Nkiru Sylvanus (born 21 April 1985) is a Nigerian actress and politician. She has featured in over two hundred movies and won the awards for Best Actress of the Year at the

Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards ''Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards'' (AMVCA) is an annual accolade presented by MultiChoice recognizing outstanding achievement in television and film. The inaugural Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards ceremony was held in Lagos, Lagos State ...

and Best Actress in a Leading Role at the

Africa Movie Academy Awards The Africa Movie Academy Awards, popularly known as AMAA and The AMA Awards, is presented annually to recognize excellence among professionals working in, or non-African professionals who have contributed to, the African film industry. It was fou ...

Early life and education

Sylvanus was born in

Osisioma Osisioma Ngwa is a Local Government Areas of Nigeria, Local Government Area of Abia State, Abia state of Nigeria. Its headquarters are located in Osisioma town. It has an area of and a population of 219,632 as per 2006 census data of Nigeria. O ...

, Aba, a city located in

Abia State Abia State ( ig, Ȯha Abia) is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, it is bordered to the north and northeast by the states of Enugu, and Ebonyi, Imo State to the west, Cross River State to the east, Akwa Ibom State to the ...

, Nigeria. She attended Ohabiam Primary and Secondary School, where she obtained her first school leaving certificate and West African Senior School Certificate. She also attended the

Enugu State University of Science and Technology The Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) is a university in Nigeria that was founded as Anambra State University of Technology (ASUTECH) on 30 July 1980, by the Executive Governor of Anambra State, Chief Dr Jim Ifeanyichukw ...

, graduating with a BSc degree in mass communication.

Acting career

Described by ''

The Punch ''The Punch'' is a Nigerian daily newspaper founded On August 8, 1970. Punch Nigeria Limited was registered under the Companies Act of 1968 to engage in the business of publishing newspapers, magazines and other periodicals. It was designed to i ...

'' newspaper as a veteran, Sylvanus began her acting career at the age of 17, in 1999. She has been featured in over 70

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 ...

movies. She has been featured twice (2017 & 2018) in The Guardian's publication on ''Celebrities Who Made Headlines''.

Political career

In 2011, Sylvanus was included in the cabinet of former governor of Imo state

Rochas Okorocha Owelle Rochas Anayo Okorocha (born 22 September 1962) is a Nigerian politician of Igbo extraction, from Imo State. He is the senator representing Imo West Senatorial district at the 9th Nigerian Senate. He is also the former Governor of Imo St ...

as his Special Assistant on

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 ...

Affairs and later became his Special Adviser on Public Affairs.

2012 kidnap and release

Sylvanus, who was a special assistant to former Governor of

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 ...

on Public affairs was kidnapped on 15 December 2012 at 2.30pm as reported by various reputable Nigerian media houses. A

Vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives fr ...

media publication reported that a ransom of a ₦100,000,000 (One hundred million naira) which was (per exchange rate) in 2012 equivalent to $640,000 (Six Hundred and forty thousand

U.S The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

dollars) was demanded by her captors in exchange for her release. It was reported by Nigerian media houses that on 21 December 2012 at 10:30pm, Sylvanus was released from her kidnappers.

Awards

*Best Actress of the Year at the

*Best Actress in a Leading Role at the

Personal life

In 2014 Sylvanus married Stanley Duru. As of 2019, they are separated.

Selected filmography

*''MY HEART'' *''Final Tussle (2008)'' *''Life Bullets (2007)'' *''Fine Things (2007)'' *''No More Love (2007)'' *''Secret Pain (2007)'' *''She Is My Sister (2007)'' *''The Last Supper (2007)'' *''Treasures Of Fortune (2007)'' *''Alice My First Lady (2006)'' *''Buried Emotion (2006)'' *''Divided Attention (2006)'' *''Pastor’s Blood (2006)'' *''Serious Issue (2006)'' *''Sweetest Goodbye (2006)'' *''What A Mother (2005)'' *''Dangerous Mind (2004)'' *''Hope Of Glory (2004)'' *''King Of The Jungle (2004)'' *''My Blood (2004)'' *''Queen (2004)'' *''The Staff Of Odo (2004)'' *''Unconditional Love (2003)'' *''Egg Of Life (2003)'' *''Green Snake (2003)'' *''Six Problems (2003)'' *''Holy Violence (2003)'' *''Last Weekend (2003)'' *''Onunaeyi: Seeds Of Bondage (2003)'' *''The Only Hope (2003)'' *''A Cry For Help (2002)'' *''Love In Bondage (2002)'' *''Miracle (2002)'' *''Pretender (2002)'' *''Unknown Mission (2002)'' *''Never Come Back (2002)'' *''Terrible Sin (2001)''

References

External links

IMDb profile of Nkiru Sylvanus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sylvanus, Nkiru Living people 21st-century Nigerian actresses Igbo actresses Enugu State University of Science and Technology alumni Igbo politicians Nigerian actor-politicians Actresses from Imo State Nigerian women in politics Nigerian politicians 1985 births