Early Life

Tolulope Adesua Etomi-Wellington was born on 22 February 1986 in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria, the youngest of three children. Her father, of Esan heritage from Edo State, served as a soldier, while her mother, of Yoruba descent, worked as an engineer. She attended Corona School in Victoria Island, Lagos, and Queen’s College, before moving to the United Kingdom at age 13. In 2004, she earned a diploma in physical theatre, musical theatre and performing arts from City College Coventry, and went on to graduate with first-class honours in Drama and Performance from the University of Wolverhampton in 2009.

Career

Adesua Etomi returned to Nigeria in 2012 to build a career in Nollywood, making her film debut in ‘Knocking On Heaven’s Door’ on 14 April 2014. Her breakout dramatic performance came in ‘Falling’ (2015), which won her Best Actress in a Drama at the 2016 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards. That same year, she starred alongside Bankole ‘Banky W’ Wellington in ‘The Wedding Party,’ one of the highest-grossing Nollywood films in history, a role that catapulted her to national stardom and led to a reprisal in ‘The Wedding Party 2: Destination Dubai’ (2017).

She has gone on to star in a wide range of acclaimed films, including ‘A Soldier’s Story,’ ‘Out of Luck,’ ‘The Arbitration,’ ‘King of Boys,’ ‘Sugar Rush’ and ‘Gangs of Lagos’ (2023), and expanded into television with roles as Shiela in the fourth and fifth seasons of ‘Shuga’ and as undercover officer Amaka Obiora in ‘LasGidi Cops.’ She also lent her voice to the character Queen Malika in the African animated film ‘Malika: Warrior Queen.’ In 2022, she stepped into music under the stage name Susu, releasing her debut single ‘So Natural,’ produced by Cobhams Asuquo.

Business and Recognition

In October 2023, Adesua Etomi co-founded the beauty brand Sanaa Beauty alongside fellow actress Jemima Osunde. She has received an honorary degree from the University of Wolverhampton in recognition of her contribution to the creative industry, and has been featured on Vogue’s list of global superstars.

Personal Life

Adesua Etomi became engaged to Banky W in February 2017, and the couple married across a traditional wedding, court wedding and white wedding ceremony in November 2017. They welcomed their first son, Hazaiah, in January 2021, and announced the birth of their second child in 2024.

With a career spanning film, television, music and entrepreneurship, Adesua Etomi-Wellington remains one of Nollywood’s most celebrated and consistently in-demand leading actresses.