Georgina Chloe Eku Edewor-Thorley, otherwise known as Eku Edewor (born 18 December 1986), is a

British Nigerian British Nigerians are British people of Nigerian descent or Nigerians of British descent. This article is about residents and citizens of Nigerian descent living in Britain. Many Nigerians and their British-born descendants in Britain live in So ...

actress, television presenter, and model. She is best known for her work as host of the entertainment television program ''53 Extra'' on

Africa Magic Africa Magic is a collection of Pay TV entertainment channels that focus on African programming, most popularly Nigerian series and movies. ''Africa Magic'', which started off as single channel of the same name, is a brand owned by M-Net and no ...

Early life and education

Edewor was born at Portland Hospital in London, along with her twin sister Kessiana. Her mother is Juliana Edewor, an

interior designer Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspec ...

, and

art collector A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individua ...

originally from Delta State.Okon, Anna. "My Style Changes Daily - Eku Edewor." ''Punch''. 10 February 2013. 24 September 2014. Her father, Hugh Thorley, is British and has worked in the food and beverage supply and

logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

industries.Okafor, Onnaedo. "5 Things You Didn't Know About Eku Edewor." Pulse.ng. 29 August 2014. 1 December 2014

/ref> Edewor's parents divorced when she was young and both remarried. Her late stepfather, Peter Thomas, was a businessman and lawyer from Lagos."Eku Edewor: Nigerian men are very good at making big romantic statements." ''Nigeria News''. 13 December 2013. 1 December 2014

/ref> On her mother's side, she is the granddaughter of members of the

Nigerian chieftaincy system The Nigerian Chieftaincy is the chieftaincy system that is native to Nigeria. Consisting of everything from the country's monarchs to its titled family elders, the chieftaincy as a whole is one of the oldest continuously existing institutions i ...

. Edewor was raised in both Nigeria and the United Kingdom. She lived in Lagos until the age of 13, receiving her primary education at St. Saviour's School and Grange School. Eku then travelled back to the United Kingdom, where she attended boarding school at the Benenden School for Girls. She travelled often with her family, spending Christmases in Eku, her ancestral village in Delta State, and summers in America, Europe, and other African countries.Roosblad, Shomara. "Eku Edewor." ''The Black Blog''. Vogue.it. 20 October 2013. 4 December 201

/ref> Edewor attended

Warwick University The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed ...

, England. She pursued a degree in

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

and

Theatre Studies Theatre studies (sometimes referred to as theatrology or dramatics) is the study of theatrical performance in relation to its literary, physical, psychobiological, sociological, and historical contexts. It is an interdisciplinary field which also e ...

, graduating with honours in 2008. She then successfully completed a three-month course in acting for film at the

New York Film Academy New York Film Academy – School of Film and Acting (NYFA) is a private for-profit film school and acting school based in New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami. The New York Film Academy was founded in 1992 by Jerry Sherlock, a former film, ...

in 2009."Eku Edewor." Africa Magic. 24 September 2014
/ref>

Career

Edewor's first television appearance was in 2006, when she competed in the reality show '' Britain’s Next Top Model'' under the name "Georgina Edewor-Thorley".Omionawele, Joan. "The kind of man I want is...-Eku Edewor." ''Nigerian Tribune''. 1 March 2014. 24 September 2014

. She appeared in theatre productions while studying at Warwick University and the

. Her first job in the entertainment industry was as a production assistant to producer Damian Jones (producer), Damian Jones. She worked at his company DJ Films from September 2008 through October 2009. She appeared in the 2010 film ''

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" is a song and single by Ian Dury. It was originally released as a Stiff Records single, with "Razzle in My Pocket" as the B-side, on 26 August 1977. The song was released under the single name "Ian Dury", but three me ...

'' as "Party Girl". In 2010, after the loss of her stepfather, Edewor returned to Nigeria to work in her mother's restaurant, the Chardonnay Restaurant and Bar, so that her mother could focus on her career as an interior designer. Five months after she returned, she attended an open audition for co-presenter on ''53 Extra'' (formerly ''Studio 53 Extra''), an entertainment show produced by

M-NET M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

and airing on the

DStv Digital Satellite Television, commonly abbreviated to DStv, is a Sub-Saharan African direct broadcast satellite service owned by MultiChoice and based in Randburg, South Africa. Launched on 6 October 1995, the service provides multiple aud ...

's Africa Magic channel. ''53 Extra'' is a spin-off of Africa Magic's flagship magazine show ''Studio 53'', which was named for the 53 countries in the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of member states of the African Union, 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling fo ...

. ''53 Extra'' features music, film, fashion, red carpet events, and news about celebrities and industry leaders from across the African continent. Since landing her role on ''53 Extra'', Edewor has made several other television appearances; she co-hosted the ''Big Brother Africa All Stars'' live red carpet show in 2010, and she has also hosted the ''

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...

Top Ten Countdown'' since 2012. She has appeared in commercials for M-NET's 25th Anniversary and also commercials for

Martini Martini may refer to: * Martini (cocktail) * Martini (vermouth), a brand of vermouth * Martini (surname), an Italian surname * Martini (automobile company), a Swiss automobile company * Automobiles Martini, a French manufacturer of racing cars ...

. Edewor starred as Sade Coker in the television series ''The Island'', which was shot in 2012 and is due to air in 2015 and played Nicole in the online series ''How She Left My Brother''. For her first major film role, she played principal character Sapphire in the 2013 romantic comedy film '' Flower Girl''. She most recently starred as Victoria in the 2014 film ''When Love Comes Around'', produced by Zynnell Zuh. She splits most of her time between London, Lagos, and New York City, but also travels a lot within Africa.

Filmography

Film

Television

Web

Awards and nominations

She is also one of the best actor African collaboration in 2014 edition of Ghana movie award

References

External links

* *
53 Extra
' on

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edewor, Eku English people of Nigerian descent Nigerian television personalities Nigerian female models Nigerian television actresses New York Film Academy alumni Alumni of the University of Warwick Actresses from London Nigerian people of English descent Living people Actresses from Lagos Nigerian film actresses British twins Nigerian twins Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model contestants 1986 births 21st-century Nigerian actresses