You may remember him as the baby-faced contestant in the first-ever edition of Big Brother Nigeria, but, Gideon Okeke has continued to excel despite not being one of the finalists of the show. After beginning his entertainment career as an actor, Gideon has gone to become a producer, director and TV Host. We have gathered everything you need to know about his entertainment journey and they are a lot though we chose to err on the side of summary.
Gideon Okeke: Age and bio
Gideon Okeke was born on July 23, 1983, as a single child to his parents. He was raised in Ajegunle (sometimes called AJ by Lagosians). Growing up, the actor had no passion for acting and may never have thought about it. He studied Applied-Biochemistry at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, just like Oge Okoye who is also an only child. and after his graduation, he auditioned for the first season of Big Brother Nigeria in 2006 and that was the moment destiny found its path.
The Big Brother Nigeria first edition had him and other 13 contestants Katunga, Francisca, Ify, Sandra, Ebuka, their eyes for the prize money of N100,000 (One hundred thousand Naira) a mere chicken change in Nigeria today. Olisa Adibua and Michelle Dede hosted the show. Unfortunately for him, he was the sixth housemate to be evicted from the show as Katunga Aduwak went on to win the show with Francisca Owumi as runner-up.
The Big Brother Reality TV show launched him to stardom as he decided to pursue an acting career. Gideon Okeke studied acting at the famous Lee Strasberg Institute in New York.
Gideon Okeke is 37 years old.
Gideon Okeke: Career
In 2006 shortly after he left the Big Brother house, he appeared in the drama film “Relentless” as Obi a Nigerian peacekeeping soldier who was deployed to war-torn Sierra Leone. In the midst of war, he found love in the eyes of a Sierra Leonean woman named Blessing who suffered mutilation by a gang of child soldiers. Her pain was deep and Obi had to kill her in order to put her out of pain and misery. The film was released on 13 October 2010 at the BFI London Film Festival.
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It was not a bad first acting for the biochemist who turned actor. Soon enough, he joined the cast of MNET series “Tinsel” as Phillip Ade Williams, the notorious son of a media mogul Ade Williams. He is a recurring cast member today of arguably one of the longest-running shows in Nigeria. Gideon also starred as Kim Dakim in the crime thriller “A Place in the Stars”. the film tells the story of a young lawyer Kim Dakim) who has information about the trafficking of counterfeit drugs and stands to make millions of dollars if he doesn’t pass on the information. The film was inspired by Late Professor Dora Akunyili as the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
Gideon was also in Steve “Yaw” Onu’s “Smash” where he played the role of an Igbo version of a Yoruba demon who later fell for an actual demon. Comedy star-studded show saw Funny Bone win the Best Supporting Actor in a comedy and Uzor Arukwe bag a nomination for the same award.
Gideon Okeke has appeared alongside Danny Glover in the drama thriller “93 Days”. For his role as Dr. Morris Ibeawuchi, one of the surviving doctors of the Nigerian Ebola crisis in the film, he bagged an AMVCA nomination. He has appeared in many other movies that he would be proud enough to add to his CV.
Marriage, Net Worth, Other Facts
Gideon Okeke is a father of two kids. In 2016, he was a single father to a baby girl. In 2019, he welcomed a baby boy Ezra with his wife Chidera Uduezue whom he married in 2018. His wife worked as a talent scout model manager for Catch 22 model management. Gideon Okeke also thrives in controversies. In 2019, he condemned the gay marriage of international designer Marc Jacobs and his partner Char Defrancesco on his Instagram page. His condemnation doesn’t sit well with the LGBTQ community as one Twitter user exposed how he was hustling so badly to get a queer role in the industry. Gideon Okeke has also been a victim of police brutality in Lagos.
The actor is doing well in the industry and while we may not know the size of his wallet and bank account balance, there are indications that he is not broke.
Image source: The Nigerian Voice
