By popular demand, I'm presenting a second list of Top women to have graced our screens in the early period of Nollywood. These women are here for their iconic and daring roles and irreversible impact on the industry.

Once again, your fave may not make the list, because the list is inexhaustible, and I can only write about the actresses whose roles I clearly remember, but this addition is sure to complete the pack for me.


So, with no further ado....the supplememtary list for Nolllywood sweethearts that made us fall in love.


10. Georgina Onuoha

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The pretty girl with a mole, it's easy to forget Georgina Onuoha and her impact in Nollywood, she seemed like one of those actresses that didn't have that long a reign, but this list is not just about longevity, this is about legacies and Georgina has one of these under her belt.
She possibly acted up to hundred movies in her time, but by far, her most iconic role, was in Egg of Life, the first, and most successful Epic movie featuring an all ladies team of sojourners. Egg of Life, in my opinion, is the fenale version of Igodo. A movie, where women were sent into an evil forest to retrieve a cure for a prince.
Georgina brought her A-game to this movie and even more and seeing her die in the arms of Nkiru Sylvanus, after they had retrieved the cure, is one of the most emotional scenes to have come out of Nollywood. She starred in many romance movies, and her crying game was as good as they come. She'd make you wipe your eyes, at least once.

Georgina has been off grid for over a decade and now works and lives in the US with her two beautiful daughters.




9. Uche Osotule

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Uche Osotule is one actress that I may not have warched that long, but my memory of her is indeed very clear. Her delivery was top notch, her emotions believable. With her, I was always eager to see what would happen to her, especially aa she wasn't one who played the role of a fortunate person most of the time.

Her most memorable movie, for me, has to be Magun, where she played alongside Lanre Balogun, as a woman whose husband tied magun to her. It was the first movie in which, I found out what exactly Magun was....and damn, she was awesome in it. Her every emotion, the passion in her voice, her facial expressions. I respected her art so much in that movie. She's one of the few actresses that kept her head high throughout her career and she's someone I just always viewed with a great sense of respect.

Uche has been out of the industry for over a decade now, but she will always be a Nollywood icon.

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8. Maureen Solomon

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"Save the mother"

"Save the baby"

"No, save the mother"

"Doctor, I said save the baby!"

A few people may have knowledge of this scene,even though, like me, they may not recall tge movie title. This was one of Maureen's many lead roles, but it is a scene I will always remember her for. Here, she starred alongside Clem Ohameze, as a childless couple that got a woman to carry a child for them. When they were faced with the possibility of one of the mother or child, dying, Maureen wanted the mother saved and Clem, preferred the baby.

Maureen Solomon held sway in the early 2000's as one of the preferred female leads in Nollywood. A number of things may have been responsibke for this; her cute smile, her intensity, her homeliness. She was relatable to many, she was sweet amd charming, as well as scathing when she needed to be, but she was one actress that always held her own wherever she was cast.

Maureen left the industry years ago to start a family, a choice many on this list, can certainly relate to.



7. Ndidi Obi

"Tony, n'em anya na anya"

"Ta! Gburu anya gi gawa"

If you don't remember this line from Nneka The Pretty Serpent, wetin you gain?

Ndidi Obi was the light-skinned, pretty lady that had to be the most iconic ogbanje in the history of Nollywood. She was most likely a major factor in the belief that ogbanjes must be light-skinned and incredibly pretty. She was a stunning beauty, and a brilliant actress.

So successful was the first movie, they had to do a part 2. That movie remains her best ever, it gained her hundreds of fans, it didn't even matter that it was inspired by an Indian movie. Ndidi played her role so perfectly that it was rumored that she was indeed troubled by other worldly spirits after shooting the movie, which was credited for her long hiatus from the industry. She was even rumored to have been killed courtesy of these hauntings, but those were thankfully dispeled.

Ndidi Obi is one beauty who took the industry by storm in her time and shaped a national narrative till this day.




6. Victoria Inyama

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Victoria was another actress that made Nollywood tick. She set the pace that many in the industry now enjoy. She pushed those boundaries that led to the creativity of today's Nollywood.

Pretty, lovely smile, sultry in her mannerisms, she had to have been the star of many a teenage boy's erotic dreams in her day. She was that lady you wish you had, but knew was out of your league. Victoria was a vital part of Nollywood's growth. She left many years ago to start a family, but she will always be remembered as one of the icons of the industry.



5. Chioma Chukwuka-Akpotha

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How I forgot this woman in the first list, I still don't understand. Chioma was one of the sweethearts of early Nollywood.

She was the girl who was constantly suffering, someone was either jazzing her, snatching her husband, killing off hee entire family or abusing her terribly. She was aptly tagged the good girl of Nollywood, because that was all she ever acted as. Meek, humble, caring, prayerful. Everyone was convinced Chioma couldn't be anything but a nice person, and this idea was challenged when she was on Glider Ultimae Search Celebrity version.

