Biography
Rachael Okonkwo biography, success story and marital status
Nnenna Rachael Okonkwo is one of the successful actresses in the Nollywood industry, ever since she became popular in her acting career, the actress has never ceased amazing viewers with her awesome acting skills. In this article you will get to know everything about the actress.
Biography of Rachael Okonkwo
Rachael Okonkwo popularly called Nkoli Nwa Nsukka, was born on the 26th of May, 1987 in Ukpata community which is under Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area, all in Enugu State.
The actress completed her Primary and Secondary School education in Nsukka before proceeding to the famous University of Nigeria Nsukka(UNN) for her BA degree in Mass Communication.
Her father passed on when she was 13, leaving her and her siblings to be raised by their mother.
How did Rachael Okonkwo join the movie industry
Rachael started her acting career right from her childhood period but later switched into dancing. She began dancing in gospel music videos but it was for a short time as she went back into acting in 2007 without experiencing any breakthrough.
Her break through finally came in 2014 after she played the lead role of “Nkoli Nwa Nsukka” in the movie “Nkoli Nwa Nsukka”, this movie brought her to limelight as she even won an award of the Best Indigenous comedy actress at the City People Entertainment Awards in that same year. Ever since then, she has been playing major roles in movies and has also bagged different awards.
Awards won by Rachael Okonkwo
In 2014, She won the Best Indigenous Comedy Actress at the City People Entertainment Awards.
In 2015, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress of the year(English) at the City People Entertainment Award.
Best Comic actress of the year at the Karis Media Awards.
Nominated Best Indigenous Comedy Actress of the Year at the Africa Movie Academic Awards.
In 2016, Nominated for Best Comedy Actress of the year at Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards
The actress is also an entrepreneur in Real Estate.
Philanthropic Work:
The 32-year old actress is also a philanthropist, in 2015, she hosted the first edition of the “Children Easter Carnival” in her home state, Enugu where she shared gifts to children and made them feel loved.
In 2016, she hosted the second edition at Onitsha, Anambra State where she invited her colleagues in the Nollywood industry.
The third edition was hosted in 2017 at Nsukka Enugu and was graced by popular actors.
In 2018, she hosted another edition. In an interview she had, she described it as an awesome event.
She said,
“The 2018 Nkoli Nwa Nsukka Children’s Easter Carnival was awesome. We expected no fewer than 20,000 children this year. We had thousands of gifts for them, bicycles, school bags, food items, clothes, books and other learning materials. It took place at the Government Field, Nsukka and this year’s edition was the best ever.”
Recently, the actress apologised for not hosting the event last year using the pandemic as a reason it couldn’t hold. She however, promised to host it this year.
Rachael Okonkwo Mother
She lost her mum(53) in the year 2020, though the cause of her death wasn’t disclosed.
Rachael Family
Olaedo Okonkwo and Peter Okonkwo. Her younger sister is an up and coming rapper who raps in Igbo Language.
Movies she has acted:
Royal War 2(2008)
Bloody War(2014)
Sister Esther Loveth(2013)
Nkoli Nwa Nsukka(2014)
Zeeworld Madness(2017)
Arthur One Eye(2017)
Left Over(2017)
The God’s anger
Vale of Tears
Justify my Love
Her Recent Movies are:
The Mechanic produced by Chiemela
Another World produced by Rockcellyfilms
Currently, she’s playing role ‘Lucia’ in an ongoing movie production titled “The Sacrifice” by Nickson Production Films.
She’s also currently playing the role of “Ego” in an upcoming movie titled “Other side of History” directed by Onyeka Nwelue and produced by Lorenzo Menakaya.
Controversies:
It was rumoured that the actress was in a relationship with Nollywood movie producer and director, Mac Collins Chidebe.
