Entertainment

5 Nigerians Who Have Received Oscars Nomination, Award

Published

2 years ago

March 11, 2024

Editor

Movie stars made their way to the Hollywood’s biggest night when the 2024 Oscars held at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday.

It was a night of glamour and glory as the best of Hollywood stars gathered to celebrate their success and achievements in the film industry.

Over time, cinema stars of Nigeria descent have attended this spectacular celebration.

In this article, we take a look at five Nigerians who have been nominated and awarded at the prestigious Oscars awards.

Nigerians who have received nomination, awards at Oscars
Cynthia Erivo

Cynthia Onyedinmanasu Chinasaokwu Erivo is an English actress, singer, and songwriter born to Nigerian parents. She has received numerous awards, as her distinct ability continues to stand out. The dynamic actress has two Academy Award nominations to her credit. The first nomination was for Best Actress in the film Harriet. The second was for Best Original Song Stand Up Still in the film Harriet. Both Oscar nominations came during the 92nd Academy Awards.

Chiwetel Ejiofor

Chiwetel Umeadi Ejiofor CBE is a British-Nigerian actor and filmmaker whose parents are from the Igbo tribe. After enrolling at the National Youth Theatre in 1995 and attending the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, at the age of 19 and three months into his education, Steven Spielberg cast Ejiofor as James Covey in the film Amistad. Since then, he has received international attention for his work.Chiwetel was nominated for Best Actor in the 2013 film 12 Years a Slave at the 86th Academy Awards in 2014.

Sophie Okonedo

She’s a British-Nigerian actor and storyteller. Her Nigerian blood comes from her father’s side. Her film career began with the British coming-of-age drama Young Soul Rebels, followed by Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls and Stephen Frears’ Dirty Pretty Things. An actress who merits a standing ovation anytime she appears on screen. Okonedo’s breakout performance occurred in 2004, when she co-starred in the film Hotel Rwanda as Tatiana Rusesabagina, the wife of Rwandan hotel manager and philanthropist Paul, played by American actor Don Cheadle. In 2005, she became the second Black female Briton to be nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 77th Academy Awards.

Forest Whitaker

Forest Whitaker is an exceptional American actor, director, and producer. His ancestors are from Nigeria. Indeed, his father’s ancestors are from the Igbo tribe of Nigeria. They are specifically from Nkwere, an Igbo town. Forest Whitaker was given the honorary title of chief ‘Nwannedinambe de Nkewere’, which means ‘a brother in a foreign nation’. He is making a significant difference in that strange place since he is one of the few black actors in America who are at the top of their game. Whitaker earned an Oscar for his role as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the 2006 film The Last King of Scotland. He received the Oscar for Best Actor at the 79th Academy Awards in 2007.

Temilade Openiyi

Temilade Openiyi, a.k.a Tems, was nominated for the 95th edition of the Oscars award, Although she didn’t win her category, she made history as the first Nigerian artiste to be nominated at the awards.

Tems received the Best Original Song nomination for her collaboration with Rihanna on the song ‘Lift Me Up’. The duo was nominated in the ‘Best Original Song’ category.

‘Lift Me Up’ was one of Marvel’s ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ soundtracks. Rihanna co-wrote the soulful song with Tems, and the music was produced by Ludwig Göransson, and directed by Ryan Coogler.

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Entertainment

Oscar-winning Actress Diane Keaton Dead At 79 – Report

Published

2 days ago

October 11, 2025

Editor

Actress Diane Keaton, known for her Oscar-winning performance in 1977’s “Annie Hall” and her role in “The Godfather” films, has died at age 79, People magazine reported Saturday.

Details were not immediately available, and Keaton’s loved ones have asked for privacy, a family spokesperson told People, which confirmed that the actress died in California.

Keaton, a style icon, was a frequent collaborator of director Woody Allen, portraying the titular character in “Annie Hall,” the charming girlfriend of Allen’s comic Alvy Singer.

The film also garnered Oscars for best picture, best director and best original screenplay, cementing Keaton’s place as one of the industry’s top actresses and an offbeat style icon as well.

The actress made her mark co-starring in eight Allen movies, from “Play in Again Sam” (1972) to “Manhattan” (1979) and “Manhattan Murder Mystery” (1993).

As the Hollywood sexual harassment scandals detonated in late 2017, cascading from producer Harvey Weinstein to heavyweight actors like Kevin Spacey, old accusations of child sex abuse against Allen by his adoptive daughter Dylan, resurfaced.

“Woody Allen is my friend and I continue to believe him,” Keaton tweeted in January 2018.

A BAFTA and Golden Globe winner, Keaton scored Oscar nominations three other times for best actress, for “Reds,” “Marvin’s Room” and “Something’s Gotta Give.”

In “The Godfather” films, she played Kay Adams, the girlfriend and eventual wife of Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone.

Late in her career, Keaton starred in two movies about ageing women: “Book Club” (2018), with its message that love has no age, and “Poms” (2019).

“Poms” is the story of Martha, a terminally ill woman who moves to a retirement community to die, but winds up forming a cheerleading squad made up of female senior citizens.

As for ageing, Keaton said in a 2019 interview with AFP that life actually got easier.

“I think so, because what have you got to lose? It’s like it’s the truth. That’s what it is. You face it, we talk about it,” she said.

Born Diane Hall in Los Angeles on January 5, 1946, Keaton was romantically involved with Allen, Pacino and Warren Beatty, but never married.

“Most people in the movies get married at some point, and then they divorce. But I’ve never even got married. I am (a) failure,” she joked in the 2019 interview.

Did she regret it? “I don’t think about it a lot, but I’m aware of the fact that I’m unusual in that regard, and maybe I did miss out on something — but then, nobody can have everything, right?”

She is survived by her two children, Dexter and Duke.
AFP

Entertainment

Why I Can’t Quit Music – Erigga

Published

3 days ago

October 10, 2025

Editor

Nigerian rapper Erhiga Agarivbie, popularly known as Erigga, has revealed that he can’t quit music, stressing that he is doing it for passion and not for financial gains.

In an interview with Hip TV, Erigga noted that every year, some of his colleagues leave the music industry due to various circumstances.

However, he said he can’t quit because music is his life.

The rapper emphasised that his passion for music supersedes the financial and social benefits.

“Every year, people leave music for real-life issues. But I can’t stop. Music is life. It’s what keeps me going. Take the business and everything out of it, it’s more of a passion. I can’t disappoint my fans,” Erigga said.

Entertainment

Tiwa Savage Reacts To Allegation Of Sabotaging Female Colleagues

Published

3 days ago

October 10, 2025

Editor

Afrobeats singer, Tiwa Savage has denied allegations of sabotaging other female artists in the music industry.

She challenged those accusing her of sabotaging her colleagues to mention their sources and come forward with evidence.

Recall that a few years ago Kenyan singer, Victoria Kimani, accused Tiwa Savage of indirectly blocking her from performing at several shows.

Reacting in a recent episode of the Offair Show, Tiwa Savage explained that she was being wrongly accused of sabotaging the chances of other female artistes to get bookings, claiming that show promoters could be lying to other artists using her name.

“If you’ve heard from anybody that I tried to block your bag, mention names. Maybe the promoters are lying and using me, maybe they don’t want to book three, four girls. So, they claim I am the one blocking others,” Savage said.