Olufunke Ayotunde Akindele-Bello, popularly known as Funke Akindele or Jenifa, is a Nigerian film actress and producer. She was born on August 24, 1977, in Ikorodu, Lagos State, Nigeria. She is the second of three children (two girls and a boy). Her mother is a medical doctor while her father is a retired school principal.
Funke Akindele attended Grace Children School, Gbagada, Lagos State. She obtained an Ordinary National Diploma (OND) in Mass Communication from the former Ogun State Polytechnic, now known as Moshood Abiola Polytechnic. She earned a Law degree from the University of Lagos.Funke Akindele initiated her acting career when she started in the popular United Nations Population Population Fund (UNFPA)-sponsored sitcom I Need to Know, which ran from 1998 to 2002, as Bisi - a curious but highly intelligent secondary school student. Funke Akindele's ground breaker came when she appeared in the movie, Jenifa. In July 2016, in an interview, Funke Akindele stated she was acting less in the Yoruba film industry at that time because of piracy.
Funke Akindele plays the lead character in the ongoing Nollywood TV series, Jenifa's Diary. The comical movie is a spin-off from the movie, Jenifa. She also starred in the 2018 comedy film Moms at War alongside Omoni Oboli. Funke Akindele initiated a new web series, Aiyetoro Town in July 2019. The series is also a derivative of her TV series, Jenifa's Diary.
She is the CEO of Scene One Film production. Funke Akindele made her debut as a director in the 2019 political drama film, Your Excellency. She currently runs a Non-governmental organization known as the Jenifa Foundation, which aims at providing young people with vocational skills. She is also an ambassador to Dettol and Iroko TV. In 2018, she was signed as brand ambassador for Keystone Bank. In November 2019, she signed an endorsement deal with WAW, a company that manufactures detergent and bar soap.
Akindele was formerly married to Adeola Kehinde Oloyede on May 26, 2012 but got divorced in July 2013. She then got remarried to Nigerian rapper JJC Skills in London on May 2016. Funke Akindele gave birth to twin boys in December 2018 thereby confirming the suspicions of people as to whether she was pregnant or not. She also has several step-children.
She was controversially arrested and charged to court in April 2020 for hosting a birthday party in honour of her husband which flouted the laid down rule of the imposed lockdown. She and her husband were then sentenced to a 14-day community service after pleading guilty to violating the lockdown order.
The actress has won a lot of awards including the Best Actress Leading role at the Africa Movie Academy Awards in 2009, the Best Actress award at the 2009 and 2012 Nigeria Entertainment Awards, Best Actress (Indigenous) at the 2013 Nollywood Movies Awards for her role in Maami, Best Actress (comedy) at the 2014 Africa Magic Viewer's Choice Awards, Best Actress in comedy role at the 2016 Africa Magic Viewer's Choice Awards, Best TV series at the 2017 Africa Magic Viewer's Choice Awards for her work, Jenifa's Diary, to mention a few.
Funke Akindele is one of the richest actresses in Nigeria. The multi talented actress and movie producer is worth $7.6 million and boasts of some luxurious cars like Lexus LX 570 SUV, Bentley Continental GT, Toyota Prado SUV, Lamborghini Aventador, among others. She is also a proud landlord at Amen Estate, one if the finest estates in Lagos.
Funke Akindele is a highly successful actress and has consistently shown herself to be a powerful force to be reckoned with in the entertainment industry.
Biography of Funke Akindele
Akindele Olufunke Ayotunde (popularly known as Funke Akindele and Jennifa) was born on August 24th, 1977, in Ikorodu, Lagos State, Nigeria. She is a Nigerian actress, script writer and producer. Funke Akindele is 44 years old. Funke grew up in Lagos as her mother, a medical doctor and her father, retired school principal lived and worked in Lagos. She has two siblings and is the second of the three children of her parents. She shaped her career in the media profession as a Journalist and actress after she received an OND in Mass Communication from the Ogun State Polytechnic. She went further up the academic ladder to pursue a law degree from the famous University of Lagos and wanted to pursue law as a professional career.
Funke Akindele Career
Funke worked in Television for a long period of time and later switched permanently to the lucrative cinema world. The Superstar came to limelight in 1998 when she played Bisi, a brilliant secondary school student, in the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) sponsored sitcom; “I Need To Know.” The comedy soap opera ran from 1998 to 2002. She gained huge fame in 2009 for her role in the movie “ Jenifa“. So far, she has more than a hundred movies she produced, wrote or acted in. She has over a 100 movies to her credit as actress, writer and producer.
Funke is a recognized figure in many African homes and many adore her in many of her lead roles in great movies that have made quite an impact on Nigerians and Nollywood. She has become a role model to so many young Nigerians who aspire to be like her and who she has inspired to work hard towards living in better future. She runs a non-governmental Organisation known as The Jenifa Foundation, whose aims and objectives involves nurturing talents and acquiring vocational skills. She also has a lot of endorsement deals to her name, the most recently is her being signed as Ambassador to Iroko TV.
Funke Akindele Personal Life
Just like other celebrities, Funke had a colourful wedding in 2012. But her marriage did not flourish as her fans anticipated. Her ex-husband, Kehinde Oloyede Adeola was rumoured to have had strings of relationships and children out-of-wedlock. There are claims that her marriage did not work due to her husband’s extra-marital affairs. Nobody was sure what happened but they got a divorce in 2013, a year after their wedding, citing irreconcilable differences.
Funke gave love a second chance when she tied the knot with Nigerian rapper Abdul Rasheed Bello widely known as JJC Skillz. The secret wedding took place in London in May 2016. News went viral that she was going to deliver twins in London. She debunked the news and later on, reports surfaced that the babies (twins)which she reportedly conceived through IVF died at birth. Currently, she has no child but her husband JJC has three children from other women, so she has step-children. Funke has won several awards; In 2009, she made headlines across the entire continent of Africa as the Best Actress in a leading role and this led her to win the highly recognized award.
In 2012 and 2013, Nollywood Movie Award for Best Lead Actress in an Indigenous Language
In 2014 and 2017, Nigeria Entertainment Award for Best Actress