When it comes to old Nollywood realness, we all know that the women were the ones who came on the scene and served hard. We’ve decided to take a week to honour seven legendary actresses who still impact the movie industry decades after their debut.
Today, we honour the incomparable Liz Benson.
Elizabeth Benson Ameye (popularly known as Liz Benson) was born on the 5th of April, 1966. She started her career as an actress at the age of 5 and went on to attend Sylvania State College in the United States of America, bagging a degree in Dramatic Arts.
She appeared in a few things but didn’t cause any buzz until she got the part of Mrs Agnes Johnson on the popular early 90s television soap opera, Fortunes (which ran for about two years). Her role in 1994’s controversial movie, Glamour Girls, shot into the limelight, turning her into one of the most sought after actresses in early Nollywood.
By 1996, she had warmed her way into the heart of movie lovers in Nigeria. However, during this time, a period which is considered the height of her career, Liz suddenly quit acting. Rumour has it that she gave her life to Christ and began preaching the gospel. She returned a year later in 1997’s Back To Life. It was after this quick break that she played one of her most iconic roles till date in the movie, Diamond Ring (1998) and its sequel (released the same year).
She went on to grace television screens in movies like Witches (1998), Chain Reaction (1999), World Apart (2004), Women in Power (2005), Crazy Passion (2005) and many others. Benson took another break from acting in 2007 when she met the man who would become her second husband, Bishop Great Ameye. They got married in 2009 and, together, run a church ministry named Freedom Family Assembly.
She returned to screens in 2014 and appeared in films like Dry (2014), Dearest Mummy (2015), Hilarious Hilary (2015), and Lizard Life (2017). Benson doesn’t act as much as she used to. She says she has found her purpose in “counselling people based on the word of God” but still appears in movies that, according to her, pass on good morals and propagate the gospel.
Here’s to many more years of seeing this goddess on our screens.
Check back tomorrow (17/9/2019) when we honour another Nollywood about actress and one time Most Beautiful Girl In Nigeria, Regina Askia.
