Ivie Okujaye’s face is one I struggle to disassociate with her seminal role of Alero in Africa Magic drama “Hotel Majestic”. I have watched a handful of shows featuring her but I think the tearful, accursed lover in the drama about an old Hotel in some bush of Edo State has left a permanent print in my consciousness. And no, this is not a testament to her career. It is just my inability to let go of powerful performances and since I watch very few, they just stick. Here is everything you need to know about Ivie Okujaye who has been called Little Genevieve for her resemblance with the Nollywood superstar.
In the beginning
Ivie Okujaye was born in May 1987 in Benin City. She is a full-blooded Bendel girl as her mother is from Edo State and her father from Delta. She lived her first ten years in Edo State before the family moved to Abuja where Ivie completed her primary education. She had her high school in Queen’s College, Lagos and her university at the University of Abuja. She is the last born in a family of five siblings. Her family was said to have preferred medicine as her course of study but Ivie chose and studied economics.
Ivie Okujaye broke into limelight when she won the fifth and final edition of Amstel Malta Box Office (AMBO), a reality show sponsored by Nigerian Breweries that sought to unearth talents for the Nigerian movie industry. The show began in 2005 and produced stars such as O.C Ukeje and Wole Ojo. The winners of this show were featured as the central character of an Amstel Malta sponsored movie the following year. Ukeje, for instance, starred in “Whitewaters” alongside Rita Dominic.
The 2009 edition Ivie won had over 6,000 Nigerians fighting for the crown in Benin City, Owerri, Kaduna, Enugu, and Lagos. For winning the show, Ivie won her first role in a movie. She was the star of AMBO 5 “Alero’s Symphony” where she played the role of a girl whose wealthy family expected her to become a lawyer but who opted for music. The film which was directed by “76” director Izu Ojukwu also had Faze the music star, Bimbo Manuel, and Frederick Leonard in the cast. It hit the cinemas in April 2011.
Career
After “Alero’s Symphony”, Ivie went on to feature in a couple of shows. In 2012, she featured in the drama-comedy series “How She Left My Brother” which stars Chris Attoh, Eku Edewo of 53 Extra fame, and O.C Ukeje. In 2013, she was in “The Volunteers”, a movie by Desmond Elliot which was shot in Nigeria and across the West African countries of Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
At the 2013 AMVCA, Ivie took home the Trailblazer Award.
In 2014, aged 27, Ivie became a producer and made the movie “Make a Move”. She said in an interview with Vanguard, “I’m just more passionate about the affairs of women and children because they need help more and I’m very passionate about my art and craft.” So the movie which also features her was a blend of her dual passions.
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It was a big movie as it featured stars such as Tina Mba and Beverly Naya plus guest appearances by legendary musician 2Baba, Omawumi and Ghanaian star Majid Michael. For her role in this movie, Alero was nominated for Best Actress at the 2015 AMVCA.
Ivie Okujaye is also a screenwriter as she was one of the writers African Magic Original Movies chose when they called for movie synopsis.
The star was in the 2016 Africa Magic production movie “Oloibiri” featuring RMD, Olu Jacobs, Daniel K Daniel, etc about oil deceit, militancy, and sacrifice. Other movies with Ovie include “Burning Bridges”, “Dowry”, “Hotel Majestic”, etc.
Ivie is also into music but it is one aspect of her career she has not fully explored. “I would like to conquer the movie industry for now,” she once said, stopping just short of promising us a club banger someday.
Marriage and kids
Ivie is a married woman. In 2014, asked about her relationship, she said: “I’m in a relationship with the same person I have known even before I hit stardom. It’s a friendship that has blossomed over the years, and by God’s grace it will continue to grow.” In 2015, she married him. By the wedding day, the two had dated for eleven years.
Ivie and Ezie Egbo had their traditional marriage in April 2015 in Abuja then her white wedding two weeks later. Her star-studded wedding was one that people talked about for the running sneakers she wore. Symbolic, it might be but we still haven’t figured it out. We don’t have to. Ivie has moved on and happily so in her marriage as she has two beautiful babies at the time of writing this. The first one came in July 2016 and the second in March 2018.
Image source: Pinterest
