Stella Damasus Biography: Husband, Children, Age, Tribe, Net Worth, Movies, State of Origin

Biography

Stella Damasus (born April 24, 1978) is a Nigerian actress, singer, media entrepreneur, and humanitarian widely regarded as one of Nollywood’s most enduring leading ladies.

She was born in Benin City, Edo State, in the South-South region of Nigeria, where she grew up alongside four sisters and completed most of her early education.

She later moved to Lagos, where she graduated with a degree in Theatre Arts from the University of Lagos and began her professional journey as a studio session vocalist at Klink Studios, recording jingles for radio and television commercials.

Her acting debut came in 1992 with the film Abused, but her true breakthrough arrived with her role in Breaking Point, produced by Emem Isong and directed by Francis Agu, which propelled her to national fame. Over the years, she starred in more than 70 films, earning multiple award nominations at the Africa Movie Academy Awards for her performances in Behind Closed Doors, Widow, and State of the Heart.

She won Best Actress at the Nigeria Entertainment Awards in 2007 and claimed the same honour at the Golden Icons Academy Awards in Houston, Texas, in 2012 for the film Two Brides and a Baby.

Beyond acting, Stella is the CEO of Adiva Networks, a media company under which she launched Adiva Magazine, and she is also the founder of the Stella Damasus Arts Foundation, An Actor’s Playhouse, and Soldier in Red Lipstick. She co-founded i2Radio and hosts two podcast shows, Undiluted with Stella Damasus and When Women Praise.

A committed philanthropist, she has served as an ambassador for Women4Africa and the NDLEA, and has partnered with the World Food Programme on humanitarian efforts in Liberia. Today, she is based in the United States and is considered one of the most celebrated film actresses in Africa.

Nigerian actress and singer
Stella Damasus
Wiki Facts & About Data
Real Name:	Stella Damasus-Aboderin
Stage Name:	Stella Damasus
Born:	24 April 1978 (age 47 years old)
Place of Birth:	Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria
State Of Origin:	Delta State
Nationality:	Nigerian
Education:	University of Lagos
Height:	1.71 m
Parents:	SKC Damasus
Siblings:	5
Spouse:	Daniel Ademinokan (m. 2014–2020), Jaiye Aboderin (m. 1999-2004), Emeka Nzeribe (m. 2007-2008)
Boyfriend • Partner:	Not Dating
Children:	Angelica Aboderin, Isabel Aboderin
Occupation:	Actress • Singer • Media Entrepreneur • Humanitarian
Net Worth:	$900,000 (USD)

Early Life & Education

Stella Damasus was born on April 24, 1978, in Benin City, Edo State, in the South-South region of Nigeria. She is 47 years old.

Though born in Benin City, her family roots lie in Asaba, Delta State, where her parents are originally from. The family name was originally Ojukwu, but it was changed to Damasus during the Nigerian Civil War to avoid any association with relatives of the warlord, as her grandfather’s first name.

Stella Damasus is of Igbo descent, tracing her lineage to Asaba in Delta State. She is a devoted Christian, and faith has remained a central pillar of her life and public identity. Faith plays a central role in Stella’s life, as reflected in her podcast work, music, and advocacy over the years. She has spoken openly about how her belief system guided her through personal tragedy and professional reinvention.

Her father is Chief SKC Damasus, a former soldier who later became a banker. Chief Damasus passed away in January 2010, a loss Stella continues to remember fondly, often honouring his memory as the man who taught her resilience, structure, and loyalty.

Her mother, whose name she has chosen to keep private, was also a banker and played a pivotal role in shaping Stella’s character. She was described by her daughter as intelligent, elegant, God-fearing, and fiercely principled.

Damasus revealed that she had a profound relationship with her mother, with whom she shared pet names and could confide in more easily than her friends or siblings. Her mother passed away in January 2022, a decade after her husband, and Stella publicly mourned her, calling her the strongest woman she ever knew.

Stella is the fourth of six children, five girls and one boy. Heartbreak visited the family early when her only brother died of an asthma attack in 1991, a tragedy that left a lasting impression on her and brought the surviving siblings even closer together.

Stella had her primary education in Edo State, then her secondary school education in Asaba, Delta State, after her parents relocated. It was during her time in Asaba that she began developing her artistic sensibilities, particularly in music.

