If the Dubai girls had a Chief Enjoyment Officer, it would be the talented and beautiful Omoni Oboli. The actress who also wears many other hats as a film writer, producer, and director has defied a lot of odds to create her current fun and flashy lifestyle. While many have spoken in envy and praise of her rather interesting life as a successful actress, wife, and mother, Omoni herself has often said that she came from nothing and had to struggle really hard to make herself into the fun-loving Dubai girl everyone cannot stop talking about. Let’s take you on a walk through her life before and after her rise to fame.
Omoni Oboli Was Born in Benin City But is Actually from Delta State
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It’s no surprise that many often think Omoni is a Benin girl. These assumptions mainly come from the very fluent pidgin English she speaks in movies and her ability to execute tout-ish roles to perfection. She was however only born in Edo State.
The actress was born on the 22nd of April 1978 in Benin City, Edo State, but is originally from Mosogar village in Delta State. Her father is the late Chief Mattew Eriyovwe Ukey, who died in a fatal motor accident in 2017. The accident occurred on the Oghara/Mosogra bridge which has become a well-known death trap and has caused many accidents. While he lived, Omoni Oboli’s father was a well-known retired permanent secretary with the Delta State Civil Service Commission.
Her mother, who she simply calls Elizabeth and Lizzy for short, was a retired teacher and businesswoman. She passed away some years ago but has been a strong motivation for her daughters. The actress often makes reference to her mother’s tenacity as her major motivation for working hard and living a good life.
Omoni Oboli Had a Difficult Childhood Being Raised by a Single Mother
When Omoni and her actress friends debuted the Dubai girls concept that basically showed them living the dream and exploring the city of Dubai, many pointed out that she must come from a wealthy family to be able to afford that kind of lifestyle. This is very far from the truth.
Oboli was raised by her mother after her parents’ marriage crashed while she was still a child. There are no age specifics to show how old she was at the time however from the revelations she has made, her mother took custody of herself and her younger sister.
They apparently had it very rough because the actress recalls that some of her earliest memories are of their time living in a face-me-I-face-you. Although her mother worked as a teacher, what she earned was not close to enough when it came to caring for herself and her young daughters. In her words;
“I wasn’t born with a silver spoon! My earliest memories were in a face me I face you home; raised by a single mom.
“We always had more months left at the end of the money every single month. My mum had multiple hustles in addition to her teaching job just to make ends meet!
“I never visited the airport not to talk of traveling outside Nigeria as a kid.”
The Actress Studied Digital Film Editing in New York
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Yes, you heard right, despite the fact that Omoni grew up in the most meager manner, she studied in New York. If you are still wondering how she did it, here’s an explanation of how she achieved it.
Although she had her secondary and university education in Nigeria, it was obvious that the black beauty was headed for stardom from as far back as after her secondary school days. She had her acting debut at 18 years of age with the movie Bitter Encounter (1996). The roles flowed in after that even though she took time out to get her degree at the University of Benin.
In 2010, after Omoni had made some headway as an actress, she traveled to the US where she enrolled at the New York Film Academy to study Digital Editing. This move was by no means a very wise decision because it grounded her in the other aspects of film production.
She Has Received Many Awards For Her Work as an Actress, Director, and Producer
When Oboli made her return to the Nigerian movie scene, she found instant success as an actress. Since then, she has featured in a lot of blockbuster movies and won some very interesting awards while at it. In 2014, she made her directorial and production debut in Being Mrs. Elliot, a movie in which she also acted in. The movies she is best known for both as an actress, director, and producer include The Figurine: Araromire (2009), Anchor Baby (2010), My Wife and I (), My Wife and I (2017), Okafor’s Law (2016), The Wedding Party 2 (2017), Wives on Strike (2016), Moms at War (2018) and more.
From the works listed above and more, Omoni Oboli has won interesting awards. The most recent of the awards she has won is 2017 Best Supporting Actress award for her role in The Women.
The Fun Loving Omoni is a Loving Wife and Mother of Three
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One of the best things fans of the beautiful actress love is the fact that she seems to have achieved all-around success in both her personal and professional lives. Omoni Oboli is married to businessman and optometrist Nnamdi Oboli, her husband of well over two decades.
Unlike the scripts she brings to life, her love story with Nnamdi started while she was a student at Uniben. They dated for four long years and eventually got married in 2000 when she graduated from the university.
Together, they have three sons; their first son Tobe Oboli was born in 2001 and is currently finding his path as an actor; their second son Gozi Oboli followed two years later in 2003 and is currently doing great as a YouTuber and an influencer. Their third and last son Chizi Oboli was born in 2005 and is also a YouTuber and a dancer.
Her husband and kids basically follow her fun-loving style because you would often see the family partake in TikTok and Youtube videos. Some people have often wondered why she didn’t start the concept of having fun in Dubai with her family.
Omoni Oboli’s Idea of Fun and Downtime is Exploring Dubai
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Anyone who is a fan of Omoni Oboli is definitely familiar with her very close-knit friendship with fellow actresses Chioma Akpotha, Ufoma McDermott, and Uche Jombo. As a group, they started the tradition of vacationing and exploring the city of Dubai in 2018 hence the nickname Dubai Girls.
In recent years, they have made it even more fun every year by incorporating raffle draws that will allow other people to be a part of the trips. The success of these trips is often posted on their social media pages. Considering how successful Omoni is all around, you can definitely take her word for it when she says the best place to wind down is in Dubai.
