Nobody Made Me A Star – Funke Akindele Attributes Her Success To Hard Work, God’s Grace

Award-winning actress and producer, Funke Akindele, has credited her success in Nollywood to hard work, dedication, and divine intervention. Speaking at the 2025 Media Sales Conference in Lagos, organized by the Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN), Akindele emphasized that she is a self-made star, attributing her rise to stardom solely to God.

Reflecting on her career journey, Akindele revealed that her major breakthrough came with the release of “Jenifa” in 2009, a film that turned her into a household name. She recalled a pivotal moment when she met music star D’banj at a club after the success of Jenifa:

“Nobody made me a star, only God. I wrote my script, and that was it. The first ‘Jenifa’ was released in 2009, and that was the turning point.”

She shared how D’banj encouraged her to expand the “Jenifa” brand, advising her to write a sequel instead of moving on to another project.

“Amidst the buzz, a club owner reached out to host me at his club, and I met D’banj there. He asked what I was doing with the ‘Jenifa’ brand. I said, ‘I have moved on. I will do another thing.’ He said, ‘No. You have to milk it. It should not go like that. That’s a brand. Go and write another script.’ He gave me some money, and I went back and continued writing.”

Funke Akindele’s acting career began in 1998 when she starred in the educational TV series “I Need to Know”, which aired until 2002. However, it was Jenifa that catapulted her to fame and fortune, leading to multiple sequels and the widely successful TV series, “Jenifa’s Diary”.

Today, Akindele holds the record as the highest-grossing producer in Nigerian cinema, with films like Omo Ghetto: The Saga and A Tribe Called Judah breaking box office records.