After completing secondary school, she moved to Lagos to pursue higher studies. She joined one of her elder sisters in Lagos and attended Klink Studio to sharpen her singing skills. For her university education, she graduated with a degree in Theatre Arts from the University of Lagos. She also holds a diploma in business and industrial law from UNILAG, a course she pursued at her mother’s request, as her mother wanted her to have a professional qualification alongside her artistic training.

Career

Stella Damasus launched her professional career not on a film set but in a recording booth. She began her professional career in the early 1990s as a studio session singer at Klink Studios in Lagos, providing jingles and voiceovers for radio and television commercials. Her remarkable vocal range and emotional delivery made her a sought-after voice talent long before she became a household name in Nollywood. She was also a member of a few bands during this period, including Synergy.

Her first appearance on screen was in the 1992 Nigerian film Abused. Her claim to fame, however, was her second movie, Breaking Point, produced by Emem Isong and directed by Francis Agu, where she shot into superstardom across Nigeria. The role announced her as a serious dramatic force in Nollywood, and she built on that momentum through a string of commercially and critically successful films across the late 1990s and into the 2000s.

She shared screen time with some of Nollywood’s biggest male stars, including Richard Mofe-Damijo, Ramsey Nouah, and Desmond Elliot, cementing her standing as one of the industry’s most bankable leading ladies. She has since starred in over 90 Nollywood productions.

Award recognition came steadily as her body of work deepened. She received an Africa Movie Academy Award nomination in 2006 for her performance in Behind Closed Doors, and the Academy nominated her again in 2008 for Widow and in 2009 for State of the Heart. She won Best Actress at the Nigeria Entertainment Awards in 2007, and in 2012, she won the Best Actress award at the Golden Icons Academy Movie Awards for her role in Two Brides and a Baby, an achievement that celebrated her contributions to African cinema at an international level.

Her recognition has continued into more recent years, with a 2020 nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the AMAA for Between, and a win for Best Actress in a Feature for Water Girl at the British Urban Film Festival Awards in October 2025.

Alongside her acting work, Stella pursued a parallel career in music with equal commitment. One of her more notable musical releases is the album The Alternative, released in April 2016. Her musical output has always been rooted in gospel and faith-based themes, reflecting her personal convictions, and she has used music as an extension of her advocacy and spiritual expression.

Her entrepreneurial ambitions grew alongside her on-screen profile. She co-founded Index Two Studios, a production company for the motion picture industry, which has also conducted several free filmmaking training programmes.

Stella Damasus founded ADIVA Networks in Lagos in 2012 and later incorporated it in the United States in 2019. Under Adiva Networks, she launched Adiva Magazine, a quarterly publication, and also founded An Actor’s Playhouse and Soldier in Red Lipstick. She expanded into digital media as a co-founder of i2Radio, through which she hosts the podcasts Undiluted with Stella Damasus and When Women Praise, engaging and inspiring global audiences.

Beyond entertainment and business, Stella has built a substantial profile as a humanitarian and public speaker. She has worked with Globally Igniting Africa, Project Alert on domestic violence, Women4Africa, and the World Food Programme, and has served as an ambassador for the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency.

Her advocacy on issues of child marriage, domestic violence, and women’s rights brought her to international platforms, including an appearance on Al Jazeera and an invitation to address the World Bank.

Social Media

• Wikipedia: Stella Damasus
• Instagram: Stella Damasus (@stelladamasus)
• IMDb: Stella Damasus
• Facebook: Stella Damasus (@StellaDamasusOfficial)
• LinkedIn: Stella Damasus
• YouTube: Stella Damasus TV

Personal Life

Stella Damasus was born on April 24, 1978, and is 47 years old. She stands at 5 feet 7½ inches (1.71 metres) tall, a height that complements the commanding screen presence she has carried throughout her career in Nollywood.

She has been married three times. Her first and, by her own account, most treasured union was with Jaiye Aboderin, whom she met at Jazzville in Onike, Yaba, Lagos.

Jaiye was the son of Punch newspaper publisher Chief Olu Aboderin and a singer in the band Synergy, who also owned an equipment-leasing company at the time they met. Damasus married Jaiye in 1999 when she was 21, and the couple had two daughters together before Jaiye died suddenly in 2004.

He slumped and died after a basketball game with his friends, and was rushed to the hospital, but could not be saved. He died of a heart attack at the young age of 33. Stella has spoken openly about how profoundly the loss shaped her, describing Jaiye as one of the best human beings she ever knew, a man who taught her love, respect, and the meaning of family. In December 2024, marking twenty years since his passing, she took to social media to pay an emotional tribute to him, stating that he is “forever in our hearts.”

