How actresses make and spend money

Here is a glimpse into the spending patterns of Nigerian screen actresses
GENEVIEVE NNAJI
An icon in her own world, a screen goddess and the queen of Nollywood, many describe her as an industry of her own. The Best AMAA Actress in a Leading Role in 2005, Genevieve Nnaji is arguably the most popular actress in the Nigerian make-believe movie industry. She has over 10,000 registered fans on her website genevievennaji.ning.com and receives about 3,000 letters from fans all over the world every week. In September 2009, Oprah Winfrey named her one of the 100 most famous people in the world.
She is also by far the highest paid actress per movie and the first to earn a million naira in a single movie. By 2009 she raised the bar and she was paid $45,000 in movie IJE produced by Chineze Anyaene. A model and also a singer, in 2004 she became the Face of Lux and subsequently was involved with a beverage drink and detergent. She would release her debut album, Longolongo in Ghana, a move that raked in cash from her associations in the political circles of West Africa. Between 2004 and 2006 she earned a whooping of N31.3 million.
Major part of the money N14.7 million came from her two-year deal with Lux ($100,000). With no great interest in real estate she has two buildings in Lagos and another one in her home town, Mbaise. She launched her clothing line St. Genevieve in 2008 started with N20 million. She also signed another contract for Loya milk as well as becoming the face of MUD cosmetics.
Omotola Jalade Ekeinde
She is the princess of Nollywood, bold and a beauty to behold. Many believe she shares the same status with Genevieve Nnaji and together they are the two biggest actresses in Nollywood. Omotola takes it easy with her life and also has great passion for cars.
She drives more expensive cars than any actress in Nollywood and her garage is estimated to be worth millions. The mother, model and musician has recently stepped up her game in the music industry. Her first album Gba was her first introduction to the music industry but her sophomore album Me, Myself & Eyes has defined her as truly talented. The production and promotion of her album cost her a whopping N13 million.
KATE HENSHAW NUTTAL
Humble and hardworking, her income suffered a setback lately following the termination of the Glo Ambassadorial deal, but none the less, she is what one may call the silent millionaire. She became one of the actresses to try out other ventures. Spared by the tabloids’ bashing, the African Movie Academy 2008 Best Actress winner has graced the screen of Nigerian television like an amazon. The screen star who also has a daughter, Gabrielle, is a business woman to the core. Although she often appears classy, she spends wisely on what she wears and only travels abroad for business rather than pleasure. She does not drive very expensive cars and she lives a purely average and normal life. The Cross River-born star has her own company which specialises in different businesses but with passion for real estate. She currently has three buildings and several landed properties scattered all over the country.
CHIKA IKE
Chika is one of the actresses with the most enterprising spirit, and had actually started thinking of investing her resources shortly after she started. She owns a restaurant which caters to a high profile clientele in her neighborhood, and shortly after, she added a night club to that. Although Chika has not been part of any telecoms endorsement deals, reports suggest she has some branding deals under her desk. She took delivery of a Range Rover jeep, as a way of commending herself for all the hard work.
PATIENCE OZOKWOR
The Enugu star is nicknamed ‘’Mama G’ in Nollywood. She got into acting, the career that brought her money and fame because she was sacked as a broadcaster. The sack wrecked her and her household, as they battled with the life of an ailing husband. But opportunity called when she met Chika Okpala, aka Zebrudaya, who offered her a chance to appear in a commercial he was shooting then. That gave her the lee way into Nollywood, where she is one of the best-paid actresses.
Also a musician, she has been consistent in the industry and her roles have been applauded. She is very diverse in her investments but also has several landed properties. She lives at Enugu GRA, a mansion she completed two years ago and owns some businesses in the metropolis. Mama G shocked people when she handed out cars as gifts to her daughters getting married.
INI EDO
She has remained very consistent and has proved time and time again that she was born to be a star. Ini believes in landed and housing properties and has invested in this area more than any other Nollywood sister. She has five buildings, one in Abuja, to her credit and another one to be completed by the end of the year.
Most of the buildings are being rented to tenants. The actress, model and producer presently has nine landed properties which she either plans to build upon, fence for keeps or lease. She has produced a movie Memories of The Heart. She also stunned the world when she moved into a brand new house in Lekki after her marriage crumbled.
Mercy Johnson
Definitely her new husband, Prince Odiniaose Osagie, must be proud that his wife is worth some millions of naira. At the moment she remains the most controversial actress in Nollywood. The movie, The Maid, was not enough to woo Nollywood fans to her, but 19 Mackaulay Street revealed her to be the Nollywood sensation. Since then she has never looked back. Many argue that the tens of movie scripts that come her way are due to the fact that she’s is not a Glo ambassador, but the actresses does not see it that way.
In the past three years she appeared in more movies than any other Nollywood actress. By 2008 Mercy Johnson had appeared in fifteen movies and earned N11.4 million from movies alone. The following year, she earned N13 million and she featured in the Emen Isong hit movie, Guilty Pleasures. She is also an investor in properties and she is about to complete two houses at the moment. She also owns landed properties in Ajah area of Lagos.