Funke Akindele is one of the major players in the Nollywood space, and her career began as far back as 1998 with the Nigerian sitcom “I Need To Know,” in which she starred from 1998 to 2002.
Funke went on to make a name for herself in other roles. In 2008 she starred in Aje Metta, 1 and 2 which were big movies at the time, and followed shortly after with Jenifa her hit block buster movie, which won her an award in 2009 as the best actress in a leading role, which skyrocketed her to fame and in 2011, she reprised her role in the second part of the movie, and years later in the series that was created off the movie “Jenifa’s Diary”.
The creation of Jenifa’s diary was a game-changer in Funke’s life and in her career, and she won several awards for her role as Jenifa, making her one of the most awarded actresses in a comedy role in Nigeria.
Funke Akindele is the most nominated actress and filmmaker at the AMVCA, and she holds the record as the most awarded actress in the history of the awards.
Her movies have broken several box office records in Nigeria, with her 2025 movie “Everybody Loves Jenifa” becoming the highest grossing Nigerian movie in history, breaking her own previous record with “A Tribe Called Judah”, She is also one of the highest earners in the Nollywood industry.
Funke is not just an actress, but also a producer and a director, and made her directorial debut in the 2019 political film “Your Excellency.”
Funke is also one of the few Nigerian filmmakers who were invited to join the 2022 membership of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (The Oscars) as a voting member.
The Hollywood Reporter also named her as one of the most influential women in international film.
