Early Life

Valerie Okeke is a Nigerian actress, screenwriter and costume designer. She studied acting and screenwriting at the Royal Arts Academy, one of Nollywood’s respected training grounds for emerging talent, where she began her creative journey performing in college stage plays before moving into professional film work.

Career

Valerie Okeke has built a multi-hyphenate career across acting, screenwriting and costume design, a rare combination that has allowed her to shape Nollywood productions from both in front of and behind the camera. Her costume design work reached its most prominent moment at the 12th Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, held on 9 May 2026, where she won Best Costume Design for her work on ‘Colours of Fire,’ the Nollywood epic directed by Niyi Akinmolayan and starring Uzor Arukwe and Osas Ighodaro.

Her costume work on the film was widely praised for its bold, intentional design, bringing warrior culture, forbidden love and betrayal to life through visuals that enhanced the film’s storytelling, according to AMVCA coverage of the ceremony. The win marked the first award of the evening at the 2026 AMVCA, a ceremony that also saw major wins for Uzor Arukwe, Linda Ejiofor and Bucci Franklin.

Personal Life

Valerie Okeke has kept most details of her personal life private, with her public profile centred almost entirely on her creative and craft-based contributions to Nollywood productions.

With an AMVCA win recognising her costume design work on one of 2026’s most talked-about Nollywood epics, Valerie Okeke stands out as one of the industry’s respected creative forces working behind the scenes as well as on screen.