Yvonne Jegede is a versatile Nigerian actress, producer, and model, who has gained widespread recognition for her roles in films and music videos. Her appearance in 2Face’s iconic music video, ‘African Queen’ as a budding actress further elevated her career, which began in 2004 with a role in ‘Missing Angels.’ The Edo-born star holds a degree in International Relations from the University of Cyprus and has featured in several hit films. She opens up on all in this interview with The Nation’s Entertainment Editor, GBENGA BADA.
Beyond the African Queen video that a lot of us, a lot of people know, how did acting come by for you?
My career started with my late uncle, Ignis Ekwe. He would take me on set. Slowly, I think I worked as his PA for a very short period, so I’d go on set with him and see what was happening. I think I was about 19 or 20, or thereabouts. But I didn’t get to act; I was just on set. One fateful day, I had seen a movie before that day, this day I’m talking about. I saw a Nollywood movie, and my cousin was emphasising, “You don’t know this actor?” I’m like, “No.” And she said, “This guy is very popular, this and that.” I’m like, “I don’t know him.” And the very next day, on Babs Animashaun, Surulere, Lagos, I called out this man who was old enough to have me as his child by his first name. I was a timid, smallish person. His name was Charles Novia. I screamed, “Charles Novia!” across the road, and he turned around and was like, “The guts, you rat!” That was the expression on his face. And then he said I should come, and I crossed, and he said, “Where do you know me from?” I was like,” I saw your movie just yesterday,” and he was like, “Oh, good.” And he said, “Do you want to act?” I said, “I want to act,” of course. I wasn’t even sure what I was saying, but “yes” was just the best answer to give at the time. So he gave me his card, and that was the beginning of my career.
I did a few “waka pass” until he now had a job that was appropriate for me, which was ‘Missing Angel’ with Desmond Elliot, Stella Damasus, and a few others. I think Norbert Young was in the movie as well. So that was how I started. And then, because I had known him before ‘Missing Angel’, a few directors had seen me around him.
I was on the set of ‘Missing Angel’ when I got a call to come be one of the vixens in ‘African Queen’. That was how I found myself here 20-something years later. I’m still here.
Was appearing in a music video deliberate, and did you choose to let that part go, or was it just a one-time thing?
It wasn’t even supposed to happen because, first of all, to even be an actress at that time, there was a stigma to being an actress. So it was a lot of work trying to convince my parents and my family that it was what I wanted to do. So calling me and telling me to come and dance was like, “You want to kill me?”
When the director of the ‘African Queen’ music video first called, I bluntly just said, “No, I’m not interested.” And then later that day, because I was supposed to film the next morning at about 9 a.m., he said, “Let me know if you change your mind.”
2Face had just broken out of the Plantashun Boiz, and I hadn’t heard any of his solo songs, so I didn’t know what ‘African Queen’ was. A friend of mine and I were speaking later that evening, and it just popped into my head. I was like, “Michael, somebody said I should come and do a vixen,” and I just said “African Queen.” The guy just started screaming, “I love that song! Go and do it!” I was like, “Hey, is it that nice?” So I called the director that very night. He told me what to do, how to get my hair prepped for the shoot, and I got the address and I went. And lo and behold, I saw that legend, 2Face, for the first time. I’m like, “Oh, so this is real.” But no, I didn’t want to be a diva; I just wanted to act. I just kept telling everyone I just wanted to act.
But doing “Ego” for Djinee at the time was more like doing something for my friend who was the director of “Ego.” He was also shooting music videos for Styl Plus at the time. I was supposed to be in the video for ‘Olufunmi’, but I was late. Yes, I was stuck in traffic, so I missed that one. That would have been part of my CV, but I missed that. But, after those two, I just didn’t want to do anything dancing; I just wanted to act.
You had the double-edged approach to entertainment, and you could have chosen any one of them, yet you chose acting. Has it been fulfilling so far?
It has been fulfilling, I’m not going to lie. It has been. I’m very introverted. I like my solitude; I like my space, and that’s why you hardly see me in certain places. I will be in my house thinking.
You’re one of those underrated stars because I expect that I’ll see you in a lot more productions than I usually do. Does being introverted apply to the kind of roles you take?
No, but it applies to the kind of people who remember me to be in their films, because I might not be in your face. So when you’re casting, you might not remember me until you’re already on set. I get that a lot. And somebody will call me, “There’s a role you should have killed, you didn’t come to my mind.” I’m like, “It’s okay, another one will come.” So I get that a lot from producers and especially directors, but my career so far has been fulfilling, to be honest. I have blossomed, I have learned, I have seen ‘shege’, ‘shege’ has seen me.
