Nollywood actress and producer Funke Akindele has opened up about her rise to fame, describing herself as self-made and attributing her success to God.
Speaking at the 2025 Media Sales Conference organized by the Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN) in Lagos, Akindele shared how hard work and dedication paved the way for her in the film industry.
While she acknowledged the impact of others, she emphasized that her achievements were primarily the result of her own efforts.
However, she did credit veteran singer D’banj for playing a key role in shaping her career at a crucial point.
Recalling their encounter, she said, “Nobody made me a star, only God. I wrote my script, and that was it. The first ‘Jenifa’ came out in 2009, and that changed everything.”
She explained that after the success of Jenifa, a club owner invited her for an event, where she met D’banj.
He asked about her plans for the Jenifa brand, and when she expressed her intention to move on, he advised against it. “He told me, ‘No, you have to milk it. That’s a brand. Go and write another script.’ He even gave me some money, and I got back to work,” she shared.
Akindele first gained recognition in the late ’90s through the popular sitcom I Need to Know, but her major breakthrough came in 2008 with Jenifa, which became a cultural phenomenon.
Over the years, she has cemented her place as one of Nollywood’s most successful filmmakers and holds the record as the highest-grossing producer in Nigerian cinema.
