Patience Ozokwor (A.k.a Mama Gee) – Biography, Late Husband, Children, Facts

She is well known for her profilic and super dramatic roles in the movies where she is either playing the role of an evil mother in-law, or a straight up badass mom.

Popularly known as "Mama G" - Patience Ozokwor ( her real name), no doubt is one personality you can't fail to add to the list of the Nollywood Veterans Stars

It may suprise you to know that this veteran actress who is always detested for her roles in movies, is nothing like that off screen! A fact that can be attested to by her family and  freinds and many others who have been opportuned to come close to her.

Here are some facts you need to know about this actress;

Patience Ozokwor Biography

Born on 25 of March 1958 in Ngwa, Enugu State where she was raised before moving to Lagos where she attended the Abimbola Gibson Memorial School and later went on to attend the Women Training College.

In further pursuit of her education, she went on to the Institute of Management and Technology Enugu where she graduated with a degree in Fine and Applied Arts. After which she decided to try out teaching. She was in the teaching sphere for some time before finally going into broadcasting where she worked with a radio station as a radio announcer and newscaster.

Before her big break in the Nollywood movie industry, Patience Ozokwor first made it into the radio drama, and soon she began assisting school dropouts to continue their education and develop entrepreneurial skills in different things.

Looking at her career as an actress, the woman rose steadily to fame first by taking part in a commercial, followed by a soap opera in the National Television Authority (NTA): "Someone Cares" and because of her acting prowess, she got the opportunity to be invited to act in a movie. And in 1999, she was starred in the highly successful and popular movie: "Authority". The movie shot her to limelight and soon she was in many other movies.

Husband and Children

The veteran actress got married at the age of 19! in an arranged marriage though.

According to her, she had many suitors at the time, but her parents forced her to get married that early for reasons she still cannot tell, except that it may be linked to the influence of a polygamous family like the one in which she was born into.

Even though the marriage was not easy for her, she remained in it until the year 2000 when her husband died. But before his death, her late husband had come to become her real companion. According to her, she keeps missing him even many years after his death.

The actress has three biological children plus five adopted ones who all bear her name. Her son who is in the United States has a knack for the entertainment industry and also owns a music label. She also has a daughter who also has got something for the industry too, but neither has made any attempt to join Nollywood. Both her son and daughter are now married.

Mama G Facts

1. She is a Born-Again Christian
Yes, the supposedly evil woman in Nollywood is saved. In her interview grant, the star was always quick to point out God as the pillar of her success and how she couldn’t have achieved all she had, were it not for God. She currently attends Dominion City Church, founded by Pastor David Ogbueli.

2. She is a gospel artist.
Apart from being the "evil" Nollywood Star, Mama G is one formidable gospel artist with real fun. In fact, as we speak, the Nollywood star is set to release a second gospel album. And It even gets more interesting when she points out that she has a dance crew which she’s currently funding ( The celebrated Rhema Entertainment Ministry dance crew ) - if you've heard about it, then be informed: Mama Gee is behind the scenes

3. She’s a widow…
The actress is a widow as her husband died from a terminal disease in 2000. By then, their last born child was already in the university.

4. She was once a teacher…
Before going into acting, Mama Gee was a qualified teacher. She remained a teacher for more than three years before following her path.

5. She was already a star before acting and fame
While mama G was still in Affikpo Teachers Training College, she had a literature teacher who taught her and a number of other students drama, and then made them present a single play each semester. And on most occasions, she was made to play the role of "Hamlet" in Shakespeare’s play - And since other schools usually payed to watch Hamlet, she became extremely popular among students during her college life.

6. She was at first shy to get into Nollywood
Before getting into the film industry, she did a commercial with Pete Eneh which moved Chief Zebrudaya and a number of other Nollywood directors, as well. It was then that she was asked to get into film, but she refused because (one) she felt the film industry would give her too much exposure and (two) she was extremely shy. ( cold feet i guess ) and after several failed attempts of failed persuasion, they eventually managed to pull her into Nollywood.

7. Her first movie came in 1998…
Patience Ozokwor first movie came in 1998. By then, she was already a national star in Nigeria. And a year later, she did her second movie - “Authority” which shot her into limelight and made her the African-movie-icon that we all recognize today.

8. Patience Ozokwor has played a mother to every known actor in Nollywood, except for…

The veteran actress has played different roles in more than 100 Nollywood movies. And has even acted the role of a mother to almost every known Nollywood star—like Ini Edo, Van Vicker, Ramsey Nouah, Rita Dominic, Kanayo O Kanayo, Oge Okoye and the rest – except for Pete Edochie and Olu Jacobs, both which she jokingly said refused to let her be their mothers in a movie.

9. She has an adopted child…
patience Ozokwor has three biological children and adopted children. And according to her children, she is a very caring and proud mother. She has a son who played for Enugu Rangers before moving to Turkey to play football. The son, Nduka Ozokwor, now plays for MKE Ankaragücü.

10. Mama G is also a fashion designer…
And when she is not being a great actor the we all know, she is a well acclaimed fashion designer. So we can at least say that her time spent at IMT Enugu was actually worth it !