I Came From A Poor Family, But… – Angela Okorie Shares Her Life Journey As A Model, Actor & Singer

Angela Okorie a celebrity singer and one of the household names in the Nollywood industry has over the years carved a respected niche for herself in the entertainment world and anchored her belief on a philosophy that set her miles apart from other colleagues.

She believes in giving the best shot to whatever one does and be at peace with the outcome. This is the philosophy that has kept the actress-turned-singer going in her chosen career.

Fondly called Legit Queen, Okorie might not have been the best actress or songstress in this part of the world, but the light-skinned mother of one has surely come a long way on her own to register her strong presence in the Nigerian entertainment industry.

From modelling to acting and now, singing, Angela Okorie has cemented her enviable place in the industry, which now gives her the leverage to blow her own trumpet.

Despite her hard work, it wasn’t an easy ride to fame for the actress. While everyone has his or her days of little beginning, the beautiful diva’s story resonates with emotions, determination and resilience.

For the first time, Okorie opens up about her life journey, recalling in an Instagram live session how she was able to weather the storms of life to become what she is today.

She also confessed that she wasn’t born with a silver spoon, recalling that she grew up in a family where hustling was the order of the day.

Looking back after 20 years in the industry, the Legit Queen gave herself a pass mark, saying “I have done very well in my chosen career which many people can acknowledge.”

According to her, she started out as a model before venturing into acting . But music was inborn in her as she began singing way back in the church at the age of 7.

Sharing her grass to grace story, the actress said “I have worked so hard to be where I am today. But a lot of people don’t know that I was once a model. Some people knew me as an actress while many others knew me as a model. I modelled for Delta Soap, MTN among other big brands.’

Recalling how she ventured into modelling, Okorie said it happened while she was in the university.

“I joined a modelling agency that secured jobs for me. So, while I was studying for my degree programme, I was also modelling to put food on my table. This is because I was using the money I made from modelling to pay my school fees as well as those of my siblings.

“I lost my dad at some point but I am not the lazy type. That was how I saw myself through education. I was 16 years old when I started modelling for Delta Soap,” the actress added.

Speaking further, Okorie said she started singing way back in the church at the age of 7, having had a Christian background.

On how she delved into acting, the Legit Queen said she had many friends then who were making waves in Nollywood. Among them were actor Chigozi Atuanya, who was regularly inviting her to a movie location.

She recalled that, “each time he was on location, he would invite me to come and see what they were doing. Then I was residing at Festac town. So, one day when I showed up on the location, the director of the movie they were shooting, Mr Ifeanyi was looking for a beautiful girl to play a particular role. He told me that I’d fit into the character but inquired to know if we could act well”.

That was how she gave acting a chance and since then, Okorie has been on top of her career

She said, “When I started acting, I realized I was making more money from it than modelling. I came from a poor family where we couldn’t put food on our table. Then my parents were doing their business in Cotonou . At that point, acting started putting food on my table and I had to take it seriously. After I did my first movie , producers started coming after me to the extent that , I was invited to America to star in a movie over there.”

Okorie, who started playing music professionally in the late 2019, described her kind of music as amapiano and RnB, adding ” music is my own way of expressing myself .”

Interestingly, the Legit Queen said music at the moment was putting food on her table than acting and modelling despite the ugly experience she had at the early stage.

According to her, she got broke when she delved into music and released her debut song.

“I had to push my acting career and my music at the same time to the point that the world must hear it. Like my song, Legit is being played in over 80 countries around the world. But I didn’t recoup the money I invested in the song”, she said.

Okorie who has been missing on screen, said she will return for the love of her acting career. She began her career in music in the late 2019, after releasing her debut single ‘ E pain Dem’ followed by her popular 2020 song “Legit”. Others include, Ije Life, Vibes, Lift Me Up, Light In The Dark, Aradite, and her latest single, “Gain’ featuring Naira Marley.