Adunni Ade is a

Nigerian American Nigerian Americans (; ; ) are Americans who are of Nigerians, Nigerian ancestry. The number of Nigerian immigrants residing in the United States is rapidly growing, expanding from a small 1980 population of 25,000. The 2022 American Community S ...

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and model. She was born on the 7th of June 1986 in

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

to a

German American German Americans (, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. According to the United States Census Bureau's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the pop ...

mother and a Nigerian father from

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

Early life and education

Adunni Ade was born in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, New York to a German-Irish mother and a Yoruba

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

father. She is a Nollywood Actress, Film maker and fashion enthusiast. She returned to Nigeria when she was a year and a half old with her parents to attend her grandfather's burial. She was brought up in

Lagos State Lagos State (, ) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West, Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, Nigerian states, Lagos is the second List of Nigerian states by population, most populous state but the List of Nigerian states by area, smallest ...

, Nigeria by her father till she was in her late teens and moved back to the United States for her university education. She attended the Chrisland primary school, Opebi,

, where she obtained her First School Leaving Certificate. She obtained her Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) at the

Bells Comprehensive Secondary School The Bells Comprehensive Secondary School for Boys and Girls is a secondary school located in Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to ...

Ota,

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. It is bordered to the south by Lagos State and the Bight of Benin, to the east by Ondo State, and to the north by Oyo and Osun states while its western border forms part of the national borde ...

. Her Lagos-based father, who is also a successful businessman inspired her to study accounting. Adunni Ade studied accounting at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

. Prior to her return to Nigeria, Adunni Ade worked with the State of Kentucky in the Housing sector providing living assistance and also the State of Maryland in the Medical Insurance department providing medical insurance (Medicare and Medicaid) to those in need.

Career

Adunni Ade worked in the housing and insurance sectors in the United States before making a career change to become an entertainer. Adunni ventured into fashion modeling and was featured in

America's Next Top Model ''America's Next Top Model'' (abbreviated ''ANTM'' and ''Top Model'') is an American reality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to b ...

. After moving back to Nigeria, she landed her first

Nollywood Nollywood, a portmanteau of Nigeria and Hollywood, is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term goes back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in ''The New York Times''. Due to the history ...

role when she acted in the

Yoruba language Yoruba (, ; Yor. ) is a Niger–Congo languages, Niger-Congo language that is spoken in West Africa, primarily in South West (Nigeria), Southwestern and Middle Belt, Central Nigeria, Benin, and parts of Togo. It is spoken by the Yoruba people. ...

film "You or I" in 2013. Her short video comedy skit "Date Gone Bad", which was released on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

in 2014, recorded more than 170,000 hits. As at the time of writing this, Adunni has featured in over 250 Nollywood movies in both English and Yoruba languages. In 2021, Adunni Ade ventured into Film production with her Film production company Lou-Ellen Clara Company Limited and debuted her first film as an executive producer SOÓLÈ featuring A-list actors in the country such as

Sola Sobowale Sola Sobowale (born 26 December 1965) is a Nigerian film actress, screenwriter, film director and film producer. Sola Sobowale had her big break in 2001, in the premiere of Nigeria's popular television drama series Super Story: ''Oh Father, O ...

Femi Jacobs Femi Jacobs (born Oluwafemisola Jacobs; 8 May) is a Nigerian actor, speaker, and singer. He came into prominence for playing Makinde Esho in the film '' The Meeting'', which also stars Rita Dominic and Jide Kosoko. For his role in ''The Mee ...

Meg Otanwa Meg Otanwa (born 14 February) is a Nigerian actress and former banker. She had her Nollywood debut in 2011 in the film, ''I'll Take My Chances'' and had featured in films such as ''October 1'' (2018), '' Ojuju'' (2014), ''Kpians: The Feast of S ...

Shawn Faqua Shawn Faqua ( ; born 6 June) is a Nigerian actor, model and presenter with multiple award nominations. He is best known for playing the role of Vincent in '' Lagos Cougars,'' as Rambo in Dare Olaitan's Ojukokoro and Chuks in Emem Isong's Co ...

, Lateef Dimeji. The movie was directed by

Kayode Kasum Kayode Kasum (born 2 February 1992) is a Nigerian film director and producer. He is credited with directing one of Nigeria’s highest-grossing films and the country's first live-action animated film. Early life and education Kasum was born ...

. Soólè hit the cinemas November 26, 2021, and grossed 10.2million naira in its opening weekend and 16 million naira in its opening week. After 9 weeks in the cinemas, soólè hit over 51 million naira in the box office making it top 10 Nollywood movies in cinemas for 2021. SOÓLÈ received in 2022 an AMVCA (Africa Magic Viewer's Choice Award) nomination for Best Actor in a comedy for

. She also received her first Yoruba Award for Best Yoruba Actress for the 5th Edition of Cool Wealth awards. She received a Stella Award from the

Nigerian Institute of Journalism The Nigerian Institute of Journalism is a Nigerian monotechnic located in Ikeja, Lagos State. The institute is a diploma awarding monotechnic established in 1963 by the International Press Institute and became fully operational in 1971. The ins ...

for her efforts in promoting the Nigerian culture. In 2017, Adunni Ade became the brand ambassador for OUD Majestic. In 2018, she wrote and produced her first Yoruba movie titled: "Emi Mi – My Soul", directed by

Saheed Balogun Saheed Balogun (sometimes ''spelled "Saidi")'' (born February 5, 1967) is a veteran Nigerian actor, film-maker, director, and producer of many movies which include the first 2 cast movie in Africa and first 3 cast movies in West Africa etc. ...

