Osas Ighodaro

Osariemen Martha Elizabeth Ighodaro (born 26 October 1990), better known as Osas Ighodaro, is a Nigerian-American actress, television host and philanthropist. She won the 2010 Miss Black USA Pageant and founded the Joyful Joy Foundation, a fundraising organization for malaria.^[1] Ighodaro emerged as the highest-grossing Nollywood actress of 2018^[2] and was awarded Best Actress in a Drama consecutively at the 2022 and 2023 AMVCA for her roles in Rattlesnake: The Ahanna Story^[3] and Man of God, ^[4] respectively.

Osas Ighodaro
Ighodaro at the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards in Lagos (2014)
Born	Osariemen Martha Elizabeth Ighodaro (1990-10-26) 26 October 1990 (age 34) New York, United States
Nationality	Nigerian-American
Alma mater	Pennsylvania State University Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University
Occupations	Actress television host
Years active	2003–present
Spouse	Gbenro Ajibade ​ (m. 2015⁠–⁠2019)​
Children	1
Awards	See below
Website	Official website

Early life and background

Ighodaro was born on 26 October 1990 in Bronx, New York, United States, to Nigerian parents of Edo origin. She obtained her degree in Broadcast Journalism with dual minor degrees in Entrepreneurship and Theater from Pennsylvania State University. She further obtained her MA in Fine Arts from the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and the founder of Imuetinyan Productions.

Career

Ighodaro began her acting career in New York after graduating college. She started with performing in theatre plays and indie films. In 2012, she moved to Nigeria where she played acting roles in Nollywood films including Adanna in Tinsel.

Since then, she has starred in Cadillac Records, The Smart Money Woman and Gbomo Gbomo Express. Following her performance in Rattlesnake: The Ahanna Story and Man of God (2022), she was awarded the Best Actress in a Drama' awards at the 2022 and 2023 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards respectively.

Ighodaro co-hosted The Headies 2022, The Headies 2023, 2014 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards and the family show Maltina Dance All.

Personal life

Ighodaro was married to Gbenro Ajibade in June 2015 and had their first child in 2016.^[5] They divorced shortly after.^[6]

Filmography

Osas Ighodaro, Vimbai Mutinhiri and IK Osakioduwa hosting the 2014 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	Killa Season	Shinae	Video
	Hookers in Revolt	Delilah	Video
	My African Uncle	-	Short
2007	Luggage	Sade's sister (singing voice)	Short
2008	Across a Bloodied Ocean	Nafisa	Short
	Cadillac Records	Maid
	Jewslim	Rochelle Whitman
2009	Notorious	Party Girl
	Park Sharks	Neglected Girlfriend
2010	Computer Love	Chastity
	The Tested	Sheena
2011	Computer Love	Chastity
	He Said, She Said: A Romantic Comedy	Donna	Video
	Psa 64	Woman Scorned 64	Short
2015	The Department	Tolu Okoye	[7]
	Gbomo Gbomo Express	Cassandra
	Where Children Play	Nia
2016	Entreat	Margaret
	Put a Ring on it	Eki
2017	Idahosa Trails	Osamuede
	Little Drops of Happy	Mano Ojo
	Wurukum Roundabout	-
	Countdown	Helen
	White Pickett Fence	Brenda Caldwell	Short
2018	New Money	Angela Nwachukwu
	A Rose for Freddy	Kemi
	Merry Men: The Real Yoruba Demons	Chidinma
	We Don't Live Here Anymore	Leslie
	King of Boys	Sade Bello
2019	My Mfon - an election day story	Sola Bassey	Short
	Bling Lagosians	Demidun
	Your Excellency	Candy
2020	Kenim O Presents: A Second Husband	Tope	Short
	Double Strings	Detective Isoken
	Mama Drama	Mena	Drama
	Rattlesnake: The Ahanna Story	Amara
	Ratnik	Sarah Bello
2021	Namaste Wahala	Preemo	[8]
	Mamba's Diamond	Eloho	Action
	Keeping Promise	Teni	Drama
	Bad Comments	Hilda	Comedy
	The Ghost and the Tout Too	Amoke	Comedy / Fantasy
	Who Lived at Number 6	Dimma	Drama
2022	Man of God	Teju	[9][10]
	Knee Down	Ese	[11]
	Single Not Searching	Kai	[12][13]
	Conversations in Transit	Adeola	[14]
2023	Love, Lust and Other Things	Lydia Danjuma	[15][16]
	3 Cold Dishes	Esosa	[17][18][19][20]
2024	When Love Strikes	Tinuke	[21]
	Olufemi	Kareemat
	Someone Like You	Ciarra	Drama
	Breakthrough	Ada
	Safari	Nkiru

