Popular Nollywood actress, Jennifer Eliogu, has opened up about falling out of favor with her father as a result of her decision to pursue an acting career against his wishes.
The thespian made this revelation in a recent interview with media personality, Chude Jideonwo.
In the interview, Jennifer shared that she grew up in a strict household and her father had intended for her to become a lawyer. However, she stumbled into acting during her diploma program in 1997 and found herself drawn to it.
Reflecting on her journey, Jennifer said,
“I didn’t come out to look for movies, I just stumbled into it [movie industry]. A friend of mine, Princess Babiana… My dad was very strict growing up. We hardly go out, so we had our playground in the house. He doesn’t like visitors. So, we only go out when he is out of town.
“He prefers we are friends with people he knows their parents so he knows that when you go there, you are comfortable. So, my dad and her dad were friends. And she came to visit and she was going for [movie] rehearsals. So, I was like, okay because it’s her and my dad was out of town, I could go. So I followed her.”
The actress revealed that it took a while for her father to come to terms with her career choice, and their relationship suffered as a result.
“He was difficult. He didn’t even want to hear it. I was already doing diploma in UniJos. My dad always wanted me to be a lawyer. He felt that I was going to be a very good lawyer. It caused a whole lot of problems and my mum was at the receiving end. He kept saying, ‘is this what you really want to do? If anything goes wrong, you will not forgive yourself.’ And I was like, ‘I’m sure, this is what I really want to do.”
“It took a long time, very long time. I stopped being his girl. And you know what, I stopped going to school. He was like I’m not going to pay your school fees.” She added.
