Full Name: James Ikechukwu Okolue.
Stage Name: Jim Iyke
Date of Birth: 25 September 1976.
Place of Birth: Libreville, Gabon.
Ethnicity: Igbo.
Nationality: Nigerian
Occupation: Actor, singer-songwriter.
Twitter: @Jimiykeofficial
Instagram: @jim.iyke
Jim Iyke is Nigerian Actor, Film & Music Producer, Model, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist. He was born in Libreville, Gabon to Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Esomugha who hailed from Enugu Agidi village of Anambra State and the only son with six sisters as siblings. His education began in Gabon where he attended primary school before relocating to Nigeria to complete his secondary school education at federal government college, Kwali, Abuja. Jim (or Iyke) then proceeded to the University of Jos where he studied Psychology and received a diploma in Banking and Finance.
Upon graduation, Iyke relocated to Lagos where he began his career as Product Model. His zeal and determination to succeed led him to make a foray into the then rapidly burgeoning Nigerian movie industry, popularly called Nollywood. His entrance into Nollywood was the beginning of a journey of winning and capturing the hearts of movie followers across Africa and beyond. The rise of Nollywood eventually saw Jim become a fans’ favorite especially in various notorious character roles which he was able to effortlessly interpret and make his own, earning him the tag of “Nollywood Bad Boy”.
He has since acted in over One hundred and fifty films to date and he recently created a film production outfit “Untamed Productions” and produced two films with internationally renowned actresses Judy Shekoni and Tangerine Martins in London; Recently he also produced “2 Dollaz,” a sequel to the most commercially successful Nollywood Comic Flick “1 Dollar” to date. He was a producer/executive producer of the movie “Shades of white”, which is yet to be released, but it is gaining critical acclaim recognition.
His contribution to the growth of the film industry has been rewarded with various awards; three times winner Teenage Choice award, Best Actor Nigerian Entertainment award, African Hollywood award, African Achievement award and most recently best African actor at the NET awards held in New York last year and also the Best Actor of the year at the Mode Men Award ceremony in 2010.
Outside Nollywood, Iyke is generally regarded as a fashion Icon, and one of the best dressed African celebrity. His avant-garde and unconventional sense of style and individuality has endeared him to millions of fans across the continent, and even more in the Diaspora.
Iyke is the founder of a nonprofit organization called the Jim Iyke Foundation, and a pioneer in the movement for better education, well-being for the less privileged children in Africa. The foundation, which is generally considered as the most successful independently-run celebrity foundation in Nigeria, is constantly creating forums and organizing walks, symposia, and musical/comedy shows, to highlight the health and state of being of the children of Africa to the world. Several of these shows and campaigns were organized in Ghana, Liberia, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Lagos.
The Foundation in conjunction with Pepsi, Nikon Hilton Hotel, and Indomi Noodles recently organized a 6000 children walk in Abuja against poverty, and child illiteracy in Nigeria.
In 2009, he ventured into music with the creation of his own label Untamed Records, with the release of his album titled Who Am I featuring A-list musical stars; 2Face Idibia, Sound Sultan and many others, and a large chunk of the proceeds from this album launch was donated to a number of orphanages.
His business interest spans through Oil & Gas transportation, an up-scale special clientele Automobile dealership, named Untamed Cars, as well as Real estate investments, Event Management, and a number of brand endorsement deals with one of the prominent telecoms company, Globalcom.
Jim speaks English and Igbo fluently, and passable French. Jim loves to cycle, and has traveled around the world; he is an avid reader of almost every media, and loves to write poetry. He also mastered martial art, and has earned a Black Belt in Ti Quan Do. As an emerging producer, his new movie 2 Dollaz premiered last year in several sold out theatres in New York, Maryland, Philadelphia, Dallas, Minnesota, and London. His latest movie, Shades of white will soon hit the shelves. Look out for it.
On 21 October Iyke hosted the Golden Icons African Movies Awards ceremony (GIAMA) in Houston Texas as the announcement was being made of a one-year reality television series JIM IYKE UNSCRIPTED, jointly sponsored by Africa Magic and Oh Africa TV.
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