The legendary Actress’s son, Olatunji, confirmed the death on Saturday and said that his mother died on Friday night around 10 pm. Condolences poured in on social media to commemorate the life of a legendary Nigerian actress who, by IMDB’s account, had more than 110 acting credits to her name over two decades.
She was born on May 23, 1957. Her career began in 1993 with the blockbuster, Onome, while her debut movie in the Yoruba-speaking film industry was Owo Blow. She had a successful career in Nollywood, including in the 2013 movie “Bello.” The movie caught international audiences by featuring mainstream Hollywood performers like Isaiah Washington and Vivica A. Fox.
She publicly announced her divorce from her husband on the grounds of infidelity. She revealed in an interview, after a few years, that one of her regrets in life was that she did not fight for her marriage. In one of her interviews with The Sun newspaper, she said, “During our years of courtship and marriage, she never thought they could break up, or anything could ever come between them. Back then, he told me everything. She said she could tell where he was at every moment; “I trusted him so much.”
Before she got married, she worked at a European Engineering consultancy firm with its regional head office in Nigeria. In an interview, she noted that she stopped working when she got married and started having children. Unfortunately, her marriage was short-lived. In one of her interviews in 2014, Rachael said that her priorities were her family, including her three children, and her career. After her separation, She took up acting again.
Statistically, Nollywood generates more than $7 billion annually, thanks to talents like Oniga. Her contribution to the movie world is awesome. Nollywood first soared to popularity in the 1990s, with its main critics pointing out the low quality of the productions that were increased exponentially, at one point churning out dozens of movies every week. Those critics brought Nollywood to the limelight. Nollywood has since then developed and is currently making waves.
Saturday morning was a mourning period for her fans and supporters both in Nigeria and diaspora. Condolences poured in on social media to pay their last respects to her.
Prominent Nollywood Actress, Oniga Rachael is Dead
