Early Life
Funlola Aofiyebi-Raimi, also known as FAR, is the youngest of seven siblings. She was born to a businesswoman and an entrepreneur. She began acting at a young age, performing on stage and television, mentored by her aunt, veteran actress Teni Aofiyebi. After her marriage, she adopted the acronym FAR, which became her professional identity. She is married to Olayinka Raimi, an advertising executive. Following the loss of her brother, she took a break from social media before eventually returning.
Career
FAR studied acting at Westminster College and the Actors Studio in Buckinghamshire, and also earned a BSc in Sociology from the University of Lagos. She made her film debut in Violated, directed by Amaka Igwe, starring alongside Joke Silva, Richard Mofe Damijo, Ego Boyo, and Kunle Bamtefa. Her performance earned her a nomination for Best Upcoming Actress at the THEMA Awards in 1996.
She gained wider recognition when she played the lead in Keeping Faith, directed by Steve Gukas. Her role in Kunle Afolayan’s The Figurine earned her another award nomination, this time for Best Supporting Actress at the AMAA Awards.
FAR became a household name with her long-running role as Brenda Mensah in the M-Net daily soap opera Tinsel, a role she played for over ten seasons. Her work on Tinsel earned her a nomination for Best Actress in a TV Show at the 2010 Nigerian Entertainment Awards in New York. Before that, she featured in various television dramas including Doctors Quarters, Solitaire, and Palace.
She has also acted on stage in productions such as Sing That Old Song For Me, The Mansion by Rasheed Badamusi, and The Vagina Monologues.
Beyond film and television, FAR hosted her own radio show, Touch of Spice, for 14 years beginning in August 1999. She celebrated the 10th anniversary of the show in 2009 with a special event for her fans, including a free train ride and movie screening.
In 2019 and 2020, FAR joined the cast of MTV Shuga, portraying Mrs. Olutu. She reprised the role in MTV Shuga Alone Together, a mini-series that addressed the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic through online conversations between characters. The project involved actors from across Africa and was filmed entirely by the actors themselves.
FAR regularly attends international film festivals and serves as a goodwill ambassador for the Black Star International Film Festival in Ghana and the Real Time Film Festival in Nigeria.
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