Irrespective of her memorable rift with Muma Gee on that show, it is hard to imagine Mrs. Akpotha as anything but soft-spoken and kind to a fault. Chioma is still growing strong in Nollywood and we can only be grateful for her continued presence.




4. Shan George




Hoe many gun-wielding, cigarette-smoking, bum-shorts wearing women did you know that were running things back in the day?

Shan George was all that and then some, she was heading gangs with grown ass men in them, challenging dons, and kicking ass in a period when most of her mates were falling in love. Shan George is partly reponsible fkr the belief that tatted women with anklets are irresponsible

Her confidence and carriage were brilliant, she was rocking a low cut before it becaome a fad and was tainting her hair when no one else was considering it. A fashion icon in her own right, Shan was a lioness on screen, she could face anyone without shaking. She had the kind of presence most of us could only dream of. The likes of her are a rarity in today's Nollywood and that's why we go back to our archives to rewatch the movies that shaped so many discussions back in the day.





3. Ann Njemanze



Ann is one of the few iconic bad girls of Nollywood; women who challenged the norms and who got dangerously close to breaking so many stereotypes, if not breaking and scattering the entire table.

One of the iconic glamour girls, Ann was bringing the sexy when Nollywood wasn't ready for that intensity. These women had the guts to play roles that many may have frowned upon in their day and they did it with finesse. No matter your reservations about their roles, their execution never let you have too much complaints. They changed the norms, showed us so much more than their time permitted. It is almost impossible to consider a Nollywood without these iconic women.

Ann took off a great deal of time from the industry, but returned many years later as a regular on Mnet's Tinsel. She looked distinctly different from the woman many had crushed on back in her day, but that talent was still there, that passion, that smooth delivery, it was just like old times.

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2. Susan Patrick




"I wan tell you something about wetin God dey do o/I wan tell you say/I have the love of God/na him dey make me happy o, na him dey make me jolly o, na him dey make me sing, egwu chineke...."

if you don't occassionally remember this song and sing to it, then you sadly missed one of many golden moments and classics of Nollywood.

Susan Patrick, the gap-toothed beauty that made gap tooth an attractive quality, was one of four sisters in the iconic movie, Tears in Heaven. If you didn't cry at some point of watching this movie, especially when the eldest sister succumbed to cancer and died, then, you're more heartless than Pablo Escobar.

Susan Patrick, was one of those bad bishes in Nollywood. Women in their early twenties took tips from her, she was a fashion icon in her time. She could be ice cold and as warm as honey, she could be a lover or a fighter, but she was always one of the key faces of the early Nollywood era.

1. Eucharia Anunobi-Ekwu



Rule breaker, table destroyer, destiny chaanger, man bottler, seductress extraordinaire. Before Mercy Johnson began mesmerising men with her charm, Eucharia had bewitched them all with hers. And dare I say, her victims traversed all walks of life and all ages. No man was too old or too young to resist her charm, all she had to say was "Darling" and men woukd be signing off their life's fortunes to her.

Eucharia was an icon in so many ways and she was never one to just blend in with the crowd. She was daring and outstanding, she brought an intensity and power to our screens that is yet to be replicated. She was assertive, unshakeable, controversial, she was the embodiment of a feminist before feminism became a thing.

She wasn't meek, she never bowed to anyone. Eucharia was enigmatic. There may never be enough vocabularies to describe the brilliance that was Eucharia Anybody-Ekwu, any movie she graced was a hit. Hell, even her eyebrows were a major hit. She was a trendsetter and one of the best to ever be in the game.





Worthy Mentions

Ayo Adesanya




Rita Nzelu

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Chiege Alisigwe



Alex Lopez



Grace Amah


Benita Nzeribe



Padita Agu (she's in her 40's )

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Seems they are all aging backwards. Black don't crack.






Safarigal where have you been watching the classic nollywood movies? I will love to get them too and relive memories.

Whenever I see Shan George, Lepa Shandy comes to mind

OldBeer:
Seems they are all aging backwards.
Black don't crack.







Safarigal where have you been watching the classic nollywood movies?
I will love to get them too and relive memories.

a lot of them are on YouTube...although they sometimes had a different title. Once you watch a few though, your recommendations dig out the rest.

Blood Sisters, Issakaba, Glamour girls, Most Wanted, Boys Cot, Girls Cot, Ijele, Igodo and Super love, are some that I know have their original title on YouTube. So, you can search for them with those titles.

safarigirl:
a lot of them are on YouTube...although they sometimes had a different title. Once you watch a few though, your recommendations dig out the rest.

Blood Sisters, Issakaba, Glamour girls, Most Wanted, Boys Cot, Girls Cot, Ijele, Igodo and Super love, are some that I know have their original title on YouTube. So, you can search for them with those titles.

Thank you

memories

They were there when nollywood was nollywood. There was no much money in the industry in their time yet they gave us their best.

History cannot say the same of the actresses we have now