We’re here for the new crop of Nigerian female actors making waves and the older ones flipping scripts and delivering excellence in Nollywood.

If you have yet to pay attention to the names on this list, here’s a chance to know the female actors on your radar in 2024.

Veteran female Nigerian actors

Adunni Ade

Adunni Ade’s appearance in Kunle Afolayan’s Ijogbon indicates she’s back on the big screen. From Funke Akindele’s SHE Must be Obeyed TV show to Bolanle Austen-Peters’s Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti film, one can only perch for what’s next up her sleeve.

Najite Dede

Older Nollywood fans may recognise Najite Dede from her roles in 30 Days and Gidi Up, but she’s also applied her talent to the latest films and TV shows. This year, she stars in Grown after appearing in other recent releases like Unbroken, The House of Secrets, and Riona. She’s proof that talent and experience are recipes for relevance.

Kehinde Bankole

You can only count some of the critically reviewed Nollywood films in the last two years, like Adire, Sista and Funmilayo Ransom-Kuti and leave out Kehinde Bankole. In 2022, she won the Best Actress in A Drama award at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA). This year, she’s the Best Lead Actress at AMVCA. Tell me, who’s the GOAT again?

Young female Nigerian actors

Ruby Okezie

My first onscreen encounter with Ruby Okezie was in Netflix’s Far from Home TV series (2022), and I knew I’d be there when she features in a new film. Two years later, she appeared in Taiwo Egunjobi’s A Green Fever and is currently starring in Showmax’s series Chetam. My earlier suspicions about her were confirmed. 

Sunshine Rosman

Her time on screen dates goes back to the Lunch Time Heroes film in 2015. Since then, notable films like Perfect Assistant and Flawsome

(2022) have cast her. She’s also cast in upcoming productions like Kemi Adetiba’s To Kill A Monkey and Chee Keong Cheung’s Son of the Soil —an exciting time in her career.

Genoveva Umeh

When Geneveva won the Best Supporting Actress award at the 2024 AMVCA for her role in Breathe of Life, it felt like a special nod to her previous works, from One Night Lagos to Blood Sisters, Far from Home, and Crime and Justice Lagos. She’s a legend in the making.

Sharon Rotimi

Fans have praised Sharon Rotimi for her range in films like The Artifact and TV shows like The Wives and Chronicles. From acting as a baddie to a trophy wife during the day and a fighter at night, she always gives impressive layered performances.

Kanyinsola Eros

If you haven’t seen this young female actor’s work before, her new short series, The Secret Lives of Nigerian Women, is convincing that she’s following up in Nollywood. Kanyinsola Eros’ name rings among the cast of the latest Nollywood films like Muri & Ko and upcoming productions like Murder on Space X. 

Blessing Oreva

Blessing Oreva played the gangster babe character in Kill Boro, which made her the film’s breakout star. With such a fierce embodiment of a complex character, I expect to see Blessing bodying different roles on TV.

Ijapari Ben-Hirki

She made her name known to viewers after her performance in I Do Not Come to You by Chance, and any serious director and writer will send her scripts as soon as possible.