Profile
In-depth profiles of the entertainers, entrepreneurs, creatives and personalities making headlines — who they are and how they got here.
Celebrity Buzz He started trading with a loan from his uncle. Aliko Dangote became Africa’s richest man
Aliko Dangote, born in Kano in 1957, began trading commodities with a loan from his uncle in the late 1970s. He built the Dangote Group into Africa's largest cement producer and a giant in sugar and salt, then built a huge oil refinery in Lagos. He has long ranked as Africa's richest person.
Movies & TV From talk show host to Netflix deals: Mo Abudu and the EbonyLife empire
Mo Abudu left a career in human resources to host the talk show Moments with Mo, then founded EbonyLife, a Nigerian media company behind films such as The Wedding Party and Chief Daddy. EbonyLife later signed deals with Netflix and other global companies, including the series Blood Sisters.
Celebrity Buzz Same father, different flags: when the Boateng brothers faced each other at the World Cup
Half-brothers Jérôme and Kevin-Prince Boateng, sons of a Ghanaian father, grew up in Berlin. Jérôme played for Germany and Kevin-Prince chose Ghana. On 23 June 2010, in Johannesburg, they became the first brothers to play against each other at a World Cup, and met again in 2014.
Celebrity Buzz From Brazzaville to an NBA ring, two Olympic medals for Spain and a cooking show: Serge Ibaka
Serge Ibaka was born in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, in 1989. He became a shot-blocking star in the NBA, won Olympic medals with Spain in 2012 and 2016, and was an NBA champion with the Toronto Raptors in 2019. Fans also know him for his YouTube show How Hungry Are You?
Movies & TV Born in Port Harcourt, raised in Alaska: Chinonye Chukwu, the first Black woman to win Sundance’s top prize
Nigerian-born filmmaker Chinonye Chukwu won the US Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2019 for Clemency, starring Alfre Woodard as a prison warden. She was the first Black woman to win it. She later directed Till, about Emmett Till's mother.
Celebrity Buzz 2:00:35 in Chicago, dead four months later at 24: Kelvin Kiptum’s marathon world record
Kenyan runner Kelvin Kiptum set the men's marathon world record of 2:00:35 at the Chicago Marathon on 8 October 2023, in only his third marathon. On 11 February 2024, he and his coach Gervais Hakizimana were killed in a car crash in Kenya. He was 24.
Celebrity Buzz He sold water in traffic in Lagos. Victor Osimhen became Serie A’s top scorer and Africa’s best player
Victor Osimhen grew up in Olusosun, Lagos, selling water to drivers in traffic. He was top scorer at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, which Nigeria won. In 2022-23 he scored 26 Serie A goals as Napoli won their first title since 1990, and he was named African Footballer of the Year for 2023.
Celebrity Buzz The first hat-trick in a Europa League final: Ademola Lookman’s night in Dublin and his road to African Footballer of the Year
On 22 May 2024 in Dublin, Ademola Lookman scored a hat-trick as Atalanta beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the Europa League final, the first hat-trick in the competition's final. The London-born Nigeria forward was named CAF African Footballer of the Year for 2024.
Celebrity Buzz He missed the penalty that lost England a final at 19. Bukayo Saka, the Ealing boy with Nigerian parents, kept going
Bukayo Saka, born in Ealing in 2001 to Nigerian parents, came through Arsenal's Hale End academy. At 19, he missed the decisive penalty in the Euro 2020 final shoot-out and faced racist abuse. Three years later, he scored in England's Euro 2024 shoot-out win over Switzerland.
Entertainment Africanfuturism, a Hugo and a Nebula: Nnedi Okorafor, the Nigerian-American writer behind Binti
Nnedi Okorafor, born in the United States to Nigerian parents, writes science fiction and fantasy rooted in African cultures. Her novella Binti won both the Hugo and Nebula awards. She coined the term Africanfuturism to describe her work.