Ramsey Nouah (born Ramsey Tokunbo Nouah Jr.; 19 December 1970) 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 ...

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. ...

and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

. He won the

Africa Movie Academy Award 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-Osi ...

for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 2010 for his performance in the movie ''

The Figurine ''The Figurine: Araromire'' is a 2009 Nigerian supernatural suspense thriller film written by Kemi Adesoye, produced and directed by Kunle Afolayan, who also stars in the film as one of the main protagonists. It also stars Ramsey Nouah and O ...

''. He made his

directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many filmmakers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...

with the film '' Living in Bondage: Breaking Free'' in 2019 and also went on to direct

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 ...

classic '' Rattle Snake: The Ahanna Story'' which is a remake of ''Rattlesnake'' (1995).

Early life

Ramsey Tokunbo Nouah Jr. was born in

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 ...

on 19 December 1970 to a Lebanese father and a Yoruba mother who hails from Owo,

Ondo State Ondo () is a States of Nigeria, state in Points of the compass, southwestern Nigeria. It was created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State (Nigeria), Western State. Ondo borders Ekiti State to the north, Kogi State to the northeast fo ...

. He grew up in

Surulere Surulere is a local government area located on the mainland in Lagos State, Nigeria. It has an area of . At the 2006 census, there were 503,975 inhabitants, with a population density of 21,864 inhabitants per square kilometer. The local governm ...

, where he attended Atara Primary School and Community Grammar School. He received a diploma in

Mass Communications Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large population segments. It utilizes various forms of media as technology has made the dissemination of information more efficient. Primary examples o ...

at the

University of Lagos The University of Lagos (UNILAG) is a Public university, public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria, which was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the education in Nigeria#First generation universities, first generation universities in ...

, after which he pursued a career in

filming Cinematography () is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to focus reflected light from objects into a real image that is transferred to some image sensor or light-s ...

Career

Nouah started acting in the early 1990s because he needed money for his General Certificate Education ( GCE). His acting

career A career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work (human activity), work and other aspects of personal life, life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways. Definitions The ...

kicked off when he starred as Jeff Akin-Thomas in the Nigerian TV

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

''Fortunes''. He has since appeared in numerous films starring as the lead role, and has been called "Lover-Boy" for his numerous roles in romantic films. He is also considered to be one of the most sought-after actors in Nigeria. In 2015, Nouah secured the rights to the 1992 movie ''

Living in Bondage ''Living in Bondage'' is a 1992/93 Nigerian two-part drama thriller directed by Chris Obi Rapu, written by Kenneth Nnebue and Okechukwu Ogunjiofor, produced by Ogunjiofor, and sponsored by Jafac Wine. The film starred Kenneth Okonkwo and Nnenna ...

'' for a possible remake. In 2018, he announced his remake had become a sequel titled '' Living in Bondage: Breaking Free'', which was released on 8 November 2019. Nouah, who played the new villain, made his directorial debut, and the film won 7 awards at the

Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards The ''Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards'' (AMVCA) are a set of accolades presented by MultiChoice recognizing outstanding achievement in television and film across Africa,, through an annual ceremony hosted in the Exhibition Center of the Eko ...

Awards

Personal life

Nouah is married to Emelia Philips-Nouah. The couple has two sons named Quincy Nouah and Joshua Nouah and one daughter named Desiree Nouah.

Selected filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nouah, Ramsey Best Actor Africa Movie Academy Award winners Living people 1970 births Nigerian people of Israeli descent Yoruba male actors 20th-century Nigerian male actors 21st-century Nigerian male actors Male actors in Yoruba cinema University of Lagos alumni Male actors from Lagos Nigerian male film actors Nigerian male television actors Male actors from Ondo State 21st-century Nigerian actors Nigerian film directors Nigerian entertainment industry businesspeople