XTRA TERRESTRIAL : Dolly Unachukwu

As one of Nollywood's pioneer actresses, Dolly Unachukwu was known for her calm, yet authoritative mien, which was brought to the fore in many of her movie roles. Perhaps best remembered for roles as Fadeke, the subdued millionaire's wife on 1993 NTA soap opera, Fortunes; a pimp in 1995 film, Glamour Girls and her multilingual turn in 1997 movie, Deadly Affair 1&2, highlighting her versatility as an actress.

Fortunes

The Anambra State-born actress began acting in 1985 at 16 when she featured in TV programme, JuniorDrama, as a secretary. That same year, she was cast in the classic NTA soap opera, Mirror in the Sun as Prisca and thus began her journey to stardom. Unachukwu attended the Television College, Jos where she received a diploma in Television Production in 1988. She also studied phonetics at the FRCN Training school, Lagos and later bagged a diploma in Law at the Lagos State University in 1990.

Deadly affair

As a celebrity, controversy comes with the territory. She had been romantically linked to fellow actor Emeka Ike who she often acted alongside and there was the war of words with fellow actress Regina Askia, which was widely celebrated in the media. In 1997, the actress cut her teeth as a producer when she produced Wildest Dream, a story of her crashed first marriage. A few years later, like most of her peers, she relocated to England in 2000 after remarrying.

Going forward

In England, she studied Films and Videos at the East London University, majoring in directing and graduated in 2008. Back in 2005, while on break from school, the now 40-year-old actress produced and directed a movie titled The Empire. Her last movie role was a cameo appearance in 2007 movie, Sisters Love.

Reminiscing about her times in Nollywood in a recent interview with Ghanamma.com, the single mother of two said, "When people ask me why I am not acting any longer, it brings tears to my eyes. I love acting so much that I could not do anything else. I can never abandon acting because it gives me joy. I think Nollywood has improved tremendously and I am very proud of it. I am proud to be associated with this industry that is growing from strength to strength; there may be problems here and there but I believe every industry must face challenges in order to get sanity and direction. Not all films from Nollywood are great but the strength in which they are working makes you realise that the Nollywood dream is actually going places."

On the challenges of breaking into the U.K. film industry she said, "I have tried to break into the industry in the U.K., but my agency has told me the gospel truth about the chances of getting a permanent job in acting here. I don't have a British accent, and I simply don't speak like them so it would be difficult; the only roles I would get are specific ones such as an African woman, which are rare indeed. So there is no way I could make a living as an actress in London because these jobs might come in like every two to five years. Come on, I can't hang on wasting my life here. That is why I decided to study directing, that way I'm behind the camera."

The Nollywood sweetheart plans to launch a comeback in Nigeria very soon.

Additional information: Wikipedia