Tell us some of the ‘shege’
Well, being in the public eye is not easy. It’s like being in a pot of hot beans. Everything that you do is scrutinised, and it’s not easy. Things that even people who come on social media to curse you out have done, they will still curse you for.
I like a very quiet and private life. The other day, it was just a hug I gave someone, and it was a big deal; they dragged me across social media. So I’d rather not have that kind of attention, to be honest. I’m not a fan of this kind of attention, but the career in general has been fulfilling. I’ve had people love me from afar, people who don’t know me, who are ready to do things for me, and it’s been able to put me in a place where I can express humanity, I can express myself, I can express my heart, who I am, what I believe in. So it’s been a beautiful journey, I’m going to say with my whole chest.
Can you trade stardom for solitude?
I wouldn’t. Stardom comes with some very, very nice, sweet perks.
You have a body that’s so beautiful, and now a lot of people talk about it.
The only thing I see my body as is a tool to express art, I don’t see it beyond that. Recently, a friend was talking about me having done BBL, and I said, “I didn’t do it.” I called and said, “I’ve been under the knife.” Yes, I’ve done liposuction, but I’ve never transferred fat. I was the one who came out to say that I went under the knife, because after my son, I was snatched almost immediately. And it’s not realistic to say it was a gym, so I just owned up and I said, “I went under the knife.” And I didn’t specify what I did. But people dragged me and said, “You went to do your bum, your BBL failed.” My mom used to have issues with comments like that because she has a sister who works in the market in Yaba, and she goes around and she hears this thing. So she’s always asked me, and I said to her, “Mommy, do you remember me coming out of the theatre and I could not sit for a whole month?” And that was when my mom realised that these people are crazy, and she was like, “No.” And I asked my best friend the same thing. I said, “Did you see me come in, and I’m lying on my tummy?” Because the accusers were so sure that I did it. I was the one who told them I went under the knife. I didn’t tell you I put fat on my bum. But you know how people can be. I had to say that to the people who matter. To be honest, I don’t care what anybody says, but my mom and my best friend and whoever cares to love me enough to come to my face and ask me politely and nicely, like a human being, I’ll explain to you. So, I don’t really care.
As an actor, I don’t fancy being on the big side, having a big ass. There are some roles that you might not be able to play; there are some castings that you might miss just because of your body type. So, I’d rather be a fit police officer. I’d rather be a woman who can be picked up in a very good, nice rom-com. I’d rather be the woman who looks nice in an outfit. You come out and you’re feeling sexy; you’re feeling the character that you’re playing and not having a big trunk of junk that’s getting in the way. You can’t run. I’m speaking for myself, when I feel heavy, I can’t move; I can’t do anything. So, I try to be as slim as I can be for the sake of my job, because I see my body as a tool.
Back in the day, an actor’s job ended once you got off set. But these days, we see actors having to dance to sell films. Some producers say that they pay actors extra so that they can be in the film entirely. You said earlier that you like solitude, and you are a private person. How does that play into the actor that you have to be to survive in this industry? How do you balance it?
If you cannot beat them, you join them. Hunger dey town, and if you’re not making daily pay, you go suffer. So right now, with the way the economy is, you need a daily income, and that’s what Facebook and YouTube have been able to do for people who are in the art business. You make your daily $20, $50, $100, $1,000, whatever it is, it all adds up. And at the end of the month, you’re able to feed your family, which is the aim of being an adult in the first place. My solitude is in my pockets. It’s only me and my house, and my mirror that knows I don’t like to go out.
I just did my first YouTube film. I’ve been doing skits because I’m very lazy when it comes to competition. I like to compete with myself. I’m not bothered by what you do. So when people were doing the movies and making cash on YouTube, I just stuck with my skit, 10 minutes, five minutes on my YouTube and Facebook. But my friends, close friends, were in Nollywood. I only have one friend in Nollywood, Mercy Johnson, who has encouraged me to shoot. We are both releasing our movies, and that’s my first. The title of my movie is ‘Chef of My Heart’, and Mercy’s is called ‘The Firstborn’. I’m also in it. I’m having a big day tomorrow because ‘Cordelia’ is coming the day after, so it’s a week
How important do you think a management company is in the life of an actor?
Management companies are very vital because, as an artist, you can’t see certain things. Your manager can have his foot in the door for you. Some conversations go around casting directors that they will not come in front of an actor to say, and there are some gist, some tea that will just pass by, and your manager can get a hold of it before you. Most of the auditions and most of the big cinema jobs I’ve gotten came through my manager.
