigerian film actresses Living people 1990 births {{Nigeria-film-stub People from Port Harcourt University of Toronto alumni 21st-century Nigerian actresses Nigerian theatre people

Personal life

Career

See also

References