Iyabo Ojo is an actress, director, and producer. She has featured in over 150 films, and has produced more than 14 of her own.
Below are 10 things you should know about her:
1. Iyabo Ojo was born as Alice Iyabo Ogunro on 21 December 1977 in Lagos, Nigeria although her father is from Abeokuta, Ogun State. She is the youngest of three children, having two older brothers.
2. She went to school in Lagos at National College, Gbagbada, before proceeding to study Estate Management at Lagos State Polytechnic.
3. Having been involved in a drama group at secondary school, Iyabo Ojo commenced her acting career in 1998. She registered with the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN).
4. Ojo has scripted and featured in several Nigerian films. Her first role was in 1998’s Satanic, an English-language film. In 2002, she made her Yorùbá language debut with Baba Darijinwon.
5. In 2004, Ojo started producing her own films. Her first production was Bolutife, after which she made Bofeboko, Ololufe, Esan and Okunkun Biribiri.
6. After marrying a Lagos-based movie marketer in 1999 when she was 21, Iyabo took a break from pursuing her career. She gave birth to a son and then a daughter (born in 1999 and 2001 respectively), namely Felix Ojo and Priscilla Ajoke Ojo, but she is now divorced from their father.
7. Iyabo Ojo launched her NGO, Pinkies Foundation, which caters to the children with special needs and the less privileged, in May 2011. She celebrated the fifth anniversary of the foundation on 1 May 2016 at the R&A City Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.
8. In January 2015, her film Silence, which features Joseph Benjamin, Alex Usifo, Fathia Balogun and Doris Simeon premiered at Silverbird Cinemas, Ikeja in Lagos.
9. In April, 2021, she strongly condemned fellow actor, Yomi Fabiyi for sympathising with Olanrewaju Omikunle (Baba Ijesha) who was arrested for molesting a minor. On May 12, 2021, Iyabo Ojo took legal action against Yomi Fabiyi (who had earlier staged a protest requesting the release of Baba Ijesha) for making “defamatory statements” about her.
10. Iyabo Ojo recently replied one ‘herbalist’ who threatened she would suffer and die over her involvement in the case of Baba Ijesha. She told him she is not afraid of death because everyone would die someday.