Linda Osifo (born 27 July 1991) is a Nigerian actress and television host.[1][2][3][4][5] She was first runner-up Miss Nigeria Entertainment Canada 2011 and 2nd runner up Miss AfriCanada 2011 beauty pageant. In 2015, Linda was nominated for the ELOY awards[6] for her role in the hit TV series: Desperate Housewives Africa by Ebonylife TV– An adaptation of the ABC Studio franchise ‘Desperate Housewives’.[7]

Linda Adesuwa Osifo
Osifo in 2023
Born
Linda Adesuwa Osifo

(1991-07-27) 27 July 1991 (age 33)
CitizenshipNigerian, Canadian
Alma materYork University
Occupation(s)Actress, TV host, Speaker, Humanitarin
Years active2013–present
Notable workDesperate Housewives Africa

Early life

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Linda was born in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. She grew up with her grand mother and moved to Canada at the age of 16 but she spent most of her adult years in Toronto, Ontario, Canada before relocating to Lagos, Nigeria to pursue her acting career. She is the first daughter and middle child of her family. After graduating from St Thomas Aquinas High School, she obtained her Bachelors of Arts degree in Psychology from York University in Toronto Canada in 2013.[8]

Career

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She had her debut acting role in 2012 when she starred in Family Secrets, in New Jersey, USA directed by Ikechukwu Onyeka.[9] Upon her return to Nigeria in late 2013, she starred in her first Nollywood film, ‘King Akubueze’, directed by Nonso Emekewe.[10] She was featured in the popular Nigerian soap opera Tinsel as ‘Nina Fire’. In 2017, Linda played the role of Adesuwa Dakolo in EbonyLife’s spin-off drama series, ‘Fifty’[11] and Africa Magic’s television series ‘Jemeji’, playing the role of Noweyhon. Osifo is currently co-hosting the "Give 'n' Take National Jackpot" gameshow alongside Segun Arinze.[12]

During the 12th Headies[13] Award she presented alongside Sina Peller the 'Best Vocal Performance (Male)'[14] award which was won by artist Praiz and 'Best Vocal Performance (Female)'[15] award which was won by Omawumi. In June 2018, she was involved in the Campari 'Make it Red' campaign being part of the cast in the advert alongside former Big Brother Nigeria housemate Tobi Bakre and artist 2baba.[16]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Film Role Notes Ref
2015 Tinsel Nina Fire
2017 Hidden Truth Linda Directed by Nwaogburu Nelson Jombo
2019 Merry Men 2 Chief Omole Directed by Moses Inwang
2019 Life As It Is Jumoke
2020 Son of Mercy Princess Directed by Amen Imasuen
Believe In You Alysha
Lemonade Alero Directed by Lummie Edevbie
Last Request Abiola Coker
Unroyal Princess Boma Directed by Moses Inwang
2021 Tanwa Savage Tanwa Savage
A Naija Christmas Vera Directed by Kunle Afolayan [17]
2022 Woke Ejura Directed by Abimbola Olagunju
2023 The Men's Club Katherine [18]
Year Film Role Notes Ref
2020 Heart of Two Halves Directed by Tissy Nnachi [19]
2022 Luckily Unfortunate Directed by Eric Stephenson [20]
2019 AMCOP: swivel Ebere Directed by Paul Iheanyichukwu Igwe [21]

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2015 Desperate Housewives Africa Rhetta Moore Television film
2017 Fifty (50) Adesuwa Television film

Music videos

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Year Title Artist Role Ref.
2020 "Target You" 2face Idibia featuring Syemca Love interest [22]
2014 "Wildin" MMZY Love interest [23]

Awards and recognition

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Year Event Prize Result
2011 Miss Nigeria Entertainment Canada First Runner Up
2015 African Entertainment Awards Canada Best Actor Won
ELOY Awards Best Actress in TV Series Desperate Housewives Nominated
Best Actress in a Series Nominated
2016 Diaspora Entertainment Awards Best Actress Nominated
2018 Starzz Awards Creative Actor of the Year Won
2020 Toronto Nollywood International Film Festival. Best Supporting Actress Nominated

