Celebrity of the Week.............Omotola Jalade Ekeinde

 

Omotola grew up with a family of five, her parents and two younger brothers, Tayo and Bolaji Jalade. Her mother, Oluwatoyin Jalade née Amori Oguntade worked at J.T Chanrai Nig and her father, Oluwashola Jalade worked with Y.M.C.A and the Lagos Country Club. Omotola’s original career ambition was to work in Business Management and while awaiting her results from University, she began modeling to earn a living.

Omotola attended Chrisland School Opebi (1981-1987), Oxford Children School (1987), Santos Layout, Command Secondary School Kaduna,(1988-1993), she had a brief stint at Obafemi Awolowo University and finally completed her studies at Yaba College of Technology Yaba (1996-2004), where she studied Estate Management.

Omotola was later introduced to acting by escorting another model friend to an audition. Her first acting role was in the 1995 movie, Venom of Justice directed by Reginald Ebere.Ever since then she has not looked back and she has starred in blockbuster movies like Games Women Play, Blood Sisters, All My Life, Last Wedding, My Story, The Woman in Me and a host of others. In the year 2005, she launched her music career.

OmoSexy, as her fans would call her, launched a long-awaited music career in 2005 with the release of her debut album, titled, GBA. The album featured the singles, “Naija Lowa” and “The Things You Do To Me.” Her sophomore album, Me, Myself, and Eyes brought in production from Paul Play and Del B, featuring the songs, “Feel Alright” ft. Harry Song and “Through the Fire” ft. Uche. Omotola held an album launch party in Nigeria, where tables where sold for 1 million Nigerian naira.

Omotola married pilot, Captain Matthew Ekeinde, her husband of sixteen years, in 1996. The couple later held a white ceremony on board a Dash 7 aircraft while flying from Lagos to Benin  in 2001, with close family and friends present. Omotola gave birth to her first daughter on the 30th of March 1997. Together, they have four children, Princess, M.J, Meriaih and Michael. Omotola lost her father in 1991.

In  2012, CNN Travel noted Omotola's famous tongue (accent) on their list of the world's 12 sexiest accents. The Nigerian accent ranked 5th on the list.

The following year, Omotola was named one of the most influential people in the world by TIME Magazine for their annual TIME 100 list. She appeared in the icons category.