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| Mimi Orjiekwe |
She is one of the emerging faces in the movie industry and could be described within the confines of three endeavours: modelling, presentation and acting. However, Mimi Orjiekwe says her venture into the industry is more about passion than any other reason.
Born as Mimi Ifunanya Orjiekwe, her steady rise in Nollywood could be attributed to a mixture of talent, looks and of course, serendipity. Maybe even divine in arrangement; she has always been at the right place at the right time.
As a student of Caritas University, Enugu, where she studied Business Administration, Mimi noticed she had more than a fleeting passion for entertainment and first tried to express this interest in a beauty pageant. This resulted in her emergence as Miss Business Administration. Pushing further, she went on to be one of the top three at the Miss Anambra beauty pageant, a feat that availed her inroad into Nollywood with a first movie role.
Her love for entertainment according to her is as old as herself. “I have always had a flair for entertainment and I think it was natural that I gravitated towards that point. I am not in it for the money, but I need the money anyway because there is money to be made and I need to pay my bills. I love the world of entertainment and I am open to growth and getting more knowledgeable in the business”.
How has she managed to handle acting and modelling? “It is something I enjoy doing. First, I would trace it to my days at Caritas University. While I was in school, I was always conscious of myself and I emerged the winner of the Miss Business Administration beauty contest back in the university. Already, I had the hunch that I would end up being part of one beauty contest or the other while growing up as a young girl. I also have the height for such contests and that factor is very important when it comes to beauty contests. My passion was further fuelled when I was discovered by a certain agent who works for a modelling agency and I took part in the Miss Anambra beauty contest. At the same time, my venture into beauty contests also opened doors on the movie scene as I got my first movie role after I was discovered at a beauty contest”.
Since then, the sky appears to be the stepping stone for this actress, with roles in productions like The Undergraduates and Ghost in the Palace amongst others.
“I have done series of movies and the first major one I did was Royal Madness. I was in that movie with Majid Michelle and Van Vicker, the first time I worked with both of them; they are good people. Jim Iyke was also on set and you can imagine what the movie set must have been like. I got a challenging role and it brought out the best in me. The movie is quite popular and most people don’t even know that I was part of the movie. But I think now that I have the face, they can pick me out”, she recollected.
Surprisingly, Mimi has been charting her skills along the line of Angelina Jolie, the American action film star, whom she has grown to admire right from childhood. “I have always admired Angelina Jolie and the role she played in the movie titled Tomb Raider. I love action films; I also love Halle Berry and the sex appeal she brings to acting. I also love Genevieve Nnaji and her mode of delivery”.
Family always plays a very positive role in the lives of most artistes; Mimi is a classic example in this regard. She is the only female child in the midst of three male siblings, who grew up under the influence of parental love. “Being the only daughter, I always got attention from my parents and they pampered me too. I’m the third child and the only daughter of my parents, with three brothers. So, you know what it is being the only daughter? I’ve got it all and I couldn’t have asked for a better family. Being the only daughter doesn’t mean I’m a spoilt child. My parents monitored me and they are still monitoring me to make sure I get the best in life”.
While she has many movie projects up her sleeve as one of the merging faces in Nollywood, she is excited about the growth in the industry, which she says has been transforming lately.“Nollywood is seriously evolving, and also at a fast pace. New and more talented people are coming into the industry and even our old people are getting better. Yes the competition is tough, but I can’t help it”.
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