Yvonne Okoro (born: 5 November 1984 ) is an award-winning Ghanaian actress, producer, and philanthropist, born to Ghanaian mother and Nigerian mother
She was nominated for Best Actress at the African Movie Academy Awards in 2009 for her performance in Princess Tyra. She also starred in several other critically acclaimed films like A Northern Affair, Single Six, and The Perfect Picture.
Okoro founded the Yvonne Okoro Foundation which focuses on supporting disadvantaged women and children in Ghana. Additionally, she serves as the brand ambassador for Vodafone Ghana, Samsung West Africa, Guinness Ghana and Jumia Nigeria.
Yvonne Okoro is one of the most famous and successful actresses in Ghana. Lovers of West African movies especially the Ghanaian ones have come across this beauty either playing the starring role or supporting actress role.
She is a very remarkable actress who you will love in an instance because of her unbeatable performance.
There are many things about Yvonne Okoro that many of her fans knows very little or nothing about. To understand the thespian better, here is a list of 10 things you should know about Yvonne Okoro.
10 Things Everyone Should Know About Yvonne Okoro
1. Yvonne Okoro’s Age puzzle
One of the most begging questions about this celebrity that no one has been able to answer is her age. While she usually celebrates her birthday on 25 November of every year, she has failed to commit when it comes to her real age. Last year, she intimated that her age was 34 only to refute it a few months later. She now claims her age ranges between 27 and 29 years.
2. She has mixed lineage
Yvonne Okoro was born to a Nigerian father and Ghanaian mother. Because of this mixed lineage, by African culture she is essentially a Nigerian although her nationality currently is Ghanaian. She prefers to call herself African, period. However, she is so popular in Ghana that most of her fans think she is a pure Ghanaian.
3. Yvonne’s large family
This African movie superstar comes from a very large family. She is the first born of her mother while the fifth born of all the other siblings. This effectively means that she comes from a polygamous family in which her mother is definitely not the first wife.
4. Her father’s view of her career
Yvonne started showing interest in acting while a little child but her father was very strict on education and could not allow her time to follow through with her talent. However, after successfully completing senior high school, she was now free to pursue her favorite career. Despite her achievement, Yvonne’s father is still unhappy with her TV career.
5. Yvonne Okoro’s movie debut
Even as a child, Yvonne was already showing interest in acting but did not get a chance to pursue her dreams because of schooling. Her debut came just after completing senior high school in a movie entitled “Sticking to The Promise” which was produced by a Nigerian producer known as Theo Akatugba and later in hit series “Tentacles” also produced by Theo. She played cameo role in these movies, which catapulted her to fame and enabling her produce her first, “Beyonce.”
6. Highest Paid Actress
Yvonne Okoro is one of the highest paid actresses not only in Ghana but also in the rest of Africa. Her movies are some of the best selling in Ghana and the rest of the world. These are not the only sources of her income. She is one of the youngest but upcoming entrepreneurs in Africa and has been interviewed by BBC on this before.
7. Yvonne Okoro is a Philanthropist
Not only is Okoro good hearted, she is kind, loving and very charitable. She has been involved in numerous charitable causes and considered by many to have fulfilled her social responsibilities as a role model and mentor to many upcoming actresses in both Ghana and Nigeria.
8. She is Highly Learned
Did you know that Yvonne Okoro is one of the most learned actors in the African movie industry? She has a bachelor’s degree in Arts, combining linguistics and English, which she obtained from the University of Ghana. Later she enrolled at University De-Nantes in France where she pursued a diploma in French Civilisation, Drama and Marketing which she completed in the year 2009.
9. Yvonne is very Single
This Ghanaian film star has utterly refused to make public her social life but rumours have it that she is dating the Togolese soccer star, Emmanuel Adebayor. She has denied this claiming that she and Adebayor are just friends. Making the rumors even stronger is the N12 million Mercedes Benz C–Class that Adebayor gave her as a gift. There are also rumors that Yvonne Okoro was pregnant with Adebayo’s baby. Ghanaian rapper, Sarkodie confessed sometime this year that he is in love with Yvonne but the latter maintains she is single.
10. Yvonne Okoro’s achievements
Yvonne has made tremendous achievements since she started active acting. She has as many as 12 movies to her name and several more where she played a supporting role. She won the African Movie Academy Awards best actress two times in a row in 2011 and 2012 for the moves “Single Six” and “Pool Party.” She has been nominated several times for similar awards.