Other ventures

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Philanthropy

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Passionate about selflessness, Linda’s philanthropic aspirations paved the way for her LAO Foundation, an acronym for Love and Oneness; an NGO posed with the task of eradicating poverty and illiteracy in Nigeria and Africa at large. Love And Oneness (LAO Foundation), has made donations of seven sets of computers to the Little Saints Orphanage, Shasha, Akowonjo, Lagos.[24] On the occasion of her 31st birthday celebration on July 27, 2022, Linda Osifo commemorated the milestone by generously contributing educational Information and Communication Technology (ICT) resources to the Living Fountain Orphanage[25]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "BN Style Focus: Linda Osifo's 9 Most Stylish Moments wearing Nigerian Designs on #GntJackpot Show - BellaNaija". www.bellanaija.com. 30 September 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  2. ^ "7 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Actress, Linda Osifo". Nigerian Celebrity News + Latest Entertainment News. 30 October 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  3. ^ Izuzu, Chidumga. "Linda Osifo talks career, sexual harassment in Nollywood". Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  4. ^ "Being a lady in entertainment is hard –Linda Osifo". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  5. ^ "'I bin consider bleaching because pipo say my skin dey like monkey own'". BBC News Pidgin. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Yemi Alade, Seyi Shay, Cynthia Kamalu, Linda Osifo nominated for ELOY Awards | EbonyLife TV". ebonylifetv.com. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  7. ^ "Linda Osifo To Host Canada's Excellence Award | Independent Newspaper Nigeria". independent.ng. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  8. ^ "Linda Osifo the Early Stages of My Career – THISDAYLIVE".
  9. ^ Kanjo, Ernest. "TIPTOPSTARS - ONLINE MAGAZINE Array Series: Family Secrets is next explosion". www.tiptopstars.com. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  10. ^ "Clem Ohameze, Michael Godson & Nuella Njubuigbo Star In KING AKUBUEZE - Powered By iROKOtv PLUS - irokotv blog". irokotv blog. 4 April 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  11. ^ Fifty (TV Series 2017– ), retrieved 26 April 2018
  12. ^ "GIVE N TAKE NATIONAL LOTTERY JACKPOT WITH SEGUN ARINZE STARTS JUNE 25TH". Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  13. ^ "The Headies 2018: See What All The Stars Wore To The 12th Awards Ceremony | BN Style". BN Style. 5 May 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  14. ^ "Headies Award 2018 [See The Full List Of Winners]". Naijaloaded | Nigeria's Most Visited Music & Entertainment Website. 5 May 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  15. ^ "Headies Award 2018 [See The Full List Of Winners]". Naijaloaded | Nigeria's Most Visited Music & Entertainment Website. 5 May 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  16. ^ "2Baba, Harrysong, Tobi, Teddya, Linda Osifo & Others Headlines The Launch of Campari 'Make it Red' - Vanguard News". Vanguard News. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  17. ^ Kennedy, Lisa (16 December 2021). "'A Naija Christmas' Review: Honoring a Mother's Wish - The New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  18. ^ "Linda Osifo joins 'The Men's Club' Season 4". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 1 July 2023. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  19. ^ "Linda Osifo | Actress". IMDb. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  20. ^ Stephenson, Eric (11 February 2022), Luckily Unfortunate (Comedy, Crime), Jide Kene Achufusi, Uzor Arukwe, Emmanuel Blaq, retrieved 17 June 2024
  21. ^ Igwe, Paul Iheanyichukwu, AMCOP: Swivel (Drama), Pascal Abang, Hadiza Abubakar, Victor Eriabie, African Movie Channel, retrieved 17 June 2024
  22. ^ "New Video: 2Baba feat. Syemca – Target You". BellaNaija. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  23. ^ "Starring Linda Osifo, Mmzy drops Visuals for "Wildin"". BellaNaija. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  24. ^ "Linda Osifo donates computers to orphanage". The Nation Online. 2 August 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  25. ^ "Actress Linda Osifo Marks Birthday With Orphans". independent.ng. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
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