Belinda Effah

Nigerian actress and presenter

Grace-Charis Bassey Effah (born 14 December 1989) is a Nigerian actress and presenter. She has won six awards throughout her career, including the Most Promising Act of the Year award at the 9th Africa Movie Academy Awards. She changed her name after an encounter with God to Grace-Charis Bassey.

Quotes edit

  • Dear Nigerian Government Are We Going To Mortgage Our Children’s Future To Such Shameful Act as Satisfaction Of Some Men Libido at the expense of What? These men Know where to Go if they have such needs .Our Children Can’t Be Exposed To Such Insanity and It Doesn’t Matter If It Happened At Night Time.
  • What happened to our Traditional Morals , we can never be more foreign than the foreigners please. We are still Nigerians at heart , at least some of us are.
  • Lazy and pompous men really turn me off. I can’t deal with such kind of people, neither would I date any of them.
  • I stand against domestic violence. If a man hits you once, he will hit you again. Don’t let it happen. I am against divorce but if a man hits a woman, I advise she separates from him for a while for him to return to his right senses.
  • It is important to not depend on just one source of income. It’s very limiting. I have always been very business conscious. I was just waiting for the right time to establish something. I am also equally passionate about food. Food is a basic necessity. I love to work legit for my money, earn money the right way.
  • For me, this lockdown has been a blessing in disguise. I have been able to properly position my business as well as spend quality time with my family and God. I have rediscovered myself spiritually and found new ways of communicating with God. It’s been a surreal experience that I never felt before.
  • Food, like I said earlier, is a basic necessity. I don’t follow trends. I am very real. I didn’t want to put my money into a business that is seasonal. Food business never runs out of fashion, it’s constant. People must eat everyday. Whether you have money or not, you will somehow have to find money to eat. Food is a need. I decided to be a solution provider for people’s needs. I also like to use this initiative to encourage our young ones not to depend solely on job hunting but establish something of their own. I pray to grow this business into something big that will encourage our younger generation not to lose themselves, but to work hard and be self reliant.
  • Everybody has this iota of jealousy inside of them. So, if you say you don’t, then I doubt if you are a human being. I guess I am, but with time, I have learnt how to control it.
  • I’ll only be in a relationship with a matured mind, someone who knows the kind of job I do and understand me well. We would have mutual respect for each other. Whatever happens, I’ll always respect my partner and whatever issues we have, we’ll settle it indoors.
  • Every role I have played have been challenging for me. I play every role in order for the role to be outstanding irrespective of how simple it might seem. The simpler the role, the more challenging it is for me. Other actors might have played similar roles but I always strive to make mine different. I get very apprehensive each time I get a new script because then I have the task of interpreting it in a unique way.
  • Life for me is simple and I live it simply. I put God first in everything because nothing is really anything. I only want the favor from God and so far that has sustained me.
  • The truth is I am my own competition, I don’t see any other competition. If I say I’m competing with someone, it’s like saying I expect to be the only actress in Nollywood. On the contrary, actors compliment each other. The sky is big enough for all of us to be relevant. There can only be one Belinda Effah. I strive to surpass my previous glory.
  • I stay true to myself and the characters I play. If I don’t feel it, I can’t give life to the character. I always challenge myself to go the extra mile, so I guess that could be it.
  • Let’s face it, a lot of people don’t wish you well. Some people want to feel that they have control over your private life. This is the aspect I don’t want. I’d rather not say anything about it. However, a lot of my colleagues have been flashing us with their weddings (laughter), maybe my own will come as a surprise.
  • That’s my natural self. There’s no negative energy here. A lot of people see more of negativity than the positive things God is doing in their lives but for me, I prefer to magnify the positivity in my life. There will always be challenges when you want to go to the next level of your life. For me I find solution to the challenge and I just move on.
  • I think it’s been more positive. Once you choose this career, you should be sure that your privacy will be compromised. Whatever you do is seen by all. You are no longer seen as a human but a super human. They don’t expect you to be broke and they don’t expect you to buy food on the streets like roasted corn or roasted plantain either. I’m a down to earth person and I love my local food. I love to visit amala joints to eat; I’m a peoples’ person. Part of my dream is to help people. If I raise myself too much, how will I help the common man on the street? People expect me to live this larger-than-life lifestyle but I’m just trying not to change who I am.
  • Every actress has a yard stick and Hollywood is that yardstick. If I’m called to feature in Hollywood, I’d be over the moon. Nollywood is my core; I’ll never give up on it.
  • Attention should be paid to details regarding every facet of the industry from scripting, to makeup, to costume, to location, to props, equipment, cast and crew, etc. The quality of all these will add to production value. And very importantly, there should be unity among producers to solve the ongoing distribution problem. Distribution is a major problem that needs to be looked into. We have the population yet very limited distribution networks. We need to unilaterally come up with a lasting solution that will benefit everyone. This can also be a revenue spinner in years to come. Royalty will be earned from a movie forever with proper structures in place.
  • My beauty routine is to ensure I don’t keep makeup on my face overnight, use a good scrub and moisturizer all the time.
  • It has always been my vision to be scandal free, keeping my private life away from my public life. Appreciate me for my movies and what you see on screen, but my life is my life. I treasure that and I just want to keep it that way.

As an actor, the best thing you can do for yourself is to keep improving on your skill. There are people you look up to. For me, I have several mentors; Genevieve Nnaji, Majid Mitchel and Uche Jombo. I pick one or two things from them in terms of acting, packaging and business sense and try to make it Belinda. I don’t copy anybody but if there is need for me to watch a particular scene in a movie in order to perfect my act, I will do so. Also, in terms of business, one needs to know what these star actors are doing. That’s basically what’s keeping me going.

  • I’m not acting because I want to act. I have a desire to affect people’s lives positively. Leadership is in service. I don’t want to mess up my reputation now because I am working on a project called “Belinda Advocacy Against Rape.”I have a reputation to protect. I have a lot of things in the offing. If one is tempted, one can easily go outside the industry to get herself a boy friend. I can’t afford to mess around in the industry.
  • For liposuction, my policy is live and let’s live. Whatever rocks your boat is fine. I am a very active person in sport hence I try to keep my body fit at all times. So, I don’t think I have need to consider liposuction for now, but I can’t speak for the future.
  • All my movies are my favourites. I am not sentimental so I appreciate everything I have done, whether good, bad or ugly. My roles are challenging and I am always looking for different ways to interpret a role even if it is familiar territory for me. It doesn’t matter if it’s something I am accustomed to doing every day. This is how I see it: Now, it’s not me, it’s me in someone else’s character and I want it to be believable.
  • Fame has taken away my privacy. Fame has also taken away my peace of mind because people judge celebrities for diverse reasons. They have expectations which one can sometimes fall short of. Before I do anything, I think about it a lot because I don’t know how people will misinterpret it. Some people won’t just let you be. You can’t go out without makeup; you can’t go to events without looking fly (good), and it doesn’t matter if you have the funds for it or not. Before you do anything, you have to think about it because your life no longer belongs to you.
  • put God first, be yourself, and attach value to yourself. If you don’t value yourself, nobody will. Believe in yourself; go for what you want and put your all in it and soon, pleasant things will happen to you.

External links edit

 
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