Ramsey Nouah (born Ramsey Tokunbo Nouah Jr.; 19 December 1970) 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 ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

. He won the

Africa Movie Academy Award 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 ...

for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 2010 for his performance in the movie ''

The Figurine ''The Figurine: Araromire'' is a 2009 Nigerian supernatural suspense thriller film written by Kemi Adesoye, produced and directed by Kunle Afolayan, who also stars in the film as one of the main protagonists. It also stars Ramsey Nouah and Omoni ...

''. He made his

directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many film makers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...

with the film '' Living in Bondage: Breaking Free'' in 2019 and also went on to direct

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 ...

classic '' Rattle Snake: The Ahanna Story'' which is a remake of ''Rattlesnake'' (1995).

Early life

Ramsey Tokunbo Nouah Jr. was born in

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 ...

on December 19, 1970, to an Israeli Jewish father and a

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

mother who hails from Owo,

Ondo State Ondo State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Oǹdó) is a state in southwestern Nigeria. It was created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. It borders Ekiti State to the north, Kogi State to the northeast, Edo State to the east, Delta State to ...

. He grew up in Surulere,

, where he attended Atara Primary School and Community Grammar School. He received a diploma in

Mass Communications Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large segments of the population. It is usually understood for relating to various forms of media, as its technologies are used for the dissemination o ...

at the

University of Lagos The University of Lagos, popularly known as UNILAG, is a public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria and was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the first generation universities in Nigeria and is ranked among the top universities in th ...

, after which he pursued a career in

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

Career

Ramsey Nouah started acting in the early 1990s because he needed money for his General Certificate Education ( GCE). His acting

career The career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work and other aspects of life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways. Definitions The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defin ...

kicked off when he starred as Jeff Akin-Thomas in the Nigerian TV

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

''Fortunes''. He has since appeared in numerous films starring as the lead role, and has been called "Lover-Boy" for his numerous roles in romantic films. He is also considered to be one of the most sought-after actors in Nigeria. In 2015, Nouah secured the rights to the 1992 movie ''

Living in Bondage ''Living in Bondage'' is a 1992/93 Nigerian two-part drama thriller film directed by Chris Obi Rapu, written by Kenneth Nnebue and Okechukwu Ogunjiofor, produced by Ogunjiofor, and sponsored by Jafac Wine. The film was shot straight-to-video, and ...

'' for a possible remake. In 2018, he announced his remake had become a sequel titled '' Living in Bondage: Breaking Free'', which was released on November 8, 2019. Nouah, who played the new villain, made his directorial debut, and the film won 7 awards 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 ...

Awards

Personal life

Nouah is married to Emelia Philips-Nouah. The couple have two sons named Quincy Nouah and Joshua Nouah, and one daughter named Desiree Nouah.

Selected filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nouah, Ramsey Best Actor Africa Movie Academy Award winners Living people 1970 births Nigerian people of Israeli descent Yoruba male actors 20th-century Nigerian male actors 21st-century Nigerian male actors Male actors in Yoruba cinema University of Lagos alumni Male actors from Lagos Nigerian male film actors Nigerian male television actors Male actors from Ondo State Yoruba actors 21st-century Nigerian actors Nigerian film directors Nigerian entertainment industry businesspeople