The legendary singer/songwriter, award winning actress, politician, human right and social activists, journalist bows out of stage on the 30th of July 2024 at Reddington hospital in Lagos after a performance at the birthday party of Mrs Stella Okoli
She was born on the 31st of January 1952, the youngest of five children to the late D.K Onwenu who died in an autocrash before his appointment as the minister of education. The legendary singer hails from Arondizuogu, a town in Ideato North in Imo state but was raised in Porthacourt the capital of Rivers state.
She has a B.A in International relations and communications from Wellesley college Massachusetts and M.A in media studies from The New school of social research, New York. She worked as a tour guide in the United Nations before returning to Nigeria to complete her mandatory one year national youth service with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Lagos state in 1980
As a musician, most of her songs were self-penned and she sang about health, peace and mutual coexistence, plight of children and respect for women rights. She started her recording career while with NTA in 1981 and released her first album titled 'For the love of you' which featured an orchestra cover of Jonny Nash's 'Hold me tight' produced by Berkley Jones. Her second album titled ' Endless Life' was produced by Sunny Okosun and featured another cover of the Everly Brothers 'Walk Right Back'. Both of her records was released under EMI rebel. In 1986, her popular song 'One love' was released, another of her popular song 'you and I' was re- recorded for the 2001 film conspiracy starring Nkem Owoh and Onyeka herself.
As an actress, her first movie role was a childless woman who adopts an abandoned baby in Zik Zulu Okafor's Nightmare, she has featured in many movie in Nollywood and in 2006, she won the Africa Movie Academy Award for best actress in a supporting role for her performance in the movie ' widows cot'. In the same year, she was nominated for Africa Movie Academy Award for 'Best actress in a Leading Role' in the movie 'Rising Moon'. She was in the movie 'Half of a yellow sun' with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Thandiwe Newton in 2014 and in 2018 she was in the movie 'The Lion Heart' with Pete Edochie, Genevieve Nnaji and other great actors.
It is to be noted that she served as one of the three judges on X factor Nigeria in 2013
She is a private person and not much is known about her ex-husband a Yoruba Muslim but she is the mother of two children; Tijjani and Abraham Ogunlende.
We pray that her peaceful soul finds a perfect rest in the bosom of the Lord and that God will give her family the fortitude to bear this loss.
Comments