Nkem Owoh's Biography: Age, Wife, State of Origin, Net Worth

Nkem Owoh’s Biography: Age, Wife, State of Origin, Net Worth

Nkem Owoh is a household name in the Nigerian entertainment industry, right from the days of old. He is an actor who has put a smile on everyone’s faces (you can’t watch his movies and not laugh).

When Igbo actors are mentioned, this icon’s name will come up. With more than 30 years in the entertainment industry, Nkem Owoh has put in the work, acting in exceptional roles, and without a shadow of doubt, made a name for himself.

The millennials (individuals born between the 1980s and early 1990s) know him as “Osufia,” which is a name that was coined from one of the movie roles he played in the early 2000s.

Nkem Owoh has acted in different movies, written different scripts, and has been involved in the movie production process over the years.
His story is one that is worth taking a look at. Let’s dive right in.

Table of Contents

Early Life and Education

Nkem Owoh was born on February 7, 1958, in Enugu State, Nigeria. Most of the early years of his life, encompassing the time he spent in primary and secondary school, were spent in this bustling city.

After his secondary school graduation, Owoh moved to the city of Abeokuta in Ogun State, this was after he got admission into the Federal University of Agriculture, where he studied engineering.

It was during Owoh’s time at the university that he started to take part in small plays and events, a time when his talent in acting began to show up.

Start of his Entertainment Career

Owoh started working as a script writer at the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) in 1979, a job that he did with passion. Working at NTA was a privilege for him to improve his script-writing skills, and he did a good job.

Nkem Owoh writes scripts for shows including “The New Masquerade” and “Basi and Company”. He has been doing this job for a while until something unexpected happened on a particular day. This day was like any other day; however, one of the actors who was supposed to perform in “The New Masquerade Show” was not available. Nkem was enjoined to step in as a replacement. He performed exceptionally well, and this served as a turning point for him, the beginning of his journey as an actor.

Rise to Fame

Owoh has acted in different movies before he became popular. There was a particular role that brought him fame, a character named “Osuofia”. The first time Owoh played this role was in a 1995 movie titled “Ikuku”; however, this movie didn’t get a lot of attention, even though the actors did a good job.

Everything would change in 2003 when the sequel to the movie was released. The sequel was titled “Osuofia in London”. It was a movie that catapulted Nkem Owoh to fame.
Owoh’s portrayal of this character was spectacular. It was something that his fans at the time couldn’t just get enough of. The character would turn out to be an object of change in his career, making him a likable and memorable actor in the years to come.

Controversy Faced

Apart from engaging in the overwhelming world of acting, Nkem Owoh also loves music. In 2005, he sang a song named “I Go Chop Your Dollar” in one of his movies titled “The Master”; it was a song that served as a humorous take on Internet fraud at that time.

A lot of people took a liking to the song; however, the government didn’t see it that way. The song was banned after the EFCC took charge of the matter and concluded something most Nigerians didn’t see coming. The EFCC said the song had the potential to influence people to get involved in criminal activities.

Personal Life

Nkem Owoh tied the knot with Ngozi Owoh in 1998, after which they had two daughters together. Nkem Owoh has made sure he kept affairs and matters related to his family relatively private; however, fate had something else in store for them.

In June 2023, the unexpected happened: one of Nkem Owoh’s daughters passed away due to liver cancer. It was a sad time in the family. It was not long after her death that she was buried.