HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLARION CHUKWURAH!

Today is the birthday of a grande dame of Nigerian film , the beautiful, stylish, and talented Clarion Chukwurah. Clarion Chukwurah was born July 24, 1964 at the University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Lagos to Mr. John & Mrs. Christiana Chukwurah in Yaba, Lagos (Nigeria). She attended All Saints Primary School, Yaba, Lagos. She also attended Queen of the Rosary College, Onitsha (Nigeria). She went on to study acting and speech at the Department of Dramatic Arts at University of Ife, in Ile-Ife, south-western Nigeria.

She began acting as early as 1979. For a time, she was part of the University of Ibadan Performing Company (UPC). She left UPC in 1981, in order to further her studies. In 1982, she starred in the movie Owo L'agba (Money Power) for, which she won the award for Best Actress at the FESPACO film festival in 1984. She became a professional actor, and a household name, in 1894 with her role in the soap opera Mirror in the Sun, which was directed by Lola Fani-Kayode. In 1984. Over the course of her career, she has starred in numerous television productions, movies, and stage plays. When Nollywood emerged in the 90s, she joined the train, and she has featured in numerous Nollywood movies. Some of the movies, which she has starred in are High Blood Pressure, Emotional Risk, Silence of the Gods, My Sister, My Child, Ògìdán,  Egg of Life, and Glamour Girls.

It is almost impossible to fully capture the significance and importance of Clarion Chukwurah in the Nigerian film industry. She seems to have been on our screens almost all our life, and like old wine, she has kept improving with age. A forerunner, and groundbreaker for many of today's actresses, she is a consumate actress, and a living legend. Join us in wishing this remarkable lady a happy birthday.

Photo credit: www.clarionchukwurah.org