Uche Elendu (born 14 July 1983) 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, singer and entrepreneur. She is described as one of the most consistent faces in the Nigerian movie industry from her debut in 2001 up until 2010 when she took a break from the Nigerian entertainment industry. According to a Vanguard publication, Elendu has featured in over 200 Nigerian movies. she launched her online tv Elialand.

Early life and education

Elendu was born in

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 ...

which is located in the south-eastern geographical area of Nigeria, predominantly occupied by the

Igbo people The Igbo people ( , ; also spelled Ibo" and historically also ''Iboe'', ''Ebo'', ''Eboe'', / / ''Eboans'', ''Heebo''; natively ) are an ethnic group found in Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea. Their primary origin is fo ...

of Nigeria. Elendu is the first-born child of her parents and has three younger siblings all of whom are male. Her father is a retired civil servant and businessman whilst her mother is a teacher. Elendu graduated with a B.Sc. degree in ''International Relations'' from

Imo State University The Imo State University (IMSU) in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria was established in 1981 through law No. 4 passed by the Imo State House of Assembly. The university admitted the first intake of 392 pioneer students on 23 October 1981. After the ...

Career

Elendu officially joined the Nigerian movie industry known commonly as

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 ...

in 2001. She debuted her acting career by featuring in a movie titled ''Fear of the Unknown''. Elendu, due to marriage, took a long break from acting and this action eventually derailed and stagnated her career as an actress. In 2015 she secured the lead role in a movie titled ''Ada Mbano.'' This movie was the catalyst that re-ignited her acting career. Elendu in an interview with

The Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...

discussed her futile struggles to return to the Nollywood movie industry after returning from her acting break. She further explained the pivotal role of the movie ''Ada Mbano'' and the positive effect it had on her career. In the interview, she summarized the effect of the movie on her career by saying "The movie that launched me back was ''Ada Mbano''".

Personal life

Elendu, although now divorced, got married in January 2012 in the city of

Owerri Owerri ( , ) is the capital city of Imo State in Nigeria, set in the heart of Igboland. It is also the state's largest city, followed by Orlu, Nigeria, Orlu, Okigwe and Ohaji/Egbema. Owerri consists of three Local Government Areas of Nigeria, Loc ...

Imo State Imo () is a States of Nigeria, state in the South East (Nigeria), South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by Anambra State, Rivers State to the west and south, and Abia State to the east. It takes its name from the Imo R ...

to Walter Ogochukwu Igweanyimba and both have two children together both of them female. Elendu has been involved in several auto crashes, one of which left her unconscious.

Health

Elendu has spoken publicly about a medical condition called

endometriosis Endometriosis is a disease in which Tissue (biology), tissue similar to the endometrium, the lining of the uterus, grows in other places in the body, outside the uterus. It occurs in women and a limited number of other female mammals. Endomet ...

, an ailment she had been diagnosed with.

Selected filmography

*Ada Mbano (2024) *''Miss Bamidele's Girls (2022) as Lewa'' *''Leave My Husband (2021) as Amarachi'' *''Star Girl (2021) as Angela'' *''To All the Broken Hearted (2020) as Zainab'' *''King Akubueze (2014)'' *''Nigerian Girls (2009)'' *''The Rain Makers (2009) as Merit'' *''Twilight Sisters (2009) as Havilla'' *''Angelic Bride (2008) as Sandra'' *''Bottom Of My Heart (2008) as Ada'' *''Don’t Wanna Be A Player (2008)'' *''Give It Up (2008) as Chioma'' *''Yankee Girls (2008) as Nina'' *''Beyond The Verdict (2007) as Uche'' *''Johnbull & Rosekate (2007) as Rosekate'' *''Lost in the Jungle (2007) Ego'' *''Missing Rib (2007) as Rachael'' *''Most Wanted Bachelor (2007) as edith'' *''Mountains Of Evil (2007)'' *''Old Testament (2007)'' *''Before Ordination (2007) as sandy'' *''Brain Wash (2007)'' *''Chicken Madness (2006)'' *''Holy Cross (2006)'' *''Return Of The Ghost (2006)'' *''Occultic Battle (2005)'' *''Omaliko (2005)'' *''Security Risk (2005)'' *''To Love And Live Again (2005)'' *''Woman On Top (2005)''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elendu, Uche Living people 1980 births 21st-century Nigerian actresses Igbo actresses Actresses from Abia State Imo State University alumni Nigerian film actresses 21st-century Nigerian businesspeople Nigerian women in business Nigerian women singers 21st-century Nigerian businesswomen