Mercy Johnson Okojie (; born 28 August 1984) is a

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

actress, film director and film producer She went to a

Rivers State Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed in 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include: Imo to the north, Abia and Akwa I ...

Secondary School for her secondary education in addition to the Nigerian Navy Secondary School in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Right after her secondary education, she auditioned for a role in the movie titled ''The Maid'' and subsequently acted in other movies such as ''Hustlers'', ''Baby Oku in

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

'',and ''War in the Palace''.

Early life

Mercy Johnson Okojie hails from

Okene Okene is a town in the Nigerian state of Kogi. The town is based in a Local Government Area of the same name. Okene runs along the A2 highway. It had an area of 328 km² and a population of 320,260 at the 2006 census. The predominant people ...

Kogi Kogi State is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the west by the states of Ekiti and Kwara, to the north by the Federal Capital Territory, to the northeast by Nasarawa State, to the northwest by Niger State, to th ...

State. Born in

Lagos State Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 states, it is both the most populous and smallest in area. Bounded to the south by the Bight of Benin and to the west by the international border with Benin ...

to a former

naval officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent cont ...

, Daniel Johnson and his wife Elizabeth, she is the fourth child in the family of seven. She started her primary education in

Calabar Calabar (also referred to as Callabar, Calabari, Calbari and Kalabar) is the capital city of Cross River State, Nigeria. It was originally named Akwa Akpa, in the Efik language. The city is adjacent to the Calabar and Great Kwa rivers and ...

Cross River State ) , image_map = Nigeria - Cross River.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location of Cross River State in Nigeria , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint ...

. Her father, being a naval officer, was later transferred to

, where she continued her education at the Nigerian Navy Primary School. She went to Rivers State Secondary School for her secondary education, in addition to the Nigerian Navy Secondary School in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Career

Right after her secondary education, she auditioned for a role in ''The Maid'' and subsequently acted in other movies such as ''Hustlers'', ''Baby Oku in America'', ''War in the Palace''. In 2009, she won an award for Best Supporting Actress at the 2009 African Movie Award ceremony for her performance in the movie "Live to Remember", and Best Actress award at the 2013 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards for her role in the comedy movie ''Dumebi the Dirty Girl''. In December 2011, she was listed as Google's most searched Nigerian celebrity, a position she also held in 2012. She is the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Kogi state governor on entertainment, arts and culture. The post took effect on 1 April 2017. Mercy Johnson was once banned from acting for being too expensive on 3 November 2013, the movie marketers of

Nollywood Nollywood is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in ''The New York Times''. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there ...

threatened to prohibit her from the industry due to her high demands. She and co-Nollywood stars such as

Genevieve Nnaji Genevieve Nnaji (; born on 3 May 1979) is a Nigerian actress, producer, and director. She won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 2005, making her the first actor to win the award. In 2011, she was honoured as a ...

Omotola Jalade Ekeinde Omotola Jalade Ekeinde ( ; born Omotola Jalade, 7 February 1978) is a Nigerian actress, singer, philanthropist and former model. Since her Nollywood film debut in 1995, Ekeinde has appeared in over 300 films, selling millions of copies. Omoto ...

Richard Mofe Damijo Richard Eyimofe Evans Mofe-Damijo (born 6 July 1961), popularly known as RMD, is a Nigerian actor, writer, producer, lawyer, and former journalist. He was also a former Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Delta State in 2009. In 2005, he wo ...

Emeka Ike Emeka Ike (born 22 March 1967) is a Nigerian actor. He was a special guest in Monrovia on the occasion of the commissioning of the new pavilion of Center for Democratic Change CDC, in Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberi ...

Ramsey Nouah Ramsey Nouah (born Ramsey Tokunbo Nouah Jr.; 19 December 1970) is a Nigerian actor and director. He won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 2010 for his performance in the movie '' The Figurine''. He made his direct ...

Nkem Owoh Nkem Owoh (born 7 February 1958) is a Nigerian actor and comedian. In 2008, he won the African Movie Academy Award for "Best Actor in a Leading Role" for his role in the Nigerian film, "''Stronger than Pain"''. Early life Nkem Owoh was born in E ...

, Stella Damasus and

Jim Iyke James Ikechukwu Esomugha, popularly known as Jim Iyke (born 25 September 1976), is a Nigerian actor and one of the stars of the movie '' Last Flight to Abuja'' alongside Omotola Jalade Ekeinde and Hakeem Kae-Kazim. Early life and education ...

were prohibited from acting, for reportedly demanding outrageous pay raise per movie. However, the ban was lifted by marketers/producers on 9 March 2014, following an apology from the actress. She made her debut as a film producer with '' The Legend of Inikpi''.

Personal life

She married Prince Odianosen Okojie on 27 August 2011. The couple has four children.

Endorsement

In October 2019, Mercy Johnson signed an endorsement deal with Chi Limited's Prime brand, Hollandia Evap Milk. She also became a brand ambassador for Pennek Nigeria Limited, a real estate investment company based in

Lagos Lagos ( Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 f ...

Filmography

Mercy Johnson Okojie has acted in more than 100 movies since joining the industry and continues to work as a producer, director and actress.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * *https://www.facebook.com/MercyJohnsonOkojie/ *https://twitter.com/realmercyj {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Mercy Nigerian film producers Living people 1984 births 21st-century Nigerian actresses Best Supporting Actress Africa Movie Academy Award winners Actresses from Lagos People from Kogi State Nigerian politicians Nigerian actresses