Damasus remarried in 2007, this time to Emeka Nzeribe. The marriage lasted seven months before they mutually agreed to divorce. She did not have children with Nzeribe.

Her third relationship, with Nollywood producer and director Daniel Ademinokan, became one of the most controversial in Nigerian entertainment. Daniel Ademinokan‘s first marriage had been to actress Doris Simeon in 2008, and they had a son together before divorcing in 2011.

Stella started dating Ademinokan in 2011, and their relationship caused considerable public controversy since neither officially acknowledged dating, an engagement, or even a marriage until 2014. The secrecy around their relationship, combined with the circumstances of Ademinokan‘s departure from his first marriage, fuelled persistent media scrutiny.

Their union eventually ran its course, and the relationship ended in separation in 2020, followed by a subsequent divorce. Following their split, Stella advised women publicly to pay close attention to red flags and avoid rushing into marriage. Ademinokan has since moved on, marrying movie director Tope Oshin in Houston, Texas, in July 2023.

Stella‘s two daughters, Angelica Aboderin and Isabel Aboderin, were both born from her first marriage to Jaiye Aboderin. She has no children from her second or third marriages.

She has been fiercely protective of her daughters throughout their lives, deliberately keeping them away from the spotlight until they were mature enough to handle public attention. Both daughters carry the Aboderin surname. Stella Damasus is currently unmarried.

Net Worth

Stella Damasus has built her wealth across more than three decades of work in acting, music, media entrepreneurship, and brand building.

She is widely regarded as one of the most successful and richest movie stars in Nigeria, with an estimated net worth of $900,000. Her earnings draw from a diverse range of income streams. These include her extensive filmography spanning over 90 Nollywood productions, music releases, and public speaking engagements across the United States.

In addition, through her media company, ADIVA Networks, she runs ADIVA Magazine, hosts podcast shows, and manages various digital content platforms. She has also generated income through brand endorsements, her acting-coaching platform, An Actor’s Playhouse, as well as her co-ownership of Index Two Studios.

Beyond her personal earnings, a significant financial development emerged in 2024. Reports surfaced that a trust fund named Estate of Jaiye Aboderin, opened by the Aboderin family after the death of her first husband, had accumulated to the tune of N3.5 billion, and that Stella, who had temporarily relocated to Nigeria with her two adult daughters, had gained access to the funds on behalf of her daughters.

The trust fund, held in a merchant bank for over two decades, had grown substantially through accumulated interest. While the money legally belongs to her daughters, Angelica and Isabel Aboderin, the development significantly improved the Damasus household’s financial standing and drew widespread attention across Nigeria.

Taken together, Stella Damasus‘s financial profile reflects both a career built on consistent professional output and the enduring legacy of a family that invested in the futures of the children she and Jaiye Aboderin left behind.

Filmography

Films

• Abused (1992)
• Breaking Point
• Affairs of the Heart
• The Intruder
• Emotional Pain
• Dangerous Desire
• Bad Boys
• The Messenger
• After the Fight
• Missing Angel
• King’s Pride
• Engagement Night
• Above Love
• Burning Desire
• Cinderella
• Dangerous Twins (2004)
• Dangerous Twins 3 (2004)
• Real Love (2006)
• Behind Closed Doors (2005)
• Games Women Play
• The Widow (2005)
• Bent Arrows
• Wheel of Change
• State of the Heart
• Yankee Girls
• Two Brides and a Baby (2012)
• Between (2018)
• Gone
• Akwuna
• The Touch (2021)
• Broken (2021)
• Affairs of the Heart
• Water Girl (2024, debut as director)

Web Series / TV

• Mix Match (web series, 2013)
• Celebrity Takes 2 (Season 2, multiple episodes)
• S2S Africa (2018)

Podcasts / Radio Shows

• Undiluted with Stella Damasus (i2Radio)
• When Women Praise (i2Radio)
• Excuse My African (i2Radio)
• Daily Dose (i2Radio)
• Ask Stella (YouTube series)
• Stella Damasus Diaries (YouTube series)

Music

• The Alternative (album, 2016)
• Various gospel singles and studio session recordings

Books

• Màmá, It’s A Girl

What People Ask