Today we’d like to introduce you to Stella Damasus.
Hi Stella, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi, I’m Stella Damasus, a Nigerian-born entertainer based in the United States of America. My story started almost three decades ago in Lagos, Nigeria. I started acting in Nollywood, the Nigerian movie industry (the world’s second-largest film production industry), at 16 and became a household name at 18. I have been nominated for and won several awards in Nigeria and the US, and according to several publications, I’m considered one of the top 3 Nollywood actresses of all time. I moved to the United States in 2013 to give my daughters a different environment to grow and see what it takes to become an International actor. Aside from acting, I am also a singer, acting coach, speaker, producer, and author of Màmá, It’s A Girl, a fiction novel about a feisty, determined and resilient young African girl whose determination not to be a statistic leads to a series of life-altering events that causes her to grow into the woman who would change the course of history for the village of KAMINWANAGA. I have been a strong voice for women’s education, fighting against underage marriages and injustice against women and young girls. I am the founder of ADIVA Networks, Stella Damasus Arts Foundation, An Actor’s Playhouse, and the Publisher/Editor-In-Chief of ADIVA Magazine.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My road has been far from smooth, from my family being against my decision to become an Actor in Nigeria and not speaking to me for three years to my husband passing away when I was 26, leaving me with two children to provide for – this was especially hard because I was already a well-known actor, so the headlines weren’t very kind to me because I had to return to work not too long after my husband’s death so that I can keep my kids in school and fed. Being a single mother in Nigeria at the time was as good as being diagnosed with a contagious terminal disease. The number of times I heard ‘You would never find a man to marry again’, ‘No single man would want to be with a mother of 2’ … This led me to make drastic decisions such as marrying someone I had no business being married to (we were better as friends) and getting divorced within eight months. After that, I remarried again; it was a massive scandal in the media, I thought it was the end of the road for me, but ten years later, I was divorced again. All of this is just about my personal life because, career-wise, it’s been a rollercoaster trying to make it into ‘Hollywood’. I have been told I do not look African enough because of my skin tone. I’ve been told I don’t sound African enough or American enough. I am not the right size, and so much more! So yeah, you can say it’s been a rocky road, but one thing about me, I’m resilient. I will always rise.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m an Actor, Singer, Acting coach, Speaker, Producer and Author of Màmá, It’s A Girl. I am also the CEO of ADIVA Networks, a media, publishing and consulting company, and the Editor-In-Chief/Publisher of ADIVA Magazine, a women’s lifestyle and social justice magazine. I have a non-profit called Stella Damasus Arts Foundation, founded in 2011. Since its inception, our vision has grown beyond the support and development of the arts and now includes helping women and young girls, supporting education, health, and basic human rights. I also train actors through a training program called An Actor’s Playhouse, and I have an online store called Geli Collection, where I sell the most unique and trendy accessories curated by me.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Yes, I have many books, but ‘Think like a Monk by Jay Shetty’ and ‘Acting in Film by Michael Caine’ are top on my list. For apps, it’s ‘Youversion’ and ‘Coursera’; and Podcasts are ‘On Purpose with Jay Shetty’ and ‘The Mind Valley show with Vishen.’
Contact Info:
- Website: www.stelladamasus.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stelladamasus/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StellaDamasusOfficial
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stelladamasus
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/stelladamasus
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@stelladamasus
- Other: https://www.sdartsfoundation.com/
