Kemi Akindoju, popularly known as Kemi Lala, is an award-winning actor, producer, casting director, and entrepreneur in Nigeria.
Here is a profile of the actress.
Early Life
Born March 8, 1987, Kemi Akindoju hails from Ondo State, Nigeria, and is from a family of 4. She attended The Fountain School, Surulere, Lagos, for her primary school education. She attended Queen’s College, Yaba, Lagos, for her secondary school education.
Kemi studied insurance at the University of Lagos. She also has a master’s degree in media and communication from the Pan-Atlantic University.
Her nickname, “Lala,” was drawn from a childhood nickname she was given, “Kemolala.” As the years progressed, the “Kemo” part dropped, and only “Lala” stuck.
Career
Kemi started acting professionally in 2005, and her first appearance was in the play All I Want for Christmas. For the first 5 years of her acting career, she was focused solely on stage performances.
She was part of the team that started Theatre @ Terra—a theatre initiative supported by the cultural center, Terra Kulture, which is located in Lagos. She was on stage every Sunday back-to-back for 3 years as part of the project.
She has appeared in over 70 stage productions, playing roles such as Amope in Wole Soyinka’s Trials of Brother Jero, Ojuola in Ola Rotimi’s The Gods are not to Blame, Sizwe in Athol Fugard’s Sizwe Bansi is Dead, and Iyaloja in Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman.
She produced The V-Monologues in May 2013, worked as the casting director and associate producer with Ndani TV for “Gidi Up,” and played the lead role in Tunde Kelani’s Dazzling Mirage. She worked with 2Face Idibia, Kunle Afolayan, and Dr. Victor Olaiya on the set of the “Baby Jowo Remix” video in which she featured.
However, she shot into the limelight when she featured in Alan Poza—a Charles Novia film, which was released in 2013. She also starred in the hit MNet TV series, “Tinsel,” as the character “Sheila Monroe.”
Other notable recent movies she has starred in are Dazzling Mirage (2014), Fifty (2015), Okafor’s Law (2016), Potato Potahto (2017), The Royal Hibiscus Hotel (2017), Lara and The Beat (2018), Oloture (2019), Your Excellency (2019), The Smart Money Woman (2020), and many more award-winning movies.
Kemi is the CEO of The Make It Happen Productions, which is a production company targeted at telling African stories through all mediums, especially film, television, and stage.
She previously served as the Senior Movies Creative Executive for Amazon Studios Nigeria between 2022 and 2024, where she oversaw the development of original films. An alum of Berlinale Talents and the International Visitor Leadership Program, Akindoju has worked on major projects like Prime Video’s Gangs of Lagos (2023) and Netflix’s The Black Book (2023).
She is also the convener of Open Mic Theatre, a hub for actors to bond and network and a one-stop shop for fresh talent. She is also passionate about changing the world and was a global shaper with the World Economic Forum.
Personal Life
The star actress got married to her sweetheart, Gbubemi Fregene, who is a celebrity chef, on the 16th of September, 2018. The surprise wedding ceremony photos flooded the internet for days.
ALSO READ: Kemi Lala Akindoju And Chef Fregz’s Traditional Wedding Photos Is All You Need To See Today
They are parents to two boys.
Awards
Kemi Lala is one of the most talented actresses in the Nigerian movie industry. In 2010, she won the award for “Actor Of The Year” at The Future Awards. The award was given due to the strength of her performance as a stage actor.
Lala was part of the team of actors selected to perform at the Theatre Royale Stratford East as part of the cultural events at the Cultural Olympiad during the London 2012 Olympics.
In 2015, she won the “Most Promising Actor” at the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA).
In 2016, she won the “Trailblazer Of The Year” at the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards (AMVCA).
ALSO READ: 7 Female Winners Of The AMVCA Trailblazer Award
