Meet Lota Chukwu, She is an Actor, Blogger and TV Host. She holds a degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Benin, she hails from Nsukka, Enugu State.
She said she has always wanted to become an actor but was always too nervous and scared to talk about it but in 2011 after attending the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria Pageant (MBGN), she did not allow fear hold her back anymore.
Lota got attracted to the industry by her awe at the way movies made people feel and the god-effect it had on viewers. The ability to make people connect to a character and hold them spellbound like a great adventure to her and she wanted to explore it. Watching the people before her definitely played a part in her love for the craft.
She has often times wanted to be different people and live different lives, acting helps her do that, to become anyone and anything she want to be and teach people something at the same time.
In 2011, she saw an advert on TV about a popular director who wanted to do a film project and was looking for actors, she decided to try it out and she landed the lead role. First time on film shooting set was intimidating to her as she is a very shy person but now she has to be in a small space with over twenty people watching her, then there was the light that was always too bright, too hot and she started sweating profusely, everything was so strange but she found a way to enjoy this new experience. She made friends and networked with other actors, that was how she got her next role, acting was fun for her then.
In 2012, she went on a long break and returned in 2014, ready to take acting seriously, that year she began acting professionally. She initially saw it as fun because she was scared and nervous and it made her feel at ease with no pressure if she didn't take it too seriously but when she returned in 2014 she was ready and understood it better, she knew what to expect and what was expected if her. Her first professional Job was on Funke Akindele's 'Jenifa's Diary' where she plays the role of 'kiki', she has since been a part of several productions like; Africa Magic's 'Ajoche', Falling, The Arbitration, Displaced, In Every Way, Spotlight, Fine Girl, Perfect Plan, Win Chasers, The Real 2, Royal Hibiscus Hotel, e.t.c.
She has been nominated for the award of Best Actress by City People Awards, Tush Awards and Scream Awards.
She runs two blogs, 'The ramblings of a Sagittarius Sojourner ' where she talks about everything, life, personal opinions, fictions, politics, e.t.c and she runs two food shows, 'Lota Takes' is a show where she visits the home of celebrities and cook for them with whatever is in their kitchen and 'Lota Chow Files' where she goes to chefs and they teach her how to make certain meals. Follow the shows on Instagram via @lotaschowfiles and @lotatakes
She admires and look up to women who opened doors for girls like her and changed the narratives and how our Parents and the society looked at female actors, made people accept acting as a career and respect actors. The likes of; Liz Benson, Joke Silva, Funke Akindele, Genevieve Nnaji, Rita Dominic, e.t.c.
Lota believes she stands out as an actor because of God's Grace not because there are a lot of other actors who are as good or even better but God's Grace in her life always makes the difference. She is Tenacious, dedicated, driven, funny, beautiful and has an amazing personality.
Lota is very disciplined, always punctual (she claims those character traits has been engraved into her DNA), she is a good listener, she is a great team player, she is usually highly dedicated to her character, she thinks on her feet , does her homework, studies her character throughly and is always ready to deliver.
She is a very good cook and has a food blog, she writes and sketches. Lota is a delight to work with as she make work super smooth, digging deep to make sure the characters she is playing are believable.
You can find Lota on Instagram and Twitter: @thelotachukwu
