Naij born hollywood actors
by yemidee | created - 21 Aug 2015 | updated - 04 Mar 2019 | Public
1. Chiwetel Ejiofor
Actor | 12 Years a Slave
English actor, writer and director Chiwetel Ejiofor is renowned for his portrayal of Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave (2013), for which he received Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations, along with the BAFTA Award for Best Actor. He is also known for playing Okwe in Dirty Pretty Things...
2. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Actor | Farming
Born and raised in London, England, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje began his career as a model in Milan. He graduated with a masters degree in Law from London's prestigious Kings College, before moving to Los Angeles to make the transition to acting. Fluent in several languages, including English, ...
3. Sophie Okonedo
Actress | Hotel Rwanda
Sophie Okonedo is a British actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Tatiana Rusesabagina in Hotel Rwanda (2004).
Okonedo was born within London in 1968. Her parents were Henry Okonedo (1939-2009) and Joan Allman. Her father was British Nigerian ...
4. Carmen Ejogo
Actress | Selma
Carmen Elizabeth Ejogo was born in Kensington, London, England, to a Nigerian father and a Scottish mother. Her television career began in the United Kingdom in the early 1990s, where she presented the children's series Saturday Disney (1990). Subsequently, she has had an acting career in the ...
5. John Boyega
Actor | Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens
John Boyega is a British actor, known for playing Finn in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015). Boyega rose to prominence in his native United Kingdom for his role of Moses in the 2011 sci-fi comedy film Attack the Block (2011), before attaining international recognition for his work ...
6. Rotimi
Actor | Divergent
Rotimi was born on November 30, 1988 in East Orange, New Jersey, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Divergent (2014), Power (2014) and Coming 2 America (2021).
7. Razaaq Adoti
Actor | Resident Evil: Apocalypse
Razaaq Adoti (a.k.a. Raz) was born in England to Nigerian parents. He started on the stage at age 17. While still in college, he was cast as Nathan Detroit in the National Youth and Music Theatre Company's (NYMT) production of Guys and Dolls.
He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in acting at the ...
8. Charles Venn
Actor | The Dark Knight
After three years of performing arts studies, Chucky Venn has plied his trade professionally in the acting business for eleven years. His big break came when he auditioned for the role of Curtis Alexander on hit football soap Dream Team (Hewlland International, Sky One). What originally started out...
9. Gbenga Akinnagbe
Actor | The Taking of Pelham 123
Olugbenga Enitan Temitope Akinnagbe is an American actor and writer, best known for his roles as Chris Partlow on the HBO series The Wire and as Larry Brown on the HBO series The Deuce. Akinnagbe was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Yoruba Nigerian parents, and was raised in Silver Spring, ...
10. Ashley Madekwe
Actress | County Lines
Ashley Madekwe (born 6 December 1981) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as call girl Bambi in the ITV2 series Secret Diary of a Call Girl, social climber Ashley Davenport on the ABC drama series Revenge and the witch Tituba in the WGN America series Salem.
Madekwe was born in South ...
11. Judith Shekoni
Actress | The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2
Judith Shekoni has been in the industry for over 20 years. Her career started with EastEnders (1985) (BBC) and Hallmark series, The Hidden City (2002). This helped her break the US market where she has appeared on every major US network. Mike & Molly (2010) (with Melissa McCarthy, CBS), ...
12. Megalyn Echikunwoke
Actress | Night School
Ebubennem Megalyn Ann Echikunwoke was born May 28, in Spokane, Washington. Her father was Nigerian and her mother is of English and Scots-Irish descent. Her last name, "Echikunwoke", means "leader of men" and Megalyn is the granddaughter of a Nigerian tribal leader of the Igbo, which technically ...
13. Nyambi Nyambi
Actor | The Good Fight
Nyambi Nyambi was born on April 26, 1979 in Norman, Oklahoma, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for The Good Fight (2017), Mike & Molly (2010) and American Koko (2017).
14. Adepero Oduye
Actress | 12 Years a Slave
Adepero Oduye hails from Brooklyn, New York City by way of Nigeria. She is a graduate of Cornell University; and has studied acting with Wynn Handman, Austin Pendleton, and Susan Batson. Her name is pronounced "Add-eh-pair-o Oh-due-yay."
Her theatre credits include Danai Gurira's play Eclipsed, at ...
15. Michael Obiora
Actor | Luther
Michael Obiora (pronounced OH-BEE-ORA) is an actor, writer, producer, and director. Having started out as a child in Grange Hill, he made the rare transition into adult star with leading stage and television roles in shows including My Family, Sea of Souls, Misfits, and Afterlife. He is most ...
16. Obba Babatundé
Actor | Life
Obba Babatundé is an actor, singer, dancer, director, writer and producer. Obba's breadth of work is known worldwide by audiences of all ages, and his face is one of the most recognizable in the entertainment industry. His career spans over 4 decades and he is a unique breed in today's industry as ...
17. David Oyelowo
Actor | Lawmen: Bass Reeves
David Oyelowo also known as 'David O', is a classically trained stage actor who has quickly become one of Hollywood's most sought-after talents. He graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), and received the "Scholarship for Excellence" from Nicholas Hytner in 1998.
David ...
18. Jimmy Akingbola
Actor | Kate & Koji
Jimmy Akingbola can be seen in the coveted role of 'Geoffrey', trusted advisor to Phil and the Banks family and the link back to his humble roots in the UK in BEL-AIR, the acclaimed serialized one-hour dramatic analogue of the '90s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. He has also completed filming ...
19. Nonso Anozie
Actor | Cinderella
Nonso Anozie was born on November 17, 1978 in London, England, UK. He is an actor and producer, known for Cinderella (2015), Conan the Barbarian (2011) and Happy-Go-Lucky (2008).
20. Edafe Okurume
Actor | For Your Love
Edafe was born in Washington D.C., his father is an economist from Nigeria and his mother is a Foundational Black American educator from Mississippi. He grew up in Lagos, Mississippi and Atlanta.. Edafe means wealthy in the Urhobo language.
After attending Morehouse College Edafe boarded a Greyhound...
21. Arinzé Kene
Actor | The Pass
Quite possibly the most underrated and underexposed actor of his caliber in both theatre and screen, Arinze Kene's undeniable talent and ability to successfully bring to life any role he undertakes is on a par with the most praised and revered A-list actors in the business.
Kene was born in Lagos, ...
22. Uzo Aduba
Actress | Orange Is the New Black
Aduba began earning recognition for her work in 2003, with a performance in "Translations of Xhosa" at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts that won her a Helen Hayes Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Play. Her Broadway debut was in 2007 as Toby in "Coram Boy". She was...
23. Bethany Benz
Actress | Booty I Like 7
Tall (5'10"), busty and shapely brunette knockout Bethany Benz was born on December 1, 1986, in Ukraine. She's of mixed Russian and Nigerian descent. Bethany grew up in Russia and moved to the United States at age 12. Benz attended high school in Chicago, Illinois.
She began her career as a glamor ...
24. Yaya DaCosta
Actress | The Butler
Yaya DaCosta was born and raised in New York City along with her sister and two brothers. She got her first acting gig at the age of eleven when her junior high school drama teacher, Ann Willis Ratray, encouraged her to audition for educational films. She continued to perform in school shows ...
25. Godfrey
Actor | Soul Plane
Godfrey was born on July 21, 1969 in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Soul Plane (2004), Chain Reaction (1996) and Americanish (2021).
26. Omarosa Manigault Newman
Producer | Tiger Run: The Untold Story
Omarosa Manigault Newman was born on February 5, 1974 in Youngstown, Ohio, USA. She is a producer and actress, known for Tiger Run: The Untold Story (2024), HBCU Pro Day the Prime Effect and Foundling: The Untold Story. She has been married to John Allen Newman since April 8, 2017. She was ...
27. Tyler the Creator
Soundtrack | Tyler, the Creator: Yonkers
Tyler, The Creator is an American musician in all aspects, including producing, directing music videos as well as writing and performing as an artist. He was born in Boulder, Colorado as Tyler Okonma to a single mother. In 2008 Tyler, The Creator founded the hip-hop collective Odd Future, a ...
28. Maynard Eziashi
Actor | Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
Maynard Eziashi was born in 1965 in London, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995), The Contract (2006) and Mister Johnson (1990).
29. Seal
Soundtrack | Batman Forever
His Nigerian mother and Brazilian-born father were still studying when Seal was born. They were barely able to stay afloat with odd jobs. Shortly after his birth, Seal was sent to a foster family, where he grew up in sheltered conditions until he was four years old. In 1967, his mother Adebisi ...
30. Sade
Soundtrack | A Wrinkle in Time
Sade was born on January 16, 1959 in Ibadan, Nigeria. She is a music artist and composer, known for A Wrinkle in Time (2018), True Lies (1994) and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010). She was previously married to Carlos Scola.
31. Tinie Tempah
Soundtrack | Arthur
Tinie Tempah was born on November 7, 1988 in Plumstead, London, England, UK. He is a music artist and actor, known for Arthur (2011), I Give It a Year (2013) and Step Up All In (2014).
32. Taio Cruz
Soundtrack | Rio
Taio Cruz is a British song writer, producer and performer coming up to the international scene in early 2009. His first international hit, "Break Your Heart" has sold millions of copies worldwide. Other hits include, "Dynamite" and recently released hit "Higher" featuring Kylie Minogue is already ...
33. Toks Olagundoye
Actress | Loganberry Lane
Born to a Norwegian mother and a Nigerian father, Toks Olagundoye is a native of Lagos, Nigeria. Educated in Nigeria, Switzerland and England for elementary, middle and high school, she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre from Smith College. Captivated by cinema from a very early age, Toks ...
34. Dayo Okeniyi
Actor | Dark Matter
Dayo Okeniyi (Pronounced: Die-o Okay-nii-yii) began performing on the stage in elementary school. In 2003, Okeniyi, the youngest of five siblings, moved from Nigeria with his family to the The United States. His father, now a retired customs officer and mother, a British literature teacher, were ...
35. Babs Olusanmokun
Actor | Dune
Babs Olusanmokun is an actor, best known for Denis Villeneuve's Academy Award-winning Dune (2021), Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022 - ), Nicolas Winding Refn's Too Old To Die Young (2019), Black Mirror (2017). He is multilingual, fluent in Portuguese, French and Yoruba and a third degree ...
36. Olunike Adeliyi
Actress | Saw 3D
Olunike Adeliyi was born in Toronto, Canada to Sunday Adeliyi, a Nigerian computer scientist and Roxiana Bell Adeliyi, a Jamaican nurse. Raised in both Jamaica and Canada, Olunike ultimately earned a place at the highly coveted American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. After graduating ...
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