Bolanle Olukanni is a Nigerian media personality, TV host, compere, actress, and entrepreneur.
Her voice, smile, and style are some of the many things that have endeared viewers to her.
As she turns a year older, we are sharing 16 noteworthy facts about her.
1. Born on August 19, Bolanle Olukanni was raised in four different countries—Nigeria, Israel, Kenya, and the United States.
2. She attended St. Saviour’s Primary School in Lagos for her primary education and went on to Queens College for her secondary school education.
3. She moved to Kenya, where she attended Rosslyn Academy in Nairobi, but completed her high school at Wichita Southeast High School after moving to America.
4. She graduated from Loyola University Chicago, with honors in a double degree of BA Communications and BA International Studies.
5. She won the Loyola University Chicago Kale Williams Award for Exceptional Work in Promoting Human Rights and Social Justice while in school.
6. She did her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Ekiti, where she worked at an NGO.
7. During her NYSC year, Bolanle and a fellow corps member started ‘Girls For The Future’—a gender-based empowerment workshop for secondary school students, aimed at teaching the girl child about their rights and providing mentorship for the students.
8. In 2013, she won the ‘Search for Mo’s Co-host’ competition after being chosen out of over 400 people. This began her TV and presenting career with Moment with Mo, now called ‘Moments.’ She still co-hosts the show alongside Vimbai Mutinhiri and Tatullah Doherty on EbonyLife TV.
9. She became a co-host of the hit reality music show ‘MTN Project Fame West Africa’ in 2014 alongside the handsome Nollywood actor Joseph Benjamin.
10. Bolanle co-founded Sage & Walls, a multimedia production company, in 2015 and began producing and hosting “On the Carpet with Bolinto,” a red carpet entertainment show covering A-list events in Africa.
11. In 2016, Bolanle was awarded the On-Air Personality of the Year (Visual) from one of Africa’s most prestigious awards—The Future Awards.
12. She founded God’s Wives Foundation, an NGO for vulnerable people (widows and single mothers). This inspired her to write, direct and produce her first documentary titled “God’s Wives.” The documentary earned a nomination for “Best Documentary” at the African Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards.
13. She also became the host of Ndani TV’s ‘The Juice’ in March 2019.
14. In September 2019, Olukanni co-founded Wash & Go, a natural hair salon alongside Zainab Balogun.
15. Some of the movies she has featured in include Isoken (2017), Our Best Friend’s Wedding (2017), Shuga (2018), and The Smart Money Woman (2020).
16. She is on the board of directors for the Self-Worth Organization, an NGO that provides empowerment and skills acquisition training for widows and single mothers. She is also a board member of the Transformative Leadership and Sustainable Development Initiative, a forum focused on youth, governance, and development.