. The movie starred

Ibrahim Chatta Ibrahim Chatta (born 14 October 1970) is a Nigerian actor, producer, and director. Early life and career Chatta was born in Bacita, Edu Local Government Area, Kwara State, Nigeria. He grew up in a large family with 14 siblings. His mother, orig ...

, D'Marion Young, Sunkanmi Omobolanle and

Sola Kosoko Sola Kosoko, otherwise known as Sola Kosoko-Abina (born 7 January 1980), is a Nigerian film actress and film director known for Láròdá òjò. She is the daughter of Jide Kosoko. Sola kosoko starred in the movie ''Pala pala'' which also feat ...

. Later that year, she produced another Yoruba drama movie titled: "Ewa – Beauty", directed by Saheed Balogun and featured Ibrahim Chatta, Yinka Quadri, Kunle Omisore and Tayo Sobola. She has been featured in well over 100 movies in Nigeria (both in the English and Yoruba aspect of Nollywood).

Personal life

Ade is the mother of two boys - Ayden Young and D’marion Young.

Selected filmography

* * ''(2024) as'' * ''(2024) as'' * ''2024) as'' * ''

Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti Chief Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, MON (; born Frances Abigail Olufunmilayo Olufela Folorunso Thomas; 25 October 190013 April 1978), also known as Funmilayo Aníkúlápó-Kuti, was a Nigerian educator, political campaigner, suffragist, and women ...

(2024) as Mrs. Thompson'' * '' Ijogbon (2023) as Chidera'' * ''What No One knows (2023) as Ifelolu Akenuwa'' * ''Walking in the Shadow (2023)'' * ''In Bed with the Pedros (2023) as Teniola'' * ''Intercession (2023) as Nina'' * ''The Devil You Know (2023) as Bola'' * ''Arodan (2023) as Rumola'' * ''The one for Sarah (2022) as Joy'' * ''U - Turn (2022) as Amaga (Paraga Seller)'' * ''Alaga (2022)'' * ''The Perfect Arrangement (2022) as Veronica Otukpo'' * ''Love or Death (2022) as Adesewa'' * ''Iwora (2022) as Doyin'' * '' The Silent Baron (2021)'' * '' Soole (2021) as Sister Veronica'' * ''Witches (2020) s Kemi'' * ''Coincidence (2020)'' * ''Ratnik'' ''(2020) as Peppa'' * '' Mama Drama (2020)'' * ''The New Normal (2020) as Monica/Faithful'' * ''Soul behavior (2020)'' * ''House Of Contention (2019)'' * ''Ole Ole (2019)'' * ''

Boss of All Bosses ''Boss of All Bosses'' is the second studio album by American rapper Slim Thug. It was released through his Boss Hogg Outlawz label, distributed by E1 Music, on March 24, 2009. The album features guest appearances from Mannie Fresh, Z-Ro, Mik ...

(2018)'' *''

The Vendor The Vendor is a 2018 Nigerian nollywood comedy film written by Odunlade Adekola, Korede Ibrahim, and Tunde Komolafe.Produced and directed by Odunlade Adekola, winner of the '' 2018 Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards'' Best Actor in a Comedy. The ...

(2018) as Morayo'' * ''Falz Experience (2018)'' * '' Heaven on my mind (2018)'' * ''Lagos landing (2018) as Priestess'' * ''Orunsewa (2018) as Ilaorun'' * ''Guynman (2017) as Ayo'' * ''The Island (2017) as Mrs. Coker'' * ''The Blogger's Wife (2017) as Guest Appearance'' * ''Schemers (2016) as Cynthia'' *''Diary of a Lagos Girl (2016)'' *''For The Wrong Reasons (2016) as Boma'' *'' It's Her Day (2016) (Earned her the nomination for Best Supporting Actress in Africa's biggest Movie Awards, AMVCA in 2017. She also won Best Supporting Actress Award at the Lagos Film Festival for the movie.)'' * ''Head Gone (2015)'' *''So in Love (2015)'' *''What's Within (2014)'' *''2nd Honeymoon (2014) as Vicky'' *''You or I (2013) as Titi'' *''Iwo tabi emi (2011)''

Television

*''Behind the Cloud'' *''Babatunde Diaries'' *''

Jenifa's Diary ''Jenifa's Diary'' is a Nigerian television comedy series, created by Funke Akindele. The series is part of the Jenifa franchise, based on a naive and funny character of the same name. ''Jenifa's Diary'' has 28 seasons and as of 2017 was ongoing ...

'' Season 2 *''

Sons of the Caliphate ''Sons of the Caliphate'' is a Nigerian political thriller drama television series created and produced by Dimbo Atiya, directed by Kenneth Gyang and executive produced by Mo Abudu of the Ebonylife TV. It originally aired on Ebonylife TV for ...

'' Season 2

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ade, Adunni Nigerian film actresses Living people Actresses from Queens, New York American people of Nigerian descent American people of Yoruba descent American emigrants to Nigeria Actresses in Yoruba cinema 21st-century Nigerian actresses Nigerian television actresses Yoruba actresses Nigerian people of German descent American people of German descent University of Kentucky alumni 1976 births Actresses from Lagos America's Next Top Model contestants Yoruba female models Models from New York City Nigerian female models Nigerian media personalities