Nengi Adoki (born 17 January 1990) 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 ...

actress. She is known for her roles in

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 ...

films such as '' Juju Stories'' and ''Chatroom,'' and web series such as ''

The Men's Club ''The Men's Club'' is a 1986 American drama film directed by Peter Medak, based on the novel of the same name by Leonard Michaels. It stars Roy Scheider, Harvey Keitel, Frank Langella, Treat Williams, David Dukes and Richard Jordan. Plot A band ...

.'' She was named one of the Top Nollywood actors in 2021, and is an activist for women's issues and police brutality in Nigeria.

Personal life

Nengi Adoki was born on 17 January 1990 in Port-Harcourt,

Rivers State, Nigeria Rivers is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed on 27 May 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include Imo and Anambra to the north, Abia and Akwa Ibom to the ...

. She was raised in

Toronto, Canada Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and received her B.A. in Performing Arts and Information Technology from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

in 2013. While at the University of Toronto, she directed and performed in theater productions, including the Afrocentric cultural show ''Sync Afrique'', which was performed in

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

annually from 2009 to 2014. Adoki received the African Scholars' Global Impact Award from the University of Toronto in 2019. In 2014, she received a certificate in performing arts from

Sheridan College Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, formerly Sheridan College of Applied Arts and Technology, is a public polytechnic institute partnered with private Canadian College of Technology and Trades operating campuses ...

Oakville, Ontario Oakville is a town and List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipality in Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region, Ontario, Canada. Generally seen as a commuter suburb of Toronto, it is located on Lake ...

Career

After graduating from Sheridan College, Adoki returned to Nigeria to focus on her acting career. Her debut television role was as a minor character in the final season of ''

Lost Girl ''Lost Girl'' is a Canadian supernatural drama television series that premiered on Showcase on September 12, 2010, and ran for five seasons. It follows the life of a bisexual succubus named Bo, played by Anna Silk, as she learns to control ...

.'' In 2016, she performed in Bolanle Austen-Peter's '' Wakaa! The Musical,'' the first Nigerian musical shown at London's West End. In 2018, she starred in the television series ''Forbidden.'' She has also appeared in other theatrical productions such as ''Heartbeat the Musical'' and ''No More Lies''. In 2021, Adoki made her film debut as Joy in the third installment of ''Juju Stories'', an anthology film directed by C.J. Obasi, Abba Makama, and Michael Omunua. She received a prize for acting at the Future Awards Africa in 2022 for her performance. She also appeared in several web and television series, primarily on RedTV, including ''Back to School'', ''The Men's Club'', ''Inspector K,'' and ''Baby Drama.'' Adoki began developing her own comedy web series, ''The Most Toasted Girl'' in 2018, which premiered in 2020. The series is based on real experiences dating in Lagos. In 2022, Adoki played the lead role in Chike Ibekwe's ''Chatroom,'' a movie about

gender-based violence Gender-related violence or gender-based violence (GBV) refers to any kind of violence directed against people due to their gender or gender identification, culture may have a role to play, being lower in egalitarianism societies and higher, sexist ...

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 ...

, and appeared in the second season of the show ''Little Black Book.'' She also starred in the 2023 film '' The Trade.''

Filmography

* ''Juju Stories'' (2021) as Joy * ''The Men's Club'' * ''The Trade'' (2023) * ''No Way Through'' (2023)

References

Nigerian film actresses Living people 1990 births People from Port Harcourt University of Toronto alumni 21st-century Nigerian actresses Nigerian theatre people {{Nigeria-film-stub

Personal life

Career

Filmography

See also

References