Stella Damasus (born April 24, 1978) is a Nigerian actress and singer. She was nominated for ''

Best Actress in a Leading Role The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. ...

'' 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 ...

in 2009. She won the Award for Best Actress at the

Nigeria Entertainment Awards The Nigerian Entertainment Awards were established in New York City in January 2006. The awards recognize the contributions of African entertainers with a special focus on Nigerians. Ceremonies * 2006 Nigeria Entertainment Awards * 2007 Nigeria ...

in 2007 In 2012 she won the award for Best Actress for the movie

Two Brides and a Baby ''Two Brides and a Baby'' is a 2011 Nigerian romantic drama film directed by Teco Benson and starring Keira Hewatch, Kalu Ikeagwu, OC Ukeje, Chelsea Eze, Stella Damasus-Aboderin and Okey Uzoeshi. It premiered on 17 November 2011. It received a ...

at the Golden Icons Academy Awards in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Early life

Stella Damasus was born in

Benin City Benin City is the capital and largest city of Edo State, Edo State, Nigeria. It is the fourth-largest city in Nigeria according to the 2006 census, after Lagos, Kano (city), Kano, and Ibadan, with a population estimate of about 3,500,000 as of ...

Edo State Edo, commonly known as Edo State, is a state located in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. As of 2006 National population census, the state was ranked as the 24th populated state (3,233,366) in Nigeria, However there was controversy ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. She has four sisters. She grew up in Benin City where she completed most of her primary education.

Personal life

Damasus married her first husband, Jaiye Aboderin, at 21 in 1999. The couple had two daughters before Jaiye died suddenly in 2004. Damasus remarried in 2007, this time to Emeka Nzeribe. The marriage lasted for seven months before a mutual agreement to divorce. In 2011, she became associated with multiple award-winning

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 ...

producer &

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 ...

Daniel Ademinokan; this eventually also led to a separation in 2020 and subsequent divorce. Their relationship sparked a lot of controversy because both parties never publicly admitted to be dating, engaged or even married until 2014.

Career

Damasus started her career as a singer in Lagos where she used to work as a studio session singer at the famous Klink Studios owned by filmmaker

Kingsley Ogoro Kingsley Eloho Ogoro (born August 29, 1965), is a Nigerian film director, screenwriter, music producer and former dancer. He is best known for the 2003 film ''Osuofia in London'' starring Nkem Owoh, and has since worked mainly as a producer and ...

. There she honed her skills as singer and went on to do vocals for the top jingles on radio and TV in Nigeria at that time. Damasus is a

Theatre arts Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

graduate of 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 ...

. She first appeared in the Nigerian film ''Abused'' in 1992. Her claim to fame, however, was her second movie ''Breaking Point'' produced by

Emem Isong Emem Isong is a Nigerian screenwriter, film producer, and film director. She has become known primarily for films in the English language, and is a dominant figure in the Nollywood industry. Her second directed feature, ''Code of Silence'', ...

and directed by

Francis Agu Francis Agu (18 February 1965 – 20 March 2007) was a Nigerian TV and cinema ("Nollywood") actor. He was best known for his role on the long-running Nigerian television series ''Checkmate''. Early life Francis Okechukwu Agu was born in La ...

where she shot into superstardom across

. She was nominated for the African Movie Academy Award in 2006 for "Best Actress in a Leading Role" for her performance in the movie "Behind closed doors". She was also nominated, in 2008, for the African Movie Academy Award for "Best Actress in a Leading Role" in the movie "Widow" and in 2009 in the movie "State of the Heart". She has gone on to star in over 70 movies. and is now the co founder of I2radio and hosts two podcast shows, Undiluted with Stella Damasus and When Women Praise.

Filmography

References

External links