Happy Birthday Patience Ozokwor!

#Nollywood Diva, Patience Ozokwor Celebrates Her 60th Birthday.

Lady Ozokwor was born on 25 March 1958 Ngwo, Enugu State.

Madam Ozokwor caught the bug for acting during her school years when she played the role of Hamlet in Shakespeare’s classic drama, Hamlet in an all girl’s school. Hamlet was received so well, Patience started travelling with the show.

Married at 19, Patience continued to seek an education and took teaching courses at a Women’s Training College. After receiving her teaching degree she taught for 4 years. Seeking something more in life, Ozokwor left teaching to go into broadcasting where she was a radio announcer and newscaster. She worked at the station until it closed down. Undeterred, she went on to another broadcasting facility where she began to do radio dramas.

She excelled. So successful was Patience in her career in radio drama she decided to give back to others. She opened a school to help young female school dropouts. She taught the girls hair and skin care. She was able to help these young ladies open their own businesses.

Madam Patience Ozokwor was so successful at aiding these young entrepreneurs the government sponsored her project. It was only a natural progression that her civic involvement would lead to a political appointment. She was the Assistant to the wife of the Mayor of the local government. She served in this political post for four years. As a result of her husband’s illness and later passing, Patience concentrated on her family while returning to school to learn graphic arts and mass communication for the next few years.

In order to earn money she baked cakes and took on odd jobs. This was a hard period in her life as she struggled to maintain her family and household finances. Unfortunately, there was not enough money to continue school. Eventually, she was invited to do a commercial by a comedian who was impressed by Patience s acting skills. As a result of the commercial, she was asked to do a soap opera entitled Someone Cares, a program about rural women, for the National Television Authority.

Afterwards she began to audition for acting roles, at first small ones and then larger and larger roles, until her career was launched. After her first movie in 1998, she was already being recognised by people. But when she did Authority (1999), the movie became very popular and it really shot her into limelight. After Authority, she has been moving from one movie set to another by the grace of God. Patience Ozokwo went on to star in movies playing wife and mother roles.

She has played the role of a mother to almost every prominent actor in Nollywood. She usually jokes with Olu Jacobs. She tells him that “It is only him and Pete Edochie that have refused to let her play their mother.”

She is also a devoted Pentecostal Christian evangelist.

"You are not the only ones suffering from the influx of Zee World and Telemundo."
- Patience Ozokwor tells Ghanaian counterparts.

"I weep when I watch my wicked roles in movie."
- Patience Ozokwor.

Biography from Naij.Com

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