Background
My name is Osas Ighodaro. I grew up in Bronx, New York and it was fun. I had my older sister, who passed away, two younger brothers and my parents. My parents are over-protective but they loved us very much and always wanted to raise positive and God-fearing children.
Acting
One of my goals and aspirations was to be an actor. I have been in the entertainment industry in America and Nigeria since 2005. I have been on television, hosting, modelling and then I moved to Nigeria last year August.
Other businesses
I am an entrepreneur and I grew up watching and helping my father run his businesses abroad. I have my degree in broadcast journalism and dual minor degrees in entrepreneurship and theatre from the Pennsylvania State University. I got my masters of fine arts in acting from the Actor’s Studio Drama School at Pace University. Currently, I am just working fully on acting but in the future, I would be able to use my business acumen on again.
Back to Nigeria
I had been acting abroad. I also loved doing Broadway and theatre, which is the bulk of my work. I was in works like the ‘Coloured Museum,’ ‘Revenge of the King,’ ‘Platanos &Collard Greens.’ I have performed in films and TV shows. At a point, I won the Miss Black USA. One day, I was having a conversation with my aunt and as a beauty queen, she felt it was great that people in America knew who I was and saw the talent that I have but that would not amount to anything if Africans do not know me well. I took that statement to heart and she told me about auditions for a soap called, Tinsel. I did not know what it was at that time but my aunt made a few contacts and got me to audition for it and the rest is history.
Fears
Returning home, I was very nervous and did not know what to expect. But it has been such a joy for me meeting different people.
Me on the set of Tinsel
My role is Adanna a.k.a Danny. The cast and crew are great because they put in a lot of work.
Nollywood
I am definitely a fan of Nollywood. It is nothing new to me. I was raised in New York but grew up in a Nigerian household. My mother has hundreds of Nollywood films and I watched them. I appreciate the quality work that is coming out from them. Even though Nollywood may not be to some person’s standard, it has been in business for 20 years and I think that is commendable. Will I act in Nollywood? You just have to stay tuned. I cannot be talking about things still in development.
Miss Black USA 2010/ 2011
It started when I was about 12 or 13 years. I had very low self- esteem because I was not proud of who I was and where I came from, growing up in Bronx, New York. I was skinny and I did not feel beautiful. My parents thought putting me in a modelling school would improve my self-esteem but I found my love in performing arts. One day, I got a postcard to participate in an America co- pageant and out of 147 girls, I was third runner-up. I got $60 for that. I just did it for fun. From there, I won other pageants. I took a break from pageants when I went back to school. After my masters, I decided to do another pageant, which was the Miss Black USA because I needed to pay for my semester in school. I participated and became the first Nigerian-American to be crowned Miss Black USA in the pageant’s 26-year history.
Project
The foundation raises funds and awareness for malaria and other issues affecting people in Africa. I decided to put this together during my reign as Miss Black USA. I am doing this for my sister, who died from malaria. She was living in America, was married, and moved back to Nigeria. She was pregnant, had malaria and died.
Leisure
I love going to the movies and I love to travel to experience other cultures.
Fashion
I always follow my mood. Seeing the fashion trend in Nigeria and that of some of my colleagues, I sometimes want to dress that way. They are always on point. At other times, I want to wear just t-shirt and jeans. I just love being comfortable.
Punch Nigeria
