Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde is More Than a Nollywood Legend

For nearly three decades, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde has been more than just a star of the screen; she has been a force shaping the very identity of Nollywood. Since her teenage debut in the mid-’90s, she has risen to legendary status, starring in over 300 films, breaking barriers in pay equity, and becoming one of the first Nigerian actors to gain global recognition. Today, Omotola’s name is etched not only in the story of Nollywood but also in the wider cultural history of Nigeria.

And even after such an expansive career, she returns with a new movie, which is also her directorial debut, Mother’s Love.

In this interview, she talks to her about her latest movie, directing the movie, her journey so far and what it means to have been in the industry for so long.

Hello Omotola. Thank you for taking the time to chat with us. How are you feeling today? 

I’m doing great. Thank you!

Great! You’re a Nollywood legend, and you’ve been part of the industry since the mid-’90s, and starred in over 300+ films. When you look back, what moments or roles stand out to you as defining points in your career?  

Many! I joined the film business in 1995, and as you know, there was no structure or formal outlay back then. However,  at that age of 16 / 17, I remember insisting on contracts. I had started as a model and knew about that, so I brought the culture in from day 1. I recall pushing the envelope on standards from our employers, “the marketers,” so much at some point, their response was to ban a few of us.  Even though others were banned for a year, because I refused to go to the summoned meeting, mine was for 2 years.

There have been many, but there have been many wins too. I remember the first time I was paid 1 million naira in the industry then. It was for a movie I did where I decided I was going to pass that benchmark, and even though there was an uproar and I was initially dropped from the project for daring to ask that amount that no one had ever been paid, I stuck to my ask, and I was eventually paid that and signed up for the project!

After that, it was on! Back to back, we kept pushing the fees up. I have been privileged to be part of some projects that defined times and seasons in Nollywood movies, like Mortal Inheritance ( which also made me the youngest Nigerian actor ever to get both best actress in an English-speaking movie and best actress overall at the Thema awards back then at age 18 for the same movie ). Then there was Ije, which was shot in LA and was shown in some theatres here. It changed the narrative, and solidified my resolve on my career direction. 

Then, I worked on a Hollywood project called “Hit the Floor,” my US TV debut. Then the TIME100 most influential person inclusion that totally blew me into another stage, followed by being an Oscar voting member. There have been many firsts, many defining moments.  It’s been a ride. To God be all the Glory.

Nollywood has evolved in production quality, distribution and global reach. What do you consider the most important contributions you’ve made to that evolution?

By God’s grace, with all our hard work and sheer doggedness, we got the industry recognised outside the shores of Nigeria or even Africa way before Afrobeats! Nollywood did it first, and we were right there touring and meeting our fans from the Caribbean, the US, UK. We did it with VHS and DVDs! We lost momentum, but we are stepping back.

Besides those, I also founded a festival called “TEFFEST“, the entertainment fair and festival in 2019. The goal of the festival is to standardise the business of entertainment with the rest of the world and ensure best practices. Our inaugural event featured Craig Fenton, then the Chief of Google, as our keynote speaker, and we partnered with YouTube for the masterclass of the future. We were on the money because who knew that YouTube would become such a fundamental platform for our art.

Congratulations on having your directorial debut with Mother’s Love. Why did you choose this story for your first project as a director, and what new insights did directing give you about filmmaking?

Thank you. I chose this story because it seemed the easiest to accomplish quickly under the circumstances I was in before shooting. You see, I was on vacation in Nigeria, and a beautiful young lady called Ruth Kadiri, who happens to be practically the queen of YouTube productions, called my attention to the fact that I had no YouTube projects going on and what was happening in that space. I wasn’t interested as I already had plans to shoot “bigger projects when funding all came together.”

But she wouldn’t let me rest and kept showing me numbers and encouraging me to shoot. I agreed on the condition that if I didn’t like it, she wouldn’t pressure me to put it up, haha. So we got on set and shot our first project for YouTube. I was shocked at how quickly and thoroughly we shot that, so I got emboldened and immediately decided to shoot a feature. I checked all my stories and found one that I felt could be a small project, not many casts, but one that I felt very passionate about and could be quickly rewritten to only happen in Nigeria (most of my scripts have other locations around the world), and that was the birthing of  Mothers Love. We shot it back-to-back. This is the truth, haha.

Thank you for sharing that. Urhm, daughters and their mothers form a strong theme in Mother’s Love. How much of that comes from your personal observations or lived experience?

Most of the movies coming from our production house, Redhot Concepts, will be inspired by true-life stories/events. This is our business model and style. So yes, Mother’s Love is inspired by true-life events, starting with my experiences with my mother as a first daughter and now mirroring my relationship with my own daughter, Princess, my first daughter. I also pulled on other people’s experiences. Mother’s Love will hold a mirror to a subject not often talked about: Mother and first daughter relationships and expectations, amongst other issues about loss, PTSD, over-protection and classism.

You’ve spoken in the past about Nollywood needing structural reforms. How do you think change can realistically happen?

Structure. Nollywood has come of age. It’s time to start to take ourselves seriously if we want the rest of the world to. Standardise our workflow. The anyhowness needs to stop. We need structure. As it still is, with some guilds ego-tripping and playing politics instead of truly making genuine lasting reforms that can enable the practitioners, especially actors, to work smart, we will keep revolving in circles! We can’t attract sustainable collaborations, which are essential for growth. There are still no best practice industry standards in place that are on par with other industries. The Nigerian Actors Guild is still not unionised in 2025!

Having reached the pinnacle of your career, is there still pressure to deliver, or have you fully embraced new phases of your identity? We’d love to hear about it

Lol, I’m always evolving. I am never under pressure to do anything, really. As long as God gives us the gift of life and good health, there’s always the opportunity to do new things and chart new territories. It will be done. Even God, the numero uno Creative, says his blessings are new every morning. So every day you wake up, you have an opportunity to bless the world with something new as received from our master creative.

At this point in your journey, what matters most to you, beyond accolades and recognition?

Always been the same all my life, my legacy. I want to make certain that everything I do is well thought through, deserves my energy (because when I commit, I go all in), and that it will be things that move the conversation and trajectory forward.

For young actors and filmmakers looking up to you, what do you want your legacy to teach them about building a lasting career in Nollywood? 

Haha, to the ones who would listen, I say relax. Pace yourself. Take your time and do it well. Turn off the noise and stay away from the distractions. Have a plan, write it down, be tunnel-focused, re-read your goals to keep yourself on track, but most importantly, seek a higher power first. Our kind of job is taxing and truly deep; you will be lost without one. If you care for my recommendation, then I will recommend Jesus. Making him your firm foundation will help build a well-directed and supported life.

Thank you for your time, Omotola

Thank you for having me.