Okawa Shaznay Biography
Okawa Shaznay is a Cameroonian Nollywood Actress and a model who became the first from her country to break into the Nigerian Movie Industry with her role in the blockbuster film Iyore, alongside Rita Dominic and Joseph Benjamin.
Okawa Shaznay rose to prominence after starring in the 2016 hit TV series Delilah: The Mysterious Case of Delilah Ambrose. In 2016, she received the Exquisite Lady of the Year (ELOY) award for TV Actress of the Year for her role in Delilah.
Wiki Profile
| Real Name: | Okawa Shaznay |
| Age | May 05, 1986 |
| Place of Birth: | Bamenda, Northwest Region, Cameroon |
| Nationality: | Cameroonian |
| Marital Status: | Married (Wife: Juliet Okonkwo) |
| Occupation: | Actress, Model |
| Net Worth | $5 million |
Early Life, Childhood and Education
Shaznay grew up in Cameroon. She became interested in the performing arts at a young age, participating in stage plays and small film projects in her home country. With the massive influx of Nigerian films into Cameroon at the time and continuing to this day, she was introduced to the world of Nollywood in the 1990s, which she grew to love and admire.
Okawa was strongly influenced to pursue an acting career in Nollywood at the time after watching classic Nigerian soaps like After the Storm and When the Sun Sets, as well as movies like Glamour Girls, Scores to Settle, and Living in Bondage.
Okawa attended the Presbyterian Secondary School Mankon in Cameroon’s North West region for secondary and high school. She later moved to the United States in 2005 for higher education, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Texas Southern University in 2009.
Career
Okawa starred in her first film, Master DJ, which was produced in Cameroon by Sarabi Pictures in 2004 before moving to the United States. While in Houston, she joined the All Africa Theater Company, with whom she spent two summers on the road performing an adaptation of Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart.”
She then went on to work on over ten African films in the United States, alongside some of Nollywood’s biggest stars. In 2010, she became well-known in the African film industry in the United States, and she was named one of the top 50 Cameroonians to watch in 2010 by the UK blog Dulce Camer.
Shaznay later returned to Africa, where she starred in her first major motion picture, Cheaters, directed by the legendary Frank Rajah Arase. In 2014, she starred in her first Nigerian film, the hit blockbuster “Iyore,” which was released in theaters in 2015. She co-starred with Nollywood superstar Rita Dominic and Joseph Benjamin.
Okawa, one of the few Cameroonian fast rising acts in African cinema today, also played a leading role in the 2016 TV series “Delilah.”
The list of movies she has featured is as shown below:
- Cheaters 1& 2
- Sisters At War 1 & 2
- Cheaters Vacation
- The Prince of Barmah
- Scars
- Iyore
- Refugees
- Delilah: The Mysterious Case of Delilah Ambrose (TV series)-Season 1, 2 & 3
- Crossed Path
- Perfect Strangers
- Soul Tie
- Wounded
- Snatched
- Behind the Face
- The Gamble
- Save My Heart
- Unbroken Cord
- Love & Lies
- Customer Service
- My Chances
- In My Country
- Lekki On Arrival
- Concession
- Grow Up or Nuts (Web series).
- Almost Had You
Awards
So far, the Cameroonian actress has been nominated for about six (6) awards and she has won the following:
| Year | Event | Award | Work |
| 2016 | Exquisite Lady of the Year (ELOY) Awards | TV Actress of the year | Delilah: The Mysterious Case of Delilah Ambrose |
| 2017 | Nollywood and African Film Critics’ Awards | Best Actress in a series | Delilah: The Mysterious Case of Delilah Ambrose |
Personal Life
The lovely actress resides in Lagos, Nigeria. She is not married at the moment.
Social Media
Instagram: @okawashaznay
Twitter: OkawaShaznay
