Femi Adebayo Salami (born 31 December 1976) is a

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 ...

film director,

actor 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. ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

, producer and special adviser to the Governor of

Kwara State Kwara () is a state in Western Nigeria, bordered to the east by Kogi State, to the north by Niger State, and to the south by Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo states, while its western border makes up part of the international border with Benin. Its ca ...

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, and

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. He is the son of actor Adebayo Salami. In 2024, he won the

Africa Movie Academy Awards The Africa Movie Academy Awards is an annual entertainment award ceremony presented to recognize excellence among African and non-African professionals, who have contributed to the African film industry. The award was founded by Peace Anyiam-Osig ...

for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Jagun Jagun, also won the AMVCA

Best Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...

Lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

Actor 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. ...

award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be d ...

for his remarkable performance in Seven Doors in

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

Early life

Adebayo was born on 31 December 1978 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. His father, who is actor Adebayo Salami (Oga Bello), hails from

Ilorin Ilorin is the capital city of Kwara State located in the Western region of Nigeria. The city is a major hub for transportation and commerce in the region. . Retrieved 18 February 2007 Although Ilorin is classified under the North-Central g ...

Education

Adebayo attended the C&S College, Ilorin, Kwara State for his secondary school education. He then went to the

University of Ilorin University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) is a federal government-owned public research university in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. The university's main campus sits on an expansive area of land, about 5,000 hectares in the ancient city of Ilorin; making ...

, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in law. He later earned a master's degree in law at the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public university located in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Initially founded as the University College Ibadan in 1948, it maintained its affiliation with the University of London. In 1962, it became an independe ...

Career

Adebayo began acting in 1985, the same year he featured in his father's first movie titled ''Ogun Ajaye''. Adebayo has starred in over 500 Nigerian films, winning four awards as Best Yoruba Actor at the 17th African Film Awards popularly known as Afro

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Awards at the Stratford Town Hall in London. He also won an award in the same category for the Best of Nollywood Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria Awards in 2012. Adebayo has a long list of movies to his credit, which includes the ''Sonto Alapata'', ''Wura Ati Fadaka'', ''Ma Wobadan and Buga'', among others. He is the MD/CEO of J-15 Media Network Nigeria. Adebayo signed a deal with a digital TV platform,

StarTimes StarTimes is a Chinese electronics and media company in Sub-Saharan Africa. StarTimes offers digital terrestrial television and satellite television services to consumers, and provides technologies to countries and broadcasters that are switchi ...

as her ambassador. In 2022, Femi Adebayo was nominated for Best Actor in A Comedy ( AMVCA) In July 2022, he was named as the ambassador for Kubanah whisky along with some other Nollywood actors

Personal life

Adebayo married Omotayo Adebayo on 9 October 2016. Adebayo and his wife have one son. He also has three children from an earlier marriage.

Awards and honours

Filmography

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adebayo, Femi 1978 births Living people Yoruba people Yoruba male actors Nigerian male film actors Male actors from Lagos Male actors in Yoruba cinema University of Ilorin alumni 20th-century Nigerian male actors 21st-century Nigerian male actors University of Ibadan alumni Nigerian film directors Actors from Kwara State Nigerian film producers Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards winners