Erica Nlewedim is a Nigerian actress, model, and entrepreneur who parlayed reality television fame into an increasingly serious film career, becoming one of the more recognisable faces to cross over from Big Brother Naija into mainstream Nollywood.

Born Ngozi Ugomma Erica Nlewedim on March 13, 1994, in Umuahia, Abia State, she was raised in Lagos by her mother, Oby Nwokolo, after her parents separated. She graduated from Covenant University with a degree in Business Administration before travelling to London to study Acting for Film at the Met Film School in 2019, formalising a passion for performance she had already begun pursuing.

Nlewedim made her acting debut in 2015 with a lead role in Secrets and Scandals, following it with the film Poka Messiah and a supporting part in the TV series Royal Castle. Her filmography has since grown to include Once Upon a Night, Being Farouk, Fractured, Win or Lose, and the romantic comedy Hire a Woman, in which she starred alongside Alexx Ekubo, Nancy Isime, and Uzor Arukwe.

Her profile expanded significantly after appearing on Big Brother Naija’s fifth season in 2020, where her striking presence and eventual disqualification for breaking house rules made her one of the most talked-about housemates of that edition. Nicknamed Star Girl by fans, Nlewedim leveraged the platform to grow both her acting career and her business ventures, including her luxury hair brand, Beluxia Hair, where she serves as CEO.

Beyond entertainment, Nlewedim founded the Erica Nlewedim Foundation in 2018, using it to run community feeding initiatives, and has continued to build a modelling career with major Nigerian brands including Glo and Jumia, cementing her position as one of the industry’s most versatile young talents.