Humanitarian Award 2008 for her work against rape and vesico vaginal fistula (VVF). Determined to expand her horizons and create more opportunities for women in Nollywood and Africa's film industry, Linus took a break in 2008 to study film at the New York Film Academy at Universal Studios, Los Angeles. She produced her first Hollywood/Nollywood film "THROUGH THE GLASS" which premiered in October 2008 at the Pacific Design Center in Hollywood California and the won the Recognition Award from the California State Legislature and the city of Carson for the film; Over the years, she has been nominated three times for the prestigious AMAA Awards. In 2009, Stephanie joined forces with DEL-YORK International a media and marketing communications company as its CEO bringing the prestigious New York Film Academy (NYFA) for one-month intensive workshop to train and inspire young Nigerian filmmakers in 2010. The same year, she was featured in the CNN documentary 50 years of Nigerian Independence and performed alongside Meryl Streep at an exclusive stage reading of the play Seven at the Hudson Theatre in New York, as part of the Women in the World Conference, opened by US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton. For Stephanie, however, what drives these immense accomplishments has been a burning desire to empower and represent women in the best possible light; this vision inspires and drives her in all of her work as an actress, director, entrepreneur, activist and style icon.

Source: www.themoviedry.com/crew/
Official Biography
Stephanie Okereke is a Nigerian born superstar with an infectious personality. Spend five minutes with Stephanie and she will have you laughing and feeling like you are talking to a friend you have known forever. As the sixth child in a family of eight, Stephanie has been entertaining her family from birth. Now she is entertaining the world.

Ms Okereke sprung onto the Nollywood scene in 1997 with "Compromise II" and then featured in "Waterloo". A year later she was accepted into the English and Literary studies Program at the University of calabar. She decided to pursue school while she put acting on hold. A year later Nollywood came calling again and Stephanie could not resist, she fed her desire to act with Tecp Benson's "Terror".

Steph has big dreams and she left the world in on her modelling talent with her second place finish in the 2002 "The Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria" beauty Pageant.

Despite her hectic schedule, Stephanie graduated with her degree from calabar and started to stake her clain in the movie world. Emotional Crack put Stephanie on the mao and was nominated for eight awards. Stephanie was delighted to have her efforts blesed with two awards. (Best Actress- English and Reel Awards Best Actress of the Year 2003). Stephanie has also stated in quite a few films including Private Sin. Final Solution, Pretender and Adora (Shot in South Africa).

In April of 2004, Emotional Crack was premiered at the African Film Festival held in the united States. Stephanie also joined her Nollywood colleagues to speak out in a collective voice to help stop the piracy of Nigerian movies.

Next, Stephanie made her first foray into Hollywood by auditioning for a role in the Good Shepard. Let's keep our fingers crossed for Stephanie and see what happens. In the meantime Stephanie has a role on Mnet's soap Snitch. We have just started to hear from this rising star who is also a talent singer and a model. Stephanie is always striving to improve her craft so needless to say the best from Stephanie is yet to come.

A-List Nollywood Actress Stephanie Okereke's tenacity, wit, intelligence, grace and natural acting abilities has earned her a reputation as one of the best actresses on the African continent and in Nollywood, the third largest film industry in the world. A graduate of English and Literal studies, Okereke made her first venture into film in 1997. By 2003, she won the Reel Awards "Best Actress" award for her role in the movie "Emotional Crack." In 2005, she was a nominee for the Africa Movie Academy Awards [AMAA]. On her way to AMAA, however, tragedy struck when she was involved in a terrible car accident that left her with a broken leg and burns on her face and hands. Okereke, with a fighting and determined spirit, bounced back and by 2006, she won the Afro-Hollywood Awards, Film Makers USA Award for Excellence with subsequent awards in 2007 for the Miriam Makeba Award for Excellence and 2008 Beyond the Tears Humanitarian Awards for her work against rape and vesico vaginal fistula and HIV/AIDS.

Not satisfied with being just an actress and wanting to create a voice and other roles for African women in Africa's film industry, Okereke came to the United States to study film at the New York Film Academy at Universal Studios, Los Angeles. Armed with her knowledge, intelligence, determination and creativity, Okereke established her Production company "Next Page Productions" and has recently expanded her portfolio to include the titles of director, writer and producer in her first feature Hollywood-Nollywood film hybrid, "Through the Glass," [2008] creating what she hopes is a preview of the direction and roles African women will embrace in the film industry.

Source: Official website
www.stephanieokereke.com/biography.html

She married Idahosa Linus in the spring of 2012 in Paris, and fans can share their joy in the wedding video titled "BEST WEDDING VIDEO EVER" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABngyrGyYic).