Olufunke Ayotunde Akindele-Bello popularly known as Funke Akindele or Jenifa or Funke is a Nigerian filmmaker, director, actress, producer and politician.
Gatekeepers News reports that Funke is one of Nigerian celebrities that has continued to bring global recognition to Nollywood.
Early Life
Funke was born on 24 August 1977, in Ikorodu, Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria to a medical doctor mother, while her father is a retired school principal. She attended Grace Children’s School, Gbagada, Lagos State. She has a National Diploma in Mass Communication from the former Ogun State Polytechnic, now known as Moshood Abiola Polytechnic. She proceeded to University of Lagos to earn a Law degree.
Early Career
She starred in the sitcom I Need to Know from 1998 to 2002, and in 2009, she won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
Funke rose to fame for her role in the movie titled Jenifa which earned her the nickname Jenifa. The Omo Ghetto trilogy also contributed to her fame. She played the lead role in the show Jenifa’s Diary, this earned her the Best Actress in a Comedy at the 2016 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards.
She further took the award in the 2020 and 2022 AMVCA, making it her third win for the Best Actress in a Comedy category. Funke is the most nominated actress at the AMVCA and currently owns seven AMVCA which makes her the actress with most win at the AMVCA.
She is the second director to gross over a billion at the box office with movies like Your Excellency, Omo Ghetto: The Saga and currently the highest grossed with her most recent Battle on Buka Street.
In 2022, Funke was invited to join the Academy of Motion Pictures Art and Science, otherwise known as Oscars membership class of 2022.
She was later nominated by the People’s Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate, Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran, as the running mate for the 2023 Lagos state governorship election which they lost.
Personal Life
Funke married Adeola Kehinde Oloyede on 26 May, 2012. They divorced in July 2013. She later married Nigerian rapper JJC Skillz in London in May 2016, and they had their twin boys in December 2018.
On June 30, 2022, JJC Skillz announced the end of their union which lasted six years.
Net Worth
Funke is one of the richest actress in Nigeria, with an estimated net worth of about 7.6 million dollars.
