Ruby Okezie
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Ruby Precious Okezie (born 14 August 1997) 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 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. ...
, model, and casting director. She was born 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, and is originally from
Abia State Abia is a state in the Southeastern region of Nigeria. The state's capital is Umuahia and its most populous city is Aba. Abia is bordered the west by Imo, east by Cross River, south by Rivers, northwest by Anambra and northeast by Enug ...
. A graduate of Banking and Finance from the
University of Port Harcourt The University of Port Harcourt is a public research university located in Aluu and Choba, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. It was established in 1975 as University College, Port Harcourt and was given university status in 1977. The Univ ...
,
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
, she serves as a casting director for Premium Models and is the co-founder of Safe Space Party, an entertainment venture established with her colleague Raymond Umenze. Okezie has appeared in several films and television series, including ''Merry Men 2 (2019)'', ''Agu (2023)'', ''Cheta'm (2024)'', ''A Green Fever (2023)'', and '' Industreet (2017)''. Her breakthrough came in 2022 with her role as Nnenna in the
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
Original series ''Far From Home (2022)''.


Early life and education

Okezie was born in 1997, 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 ...
, Nigeria, to Mr. and Mrs. Okezie. Though raised in Lagos, she is originally from
Abia State Abia is a state in the Southeastern region of Nigeria. The state's capital is Umuahia and its most populous city is Aba. Abia is bordered the west by Imo, east by Cross River, south by Rivers, northwest by Anambra and northeast by Enug ...
. She grew up in a
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
household and completed her primary and secondary education in Lagos before earning a degree in Banking and Finance from the
University of Port Harcourt The University of Port Harcourt is a public research university located in Aluu and Choba, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. It was established in 1975 as University College, Port Harcourt and was given university status in 1977. The Univ ...
. While at university, she began working as a freelance model and appeared in music videos. As a student, Okezie participated in various extracurricular activities such as stage plays, dance, public speaking, and school competitions. She also held the position of Press Club president in secondary school. The youngest of seven siblings, she often spent time alone, which encouraged creative play, including role-playing and performance. Her school involvement in drama, debates, and choreography reflected a continued interest in the arts. Although her parents initially preferred she focus on a traditional career path, she later pursued work in the entertainment sector with their support.


Career

Okezie began her career in
entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and Interest (emotion), interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but it is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have deve ...
during her university years, starting as a freelance model and appearing as a
video vixen A video vixen (also referred to as a hip hop honey or video girl) is a woman who models and appears in hip hop-oriented music videos. The concept peaked in popularity from the 1990s to the early 2010s. Story, Kaila A. "Performing Venus-From Hot ...
in music videos for prominent Nigerian artists such as
Mayorkun Adewale Mayowa Emmanuel (born 23 March 1994), known professionally as Mayorkun, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, pianist and dancer. He released a cover of Davido's "The Money" single and was discovered by the singer on Twitter. Mayorkun was si ...
,
Rudeboy Rude boy is a subculture that originated from 1960s Jamaican street culture. In the late 1970s, there was a revival in England of the terms ''rude boy'' and ''rude girl'', among other variations like ''rudeboy'' and ''rudebwoy'', being used t ...
,
Zlatan Zlatan ( sr-Cyrl, Златан) is a male given name of Slavic origin meaning ''Golden''. The name is common amongst all South Slavic countries, namely in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia and Serbia. The name is found in ...
and
Ycee Oludemilade Martin Alejo (born 29 January 1993), known professionally as Ycee (pronounced ; also stylized as YCee), is a Nigerian rapper, singer and songwriter. He gained popularity after his single "Condo", which features vocals by Patorankin ...
. Her acting journey started in 2017, leading to roles in various films and television series, including productions featured on platforms like
Showmax Showmax is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service that launched in South Africa on 19 August 2015. Its majority owner is MultiChoice, which owns 70% of the Showmax group, while American conglomerate NBCUniversal owns 3 ...
and
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
. Okezie gained widespread recognition in 2022 for her role as Nnenna in the Netflix series ''Far From Home (2022)'' which marked a significant milestone in her acting career. Okezie began modeling while attending university, signing with a Lagos-based agency that offered work opportunities within
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
. She later took part in a
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...
commercial filmed in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, which aired during the 2020
English Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
season. In addition to this, she has collaborated with various brands, including
Tecno Mobile Tecno Mobile is a Chinese mobile phone manufacturer based in Shenzhen, China. It was established in 2006. It is a subsidiary of Transsion Holdings. Aimed at emerging markets, Tecno has focused its business on the African, Middle Eastern, South ...
, Kremela, and
First Bank of Nigeria First Bank of Nigeria is a multinational bank and financial services company with headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria. First Bank was founded in 1894 by Sir Alfred Jones and is currently owned by First HoldCo PLC, which in itself has diversified own ...
, among others. Okezie pursued acting by attending auditions and readings, eventually securing a role in a film that aired 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 ...
. In 2019, she appeared in several television series produced by SceneOne TV. She has commented on some challenges in the entertainment industry, including long wait times on set and the risk of being
typecast In film, television, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character, one or more particular roles, or characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ...
. She has expressed a preference for taking on a range of roles rather than being limited to a single character type. In addition to her work in entertainment, Okezie is involved in other projects. She co-founded a social event initiative and serves as a casting director at a modeling agency.


Selected filmography


See also

*
List of Nigerian actors This is a list of notable Nigerian actors. Actors * Adebayo Salami * Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje * Afeez Oyetoro * Alex Ekubo * Ali Nuhu * Ayo Makun * Babatunde Omidina * Bob-Manuel Udokwu * Bovi * Broda Shaggi * Charles Inojie * Che ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruby Okezie 1997 births Living people Nigerian film actresses University of Port Harcourt 21st-century Nigerian actresses Actresses from Abia State Igbo