Ufuoma Stacey McDermott ( ; born 23 April 1981) is a Nigerian

film-maker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), 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 ...

and former

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the Plan_(drawing), plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a mea ...

Early life

Ejenobor 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 ...

to Nigerian parents of Urhobo descent who hails from Delta State in

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 moved a lot - from Benin City to Jos, where she spent the better part of her toddler years, and later to Lagos, where she has lived for the greater part of her life and still resides till date. At the age of seven, her father coined a pet name for her: ISIO (which means "star" in Urhobo). She was so named after the star actress of the TELEFEST programme put together by NTA Benin, ''The Pot of Life''.

Personal life

Ejenobor got married on 23 April 2010 to Steven McDermott. She officially changed her name to Ufuoma McDermott on 23 May 2014 at a Lagos high court.

Education

She went through Alama Private School Jos, Plateau state, Tunwase Nursery and primary school

Ikeja Ikeja is the capital city of Lagos State in southwestern Nigeria. Its population, as of the 2006 census, is 313,196. Prior to the emergence of military rule in the early 1980s, Ikeja was a well planned, clean and quiet residential and commercia ...

, Lagos and finally Molly International Nursery and primary Ajao Estate for her nursery and primary education. She then attended

Federal Government College, Odogbolu Federal Government College Odogbolu is a federal owned secondary school located in Odogbolu town in Ogun State. The school was founded in January 1973 as one of the unity schools by the federal government. It has facilities for both day and bo ...

, Ogun State for her secondary education. Ufuoma later bagged a degree in French language from 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 ...

where she partook in a Federal Government

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

holiday programme. She also has certificates and diplomas from

Alliance Française An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

and NIIT. She holds a master's degree in Public and International Affairs, also from the

. In 2011, she attended

New York Film Academy New York Film Academy – School of Film and Acting (NYFA) is a private for-profit film school and acting school based in New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami. The New York Film Academy was founded in 1992 by Jerry Sherlock, a former film, t ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

for an acting course and later on a

film making Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

course from Dov Simen's Hollywood Film Institute. In 2013, she obtained a certificate in

Human resource management Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

from the London Business School. In Summer 2015, she was part of the Relativity Education program from Nigeria, owned by

Relativity Media Relativity Media is an American media company founded in 2004 by Lynwood Spinks and Ryan Kavanaugh. The company brokered film finance deals and later branched into film production and other entertainment ventures. The company was commercially s ...

in Beverly Hills.

Entertainment

She started a career in entertainment with modelling in 2000 as a photographic model and later moved on to the runway and

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

Pageants

By 2002, she had participated in two mini-pageants, won the Miss Ebony beauty pageant and partaken in her first national pageant: Miss Commonwealth(Vanessa Ekeke), where she won the Miss Congeniality prize. Later the same year, she emerged 1st runner up in the queen Afrik beauty pageant (Tamilore Kuboye). 2003 saw her in the Queen of all Nations beauty pageant (Dubra Fufeyin) where she was again the

1st runner up A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

. In 2004 she contested in the

Miss Nigeria Miss Nigeria is an annual pageant showcasing positive attributes of Nigerian women and awarding university scholarships. The winner portrays exemplary qualities and serves as a role model for young women in the country. The pageant is currentl ...

beauty pageant where she emerged ...yet,

1st runner up A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

. Not long after she was crowned

Miss Earth Nigeria Miss Earth Nigeria is an annual national beauty pageant in Nigeria to select its representative to the international Miss Earth pageant. The pageant, with the theme "Beauties for a Cause" is organized by AMC Productions, and began sending repres ...

and consequently went to represent the country at the

Miss Earth 2004 Miss Earth 2004, the 4th edition of the Miss Earth pageant, was held on October 24, 2004 at the University of the Philippines Theater in Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines. Dania Prince of Honduras crowned her successor Priscilla Meirelles of Br ...

Film

In February 2004, Ejenobor decided on a movie

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 ...

. Starting off with Zeb Ejiro's ''The President Must Not Die'', she has continued to have roles in movies. In May 2005, she played her first lead role in ''Life and Death'', her third movie after ''The President Must Not Die'' and ''Guy on the Line''. By December 2005, she played Chibuzor on the ''Edge of Paradise'' TV series produced by Royal Roots network. UEmomandi

In 2008 she took on the role of "Lillian Wright" in the TV series ''My Mum and I'' a role that garnered her a nomination for a best actress award at the 2010

Festival de Télévision de Monte-Carlo The Monte-Carlo Television Festival is held every year in June in the Principality of Monaco at the Grimaldi Forum, under the Honorary Presidency of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco. The opening ceremony inaugurates each new edition, introdu ...

and one at The Terracotta Nigerian TV and Film Awards. She was nominated as the Actor of the year 2011 at the Future Awards

Stage

In January 2018, McDermott reprised her roles as "Mama Baby", "Women Call Leader" and "Sister Esther" in the stage production '' Hear Word!'', which returned for the second year in a row to Harvard and was staged at the prestigious American Repertory theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.SA. The production covers various themes, which address issues against women in the society. The play, which made its debut in Lagos, Nigeria in 2014, also features the acting talents of

Joke Silva Joke Silva , MFR is a Nigerian actress, director, and businesswoman. In 1998 she had a major role, starring opposite Colin Firth and Nia Long in the British-Canadian film ''The Secret Laughter of Women''. In 2006, she won "Best Actress in a Le ...

