Nollywood actress, Funke Akindele-Bello, has revealed that she never thought she would at one point in her career be celebrated as an actress.
The 40-year-old actress popular as Jenifa, told CNN’s ‘African Voices’ that her father never wanted her to be an actor, even when her mother had always believed in her acting talent.
Recounting her sojourn of starting her career in one of Nigeria’s biggest series ‘I Need To Know’ at 20, she said:
“Growing up was fun for me having the support of my mum, she believed so much in my talent, though my dad never wanted me to be an actor – he wanted me to be a lawyer.
“When I started ‘I Need To Know’, I never thought I would be this celebrated. I was 20 years old then. When I shot the pilot, I just wanted to do it, I wanted to showcase my God-given talent… I remember the director telling me I was overacting because I was excited about it.
Talking about the Jenifa character, Funke said, “Jenifa is witty, she’s crazy, she’s a go-getter, she doesn’t want to take ‘no’ for an answer and I think I have that – I don’t want to take no for an answer.
“All I can say is I’m grateful, it’s not easy for you to work hard and have people appreciate you.”