Rachael Okonkwo was also accused of dating and crashing the marriage of actor Ken Erics which she debunked in 2019 saying they are only colleagues. She debunked the news through her social media handle where she wrote,
“Good day lovers, I’d love to bring to the public that myself and Ken Erics (Keene baby as I fondly call him), never had an affair, ken and I have been friends for years, we have a good working relationship and that’s it. I feel bad about his present marital issues and I pray God gives them the wisdom to handle their issues. For all the people cursing and abusing me for crashing his home, may your curses be my portion if I had anything to do with him sexually in this life,”
Endorsement and Deals/Appointments:
She is currently the brand ambassador of Dano Milk and this is her third time of becoming their ambassador
She is also the brand ambassador of Chupezng, a company that deals on phone accessories like Earpod, Bluetooth etc.
She has also endorsed Stanel Bread.
In 2020 she was appointed Ambassador for Youth Development in Enugu State. She made this known in a post she shared on her Instagram handle.
Here is what she posted,
“I am humbled that my state found me worthy to represent them and I promise to do my utmost best towards creating positive impact in the lives of Youths and the people of Enugu State at large.
#Enugu State is in hand of God
#Nkolinwansukka
#Ugommandigbo”
Nickname: Nkoli Nwa Nsukka, The Kings Queen
Instagram Handle: RachaelOkonkwo. She has over 3.1million followers.
Quotes:
“Class is an aura of confidence and self discipline”.
“Be resilient, be you”.
“In all affairs of man, it can only be God”.
During a live Instagram chat with Juliet Audu, Rachael Okonkwo had told celebrities not to trend for wrong reason, she said,
“Don ’t follow trends . Before you follow any trend , ask yourself if it is in sync with your vision. And does it align with where you want to be ? Everything is not meant for everybody . You must not do things because you think the other person is doing it. If it is negative , do not do it. Do not be in a hurry to prove a point. That has drained a lot of people financially , morally and physically.
It looks like they are running but no one is pursuing them. Don ’t be in a hurry to trend . When great things happen in your life, people would genuinely celebrate you. You don’ t have to be on all blogs to be great. I think it does more damage than good. It’ s not just about the fame for me, it’s also about integrity, morals, values and a good name . Don ’t trend for bad things my brothers and sisters. A time would come when those people you think are not watching would call you to say they are proud of you. Growth is a process ; it’s not something that would happen overnight.”
When asked about her most embarrassing moment with a fan, she said it was when she was kissed by a die hard fan,
“Yes o. I came out of my car to enquire something from someone and on noticing I was the one, the young man jumped up and kissed me right on my lips. And this happened in a traffic jam; so, many people saw it. I can’t forget that day in a hurry. I felt so embarrassed that I felt like disappearing from there. It was one of those things.”, she answered.
Her Role Models:
Genevieve Nnaji
Funke Akindele
Tonto Dikeh
Angelina Jolie
Speaking about her Journey from hawking to acting in an interview, she revealed that she hawked corn, groundnut and did all manner of menial jobs to survive and helped her family. But that didn’t deter her from losing focus.
Who Rachael Okonkwo husband or boyfriend?
The actress is not yet married and she has succeeded in keeping her relationship life private, however she had said she will never leave her career because of marriage.
When asked the type of man she is looking for in one of her interviews she said,
“I want a man that understands me more than all the men in the world. A man that understands the nature of my job. He must also be hard working and has the fear of God in him. And of course, no man is perfect but kudos to those that try to be so. I have been heartbroken, but I didn’t kill myself over that. I picked up the pieces of my heart and moved on. You know how it feels watching someone you cherished so much to leave you for another girl. But thank God, someone better than him has taken his place.”
When asked about her inspiration Rachael Okonkwo said,
“A lot of things give me inspiration for the things that I do. First, I am inspired by God, children as well as the love for humanity. I must say that nothing gives me joy like touching lives positively. One principle that I hold onto is to be myself. I don’t like to copy others because I strongly believe in myself. Life is about contributing your quota, touching lives and leaving a good legacy behind.”
