I did not pursue acting at first – Genoveva Umeh
The British-Nigerian actress followed a different career path initially.
Genoveva Umeh got her big break in the Netflix series 'Blood Sisters' [Instagram/Gen0vevaumeh]
Recommended articles
![The Harvest [Instagram/kachibenson]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'100'%20height%3D'100'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E "The Harvest [Instagram/kachibenson]")
According to the 28-year old, she had initially trained to become a lawyer, as she had studied law at the University of Surrey in England.
But after failing her first year in university, the actress started to rethink her career choice.
Umeh revealed this during a recent episode of the 'Is This Seat Taken' podcast hosted by Chinasa Anukam.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Studying law was my decision. However, I also realised that as a first-generation immigrant, I knew how hard my parents worked to get me into the UK," Umeh said. “So, I didn’t want to pursue a course that I just considered as a hobby. I thought acting was merely a hobby.”
Eventually, acting became more than a hobby for her. In her words, “I went from viewing acting as a hobby during my time in university, thinking that after graduation, I would come back and pursue it. But that didn’t happen until I failed my first year. Failing my first year of law was when I realised that I needed to start considering what I truly wanted to do, rather than what I felt I had to do.”
In 2018, Umeh moved to Lagos to pursue an acting career, writing and performing a one-woman stage play, HOME, which performed at Lagos Fringe Festival in Lagos, and a year later at Bloemfontein, South Africa.
She landed her first lead role in A Tune Away (2020), which earned her a nomination for Best Actress at the 2022 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Award.
Umeh's breakout performance would come in the 2022 Netflix series Blood Sisters. In the same year, she played the character Zina in Far From Home.
JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!
ADVERTISEMENT
Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:
Email: eyewitness@pulse.ng
Recommended articles
BFA and Co Legal Orchestrates Landmark Deal: Davido launches Nine+ Records with UnitedMasters
Phyna rejects new offers from BBNaija sponsors as meeting ends in deadlock
Disney's 'Madu' director is working on a documentary on Chibok girls 'The Harvest'
Timeline of Nelly & Ashanti's romance and expecting their first child 21 years later
Ruger & BNXN describe their joint project as 'synergy at its finest'
Daniel Oriahi's film 'The Weekend' selected for 2024 Tribeca Film Festival
Seyi Vibez was the most streamed artist in Nigeria from Jan - March 2024
I didn’t delete anything - Ruger defends tweet after accusations of promoting rape culture
Rihanna wants to be on a collaboration with Tems & Ayra Starr
Pulse Sports
Lionel Messi's son breaks the internet after scoring five goals for Inter Miami
Naija Stars Abroad: Onyedika, Boniface, and Osimhen shine across Europe
Victor Osimhen and Tobi Amusan make list of Forbes’ 30 under 30 Class of 2024
ADVERTISEMENT