, Taiwo Ajayi-Lycett,

Elvina Ibru Elvina Esewvre Ibru is a Nigerian actress and On Air Personality from Delta State. Early life and education She attended London Academy of Performing Arts (LAPA) in England. She later attended Webster University, Regents Park, London where s ...

and

Bimbo Akintola Bimbo Akintola (born 5 May 1970) is a Nigerian actress. Early life and education Akintola was born on 5 May 1970 to a father from Oyo State and a mother from Edo State. She studied at Maryland Convent Private School in Lagos State. She proc ...

. Hear Word! featured at the Edinburgh International Festival in August 2019, and McDermott, Joke Silva, Taiwo Ajayi-Lycett and other cast members performed at the Royal Lyceum, in Edinburgh, Scotland. ''The Guardian UK'', in its review of the show described it as ''"at once tough and inspirational"'', giving the play a three-star out of five.

The USM Show with Ufuoma McDermott

In July 2019, McDermott put together a live-theater experience at the Eko Hotel and Towers in Lagos, tagged ''" The USM Show with Ufuoma McDermott"''. The event was a potpourri of live music, dance performances and a debut of her stage production ''"The Magic of a Dream"''. ''The Magic of a Dream'' was directed by Toritseju Ejoh and featured acting performances from several notable Nigerian thespians including Femi Branch, Chioma Akpotha, Offiong Anthony (Thin Tall Tony), Akah Nnani and Zara Udofia-Ejoh. The USM Show also featured live musical and comedy performances from a range of Nigerian entertainers, including, Teni the entertainer, Seyi Law and MC Abbey.

Movie Directing/Production

At the premiere of her movie directorial debut, McDermott revealed that she had begun writing the story for the film

Christmas is Coming "Christmas Is Coming" is a traditional nursery rhyme and Christmas song frequently sung as a round. It is listed as number 12817 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The most famous version goes as follows: :Christmas is coming, the geese are getti ...

in 2013. The movie was however released in November 2017 ahead of the Christmas holidays. In 2018, she earned her sophomore production credit with the release of

What Just Happened What Just Happened may refer to: * ''What Just Happened'' (2008 film), an American comedy-drama film directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robert De Niro * ''What Just Happened'' (2018 film), a Nigerian comedy film directed by Charles Uwagbai * ...

in cinemas across Nigeria.

Recognition

* Best Actress in a TV series Nominee - Nigeria Entertainment Awards 2011 * Actor of the Year 2011 Nominee- The Future Awards * Best Actress nominee - Golden Nymph Awards 2010 (

Monte Carlo Television Festival The Monte-Carlo Television Festival is held every year in June in the Principality of Monaco at the Grimaldi Forum, under the Honorary Presidency of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco. The opening ceremony inaugurates each new edition, introdu ...

) * Best Actress in a Drama series nominee, Terracotta TV and Film Awards * Go Red Africa, Best Female Model, 2007 * African Youth Society, Role Model Award, 2009 * Represented Nigeria at the

beauty pageant * McDermott was a speaker at TEDx Rayfield, which held in December 2017 ; Pageant Ufuoma Ejenobor at the 2010 Golden Nymph Awards in Monte Carlo

Ufuoma Ejenobor at the 2010 Golden Nymph Awards in Monte Carlo

Ufuoma also received a Golden Nymph Best Actress nomination at the 2010

alongside

Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and playwright. She is best known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1997–2006) and for creating the ...

Jane Krakowski Jane Krakowski (; ; born October 11, 1968) is an American actress, comedienne, and singer. She is best known for her starring role as Jenna Maroney in the NBC satirical comedy series ''30 Rock'' (2006–2013, 2020), for which she received four ...

and

January Jones January Kristen Jones (born January 5, 1978) is an American actress and model. She played Betty Draper in ''Mad Men'' (2007–2015), for which she was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress – Television Series Drama and a Pri ...

Awards

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McDermott, Ufuoma 1981 births Living people Miss Earth 2004 contestants Nigerian female models University of Lagos alumni 21st-century Nigerian actresses People from Benin City Federal Government College, Odogbolu alumni Miss Nigeria delegates Urhobo people Nigerian beauty pageant contestants Actresses from Delta State Nigerian filmmakers