Funlola Aofiyebi-Raimi

Funlola Aofiyebi-RaimiListenⓘ born Abibat Oluwafunmilola Aofiyebipronunciationⓘ and also known as FAR, is a Nigerian actress. She appeared in the film The Figurine, Tinsel and MTV Shuga.

Funlola Aofiyebi-Raimi
Aofiyebi-Raimi in 2010
Born
Abibat Oluwafunmilola Aofiyebi
NationalityNigerian
Other namesFAR
OccupationActress
Years active1996 – present
Known forTinsel
SpouseOlayinka Raimi

Life

Funlola is the last of seven children, born to a businesswoman mother and an entrepreneur father. The name FAR came after she got married and has become her signature. FAR had an early start on stage and television, with her aunt Teni Aofiyebi, a veteran actress.[1] She is married to advertising guru Olayinka Raimi. Due to the death of her brother she decided to stay off social media for some time and later return.[2]

Career

FAR took a TV acting course at Westminster College, and at the Actors Studio in Buckinghamshire. She also has a BSc in sociology from the University of Lagos in Nigeria.[1] FAR's film debut was in Amaka Igwe's film Violated[3] acting alongside Joke Silva, Richard Mofe Damijo, Ego Boyo , and Kunle Bamtefa. She was nominated for a THEMA best upcoming actress award in 1996. FAR was cast as the lead character in Keeping Faith by director Steve Gukas. FAR was nominated for an AMMA best supporting actress award for The Figurine directed by Kunle Afolayan.[4] Before appearing in the M-net TV show Tinsel, playing Brenda,[5] FAR has featured on other drama shows like Doctors Quarters, Solitaire, and Palace.[6] FAR has acted on stage in Sing That Old Song For Me and The Mansion written by Rasheed Badamusi, and also The Vagina Monologues.[7] FAR won a dance reality show called Celebrity Takes 2. In 2014, FAR co-starred with British-Nigerian actor Wale Ojo.

She had a radio show called Touch of Spice for 14 years (started in August 1999).[1]

Mrs Olutu in MTV Shuga "Alone Together" in 2020

FAR was in MTV Shuga in 2019 and 2020[8] and her supporting role of "Mrs Olutu" was included when it went into a mini-series titled MTV Shuga Alone Together highlighting the problems of Coronavirus on 20 April 2020. The series was written by Tunde Aladese and broadcast every week night - its backers include the United Nations.[9] The series was based in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Côte d'Ivoire and the story progresses using on-line conversations on location between the characters. All of the filming was done by the actors[10] who include Lerato Walaza, Mamarumo Marokane, Jemima Osunde, Folu Storms and FAR.

In August 2009, she celebrated the 10 years anniversary of her radio program Touch of Spice(TOS). She promised to do it in grand style by making available a free train trip for her fans to go watch a movie at the cinema.[11]

Her longest running appearance on television is on the Pan African Network MNet daily soap - Tinsel, where she has for 10 seasons played the role as Brenda Mensah - nominated at the 2010 Nigerian Entertainment Awards, New York (NEA) for Best Actress in a TV Show. A dance enthusiast, Funlola won the maiden edition of a dance reality show, Celebrity Takes 2 in 2007, beating 9 other Nigerian Celebrities to the top spot.[12] She attends Film Festivals on a regular basis and has been contracted as a goodwill ambassador for both Black Star International Film Festival (Ghana) and Real Time Film Festival (Nigeria).[13]

Filmography

Awards
Year Award Category Result Ref
2010 Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Figurine) Nominated
Nigeria Entertainment Awards Best Actress in a TV Show (Tinsel) Nominated
2017 Best of Nollywood Awards Best Supporting Actress –English Nominated [15]
2018 Best of Nollywood Awards Best Actress in a Lead Role - English Nominated [16]

References
  1. Suleiman, Yemisi (30 August 2009). "I've always wanted to educate and entertain people - Funlola Aofiyebi-Raimi". Vanguard. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  2. "Actress Funlola aofiyebi-Raimi returns to social media after 3-month break to mourn late brother". Vanguard News. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  3. Baba Aminu, Abdulkareem (5 January 2013). "Nigeria: Catching Up With Funlola Aofiyebi-Raimi". Daily Trust. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  4. "Funlola Aofiyebi Rami - nlist | Nollywood, Nigerian Movies & Casting". nlist.ng. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  5. weeklytrust.com.ng
  6. Iyanda, Olumide (12 April 2001). "Nigeria: Spice Girl". Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  7. "Funlola Aofiyebi-Raimi, actor". Mandy Actors. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  8. "Funlola Aofiyebi". IMDb. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  9. "Every Woman Every Child partners with the MTV Staying Alive Foundation to Tackle COVID-19". Every Woman Every Child. 16 April 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  10. Akabogu, Njideka (16 April 2020). "MTV Shuga and ViacomCBS Africa Respond to COVID-19 with "Alone Together" Online Series". BHM. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  11. "Funlola Celebrates TOS @ 10". Vanguard News. 31 July 2009. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  12. actors.mandy.com
  13. "Funlola Aofiyebi". IMDb. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  14. O'Kelly, Aoife (9 October 2019). "Walking with Shadows". Oya Media. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  15. "BON Awards 2017: Kannywood's Ali Nuhu receives Special Recognition Award". Daily Trust. 23 November 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  16. "BON Awards 2018: Mercy Aigbe, Tana Adelana shine at 10th edition". Pulse Nigeria. 9 December 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
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