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Funke Akindele or “Jenifa” as many know her, is a beautiful, talented and world recognized Nigerian actress who has been doing well in the limelight as a woman with great vision when it comes to shaping her career. Though many of her fans may think that they know a lot about her, there are certain things about her life that many may never have noticed and that’s why we want to take this opportunity to bring you more about her life, career, her goals, vision and other exclusive details about her life that nobody is yet to unearth. Read on to find out more about her.
Biography, Age.
Born on August 24, 1977, Funke grew up in Lagos as her mother, a medical doctor and her father, retired school principal lived and worked in Lagos. She has two siblings and is the second of the three children of her parents. Her full name is Akindele Olufunke Ayotunde but she openly agrees that she prefers it when people call her Funke Akindele, which sounds easy to pronounce and is a great name that can easily be associated with stardom and excellence. She shaped her career in the media profession as a Journalist and actress after she received an OND in Mass Communication from the Ogun State Polytechnic. She went further up the academic ladder to pursue a law degree from the famous University of Lagos and wanted to pursue law as a professional career. She worked in Television for a long period of time and later switched permanently to the lucrative cinema world.
The Superstar came to limelight in 1998 when she played Bisi, a brilliant secondary school student, in the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) sponsored sitcom; “I Need To Know.” The comedy soap opera ran from 1998 to 2002. She gained huge fame in 2009 for her role in the movie “Jenifa“. So far, she has more than a hundred movies she produced, wrote or acted in.
In 2009, she made headlines across the entire continent of Africa as the Best Actress in a leading role and this led her to win the highly recognized award. Apart from that very award in 2009, she has won a good number of awards and endorsements for her ability to actually entertain. Her career as an actress will always remain a subject of perfection and great joy to her as long as she lives. She is gifted, talented and she was born to be on the television. She is optimistic for great things in the future and knows that she is going places.
Married, Husband, Children
Just like other celebrities, Funke had a colourful wedding in 2012. But her marriage did not flourish as her fans anticipated. Her ex-husband (Kehinde Oloyede Adeola) was rumoured to have had strings of relationships and children out-of-wedlock. There are claims that her marriage did not work due to her husband’s extra-marital affairs. Nobody was sure what happened but they got a divorce in 2013, a year after their wedding, citing irreconcilable differences. She gave love a second chance when she tied the knot with Nigerian rapper Abdul Rasheed Bello widely known as JJC Skillz. The secret wedding took place in London in May 2016. News went viral that she was going to deliver twins in London. She debunked the news and later on, reports surfaced that the babies (twins)which she reportedly conceived through IVF died at birth. Currently, she has no child but her husband JJC has three children from other women, so she has step-children.
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Funke Akindele Facts
1. Facebook War Of Words With Kehinde
Funke Akindele is just like any other concerned woman out there who will do all she can to make sure that she stands out clean and innocent. Funke and her husband Kehinde washed their dirty linens in public with a bitter exchange of words blaming each other for failing to observe and nurture their wedding vows, much to the disappointment of her adoring fans.
2. Her Love For Her Culture And Taboo
Funke is a real African woman who values her cultural practices and taboos. As a Yoruba lady, she confirms deeply to her roots and in 2012 she stated openly that in her culture, a woman is not supposed to declare if she is pregnant before the permission from the elders.
3. Her Take On Dressing
Every woman and especially celebrities always want to look smartly dressed and well composed. Funke Akindele is one of those celebrities who fancy expensive and well-tailored clothes that make her look like a true African goddess. On several occasions, she has been spotted wearing black silk trousers with smartly designed heels. She also fancies skirts and dresses.
4. She Spends Sleepless Nights Going Through Her Scripts
Many will think that actors or actresses are naturally gifted with the words to move a movie and make it the best-selling in the market. This is not the case; Funke openly admits that she spends a lot of time going through her scripts over and over again so that she can make the role come alive and not bore her fans, she says it is not easy to be natural on-screen.
5. Her Beauty Secret
The actress is 38 years old but she still has a good-looking and well-shaped body that many of her age-mates would long to have. Funke admits that the secret to living a healthy life and maintaining a perfect body is in eating the right types of foods and exercising regularly to maintain a perfect, well toned and great body. In the movie industry, you have to do a lot to maintain your looks and that is what she really does by exercising and watching her diet. She enjoys eating traditional African meals like pounded yam and well-prepared soups, which are delicious and healthy.
6. Acting vs Real Life
Many people always wonder what it is like to live on the screen and still be yourself in real life. Funke admits that she takes her roles seriously because it has to do with her career and she lives her real-life one day at a time. She is a focused and religious lady who believes in a supreme being and knows that her real life is where she dwells more. Funke admits that many people can misunderstand an actress especially when she acts negative roles in a movie, for instance, acting like a spoiled, immoral and no-nonsense woman who has no respect for men and the entire society. She urges fans to understand the difference between acting and real life.
7. Future expectations
Many celebrities will not really want to openly unleash their future goals and expectations since they are always busy working on a lot of other activities as they remain optimistic on meeting greater targets. That is also the life of Funke who openly admits that she is chasing many other things to make a brighter future. She looks forward to showcasing African talent in acting to the rest of the world as a great producer. She urged Nigerians and the entire continent to promote local celebrities to the entire world by buying their movies.
Funke Akindele is a recognized figure in many African homes and many adore her in many of her lead roles in great movies that have made quite an impact on Nigerians and Nollywood. She has become a role model to so many young Nigerians who aspire to be like her and who she has inspired to work hard towards living in better future.
