Basic Information
Stephanie Okereke Linus is a famous Nigerian actress, film director, producer, and model. She is dynamic, versatile, talented, and outspoken. Okereke has been in the Nigerian movie industry since the late Nineties and she has pushed the limits, she is also one of the women in the industry that made way and made it easy for the younger female generation to make it in the once male-dominated industry.
Stephanie Okereke Biography
Table of Contents
EARLY LIFE & EDUCATION
Stephen Okereke Linus was born Stephen Onyekachi Okereke on 2nd October 1982 in Ngor Okpala, Imo State Eastern Nigeria. Her parents Mary and Chima Okereke have eight children and she is the sixth child. She was raised in Delta State, hence she had both her primary & secondary education there. She graduated from the University of Calabar, in Cross River State, where she obtained her bachelor’s degree in English and Literary Studies. Later she went to the New York Film Academy where she graduated in 2007.
CAREER
Okereke had always been passionate about acting from a young age, however, she confirmed in an interview that it all became clearer, and her yearning for the industry was more profound immediately after she graduated from high school.
When she was still in her teen years she got roles for movies like Compromise 2 and Waterloo which was in 1997. In 2002 Stephanie competed at the 2002 Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria beauty pageant; Okereke attained the 3rd position. She then went on to feature in many Nollywood blockbusters as an actress, director, and producer. She received several awards for her exceptional roles in each movie.
Recently, she was part of a campaign against gender-based violence on the female gender; she released two short movies titled The Student and Bad Police which she also produced.
Stephanie Okereke Movies
Listed below are movies Okereke has starred in over the years;
- Compromise 2
- Waterloo
- Pretender
- Blind Justice
- Aristos
- Emotional Crack
- Genesis of Love
- Private Sin
- Queen Sheba
- The Cross of Love
- Together as One
- Beautiful Faces
- Critical Decision
- Deep Loss
- Diamond Lady: The Business Woman
- Dream Lover
- Eye of the Gods
- In the Name of Love
- Last Girl Standing
- Magic Moment
- Mama-G in America
- Miss Nigeria
- More Than a Woman
- My Mother My Marriage
- Official Romance
- Promise & Fail
- Promise Me Forever
- Right Man for Me
- Sensational Spy
- Strength of a Woman
- To Love Again
- Virgins Night Out
- Working Class Lady
- A Time to Die
- Days of Bondage
- Guys on the Line
- Lonely Hearts
- Ola… the Morning Sun
- Omalinze
- Price of Ignorance
- Princess of Wealth
- Royal Battle
- Street Fame
- Windfall
- Woman on Top
- Behind the Plot
- Daytime Lovers
- Efficacy
- Shut In
- Sitanda
- The Law Students
- The Preacher
- Upside Down
- A Time to Love
- Governor’s Wife
- Mission to Nowhere
- Hidden Treasure
- Through the Glass
- Nnenda
- Reloaded
- Dry
- Make Me Fabulous
- Boonville Redemption
- The Student
- Bad Police
AWARDS
Okereke is a multiple-award-winning superstar, she has received so many accolades and recognition in the industry that she is more like a legend in the Nigerian movie industry these days. Some of her awards and nominations are listed below;
- 2003 – What a Year Awards in the category of the Best Actress
- 2003 – she won the Reel Awards for the Best Actress (English) and the Best Actress of the year
- 2004 – she won the Afro-Dublin Awards as the Outstanding Actress
- 2004 – she also won the FilmMakers of Nigeria for the Award For Excellence
- 2006 – She won the Afro Hollywood Award as the Best Actress
- 2013 – Montage Africa Women of Excellence Awards she won the Achievement in drama and entertainment Award
- In 2015 she won the Best of Nollywood Awards Movie With the Best Social Media Award alongside nominations as Best Actress Leading Role, Best Director, Movie of the Year
- Also in 2015, she won the Bentonville Film Festival for the Best Protagonist
- During the 2015 ZAFAA Global Awards, she won four awards in the categories of Best Actress, Best Film, Best Producer, and the Best Director
- 2016 – During the 12th Africa Movie Academy Awards she won Best Nigerian Film, and was nominated for Best Film, and Best Director
- 2016 – She also won the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards for Best Overall Movie (Africa) and nominations for Best Director and Best Movie West Africa
- Pan African Film Festival Programmers Award she won the Narrative Feature
- 2016- Nafca Okereke won the Best Actress In Leading Role and Best Overall Movie and got nominations in three other categories such as; Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Drama Film
- During the 2016 DALA awards, she won the Face of Nollywood (Female)
- 2017-Truth Awards for the category of Best Supporting Actress
PERSONAL LIFE
Okereke was on her way to the African Movie Academy Awards held in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria when she was involved in a severe car accident that left her with burns all over her body and a broken leg in April 2005.
In April of 2012, the actress got married to Linus Idahosa in Paris, France, at a private wedding ceremony that was attended by her family and friends as well as tons of Nollywood actresses and actors. The couple welcomed their first son Maxwell Enosata Linus in October 2015.
Stephanie Okereke Net Worth
Currently, the mother of one is said to be worth $4 million from all her many ventures.