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	Conviction	Desmond's Date	Episode: "Breakup"
2007	Law & Order	Model	Episode: "Bling"
2010	Meet the Browns	Nurse Mileen	Episode: "Meet the Unwelcome Back"
2012	12 Steps to Recovery	Jellybean	Episode: "Jellybean and Things"
	Tinsel	Adanna (Danni)	Recurring cast: season 5
2013-14	Parallels	Ruth Marshall	Main cast
2013-15	Maltina Dance All	Herself/host	TV series
2018	EVE (Africa Magic)	Sylvia	TV series
2019	Shuga	Sergeant Iyanu	Main cast: season 7
2020	Assistant Madams	Chioma	Main cast
	The Smart Money Woman[22]	Zuri	Main cast 9 episodes
2021	King of Boys: The Return of the King	Sade Bello	Recurring cast

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Company
2017	Fela & The Kalakuta Queens	Malaika	BAP Productions
2017	Wedding Blues	Joke	Lagos Theatre Festival
2016	Sarafina	Mary Masumbuko	AFRIFF
2014	For Colored Girls (Nigerian Adaptation)	Lady in Purple	Fly Time Productions
2011	Dolores (by Edward Allen Baker)	Dolores	Actors Studio Drama School
2010	Underground	Queen	Poetic Theatre Production
2008	Platanos Y Collard Greens	Malady	Between the Lines Productions
2006	Revenge of a King	Afi	NYC Fringe
2005	Joe Turner's Come and Gone	Martha Pentecost	August Wilson Play Festival
2005	The Colored Museum	Lawanda / Model	Citizen Bank Theatre
2005	Ladies Night at the Cotton Club	Josephine Baker	Loaves & Fish Repertory
2003	Shades of Black and Grey	Mia	PSU Union Theatre

Awards and nominations

Year	Event	Category	Work	Result	Ref
2010	Miss Black USA Pageant	Miss Black USA 2010		Won	[23]
2014	ELOY Awards	Actress of the Year - TV	Tinsel	Won	[24]
2015	Green October La Mode Magazine Awards	Humanitarian Award	Joyful Joy Foundation	Won	[25]
	ELOY Awards	Brand Ambassador of the Year	Polo Avenue; Konga.com	Won	[26]
		Actress of the Year - Film	The Department	Nominated
2016	Golden Movie Awards	Golden Supporting Actress	''Gbomo Gbomo Express	Nominated	[27]
	2016 Nigeria Entertainment Awards	Supporting Actress of The Year		Won	[28]
2021	Best of Nollywood Awards	Best Actress in a Lead Role	Rattlesnake: The Ahanna Story	Nominated	[29]
		Best Kiss in a Movie		Nominated	[29]
	Her Network - Woman of the Year Awards	Woman of the Year in Entertainment		Won	[30]
2022	Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards	Best Actress in A Drama	Rattlesnake: The Ahanna Story	Won	[31]
	Africa Movie Academy Awards	Best Actress in a Leading Role	Man of God	Nominated	[32]
2023	Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards	Best Actress In A Drama, Movie Or TV Series	Man of God	Won	[33][34]

See also

• List of Nigerian actresses