I used to engage in fist fights with the boys who lived in my compound, Genevieve Nnaji.

Genevieve Nnaji, the pride of Africa is opening up on her life once again and letting us in. In a new interview with Venture Africa, She opened up on her life, growing up, her movies and how the street made her tough. Read on.

About Growing up:

“I was a tomboy. I had three brothers right behind me. My sisters were too busy with themselves – you know how elder sisters are. I played football on the street,” Genevieve told me. She also used to engage in fistfights with the boys who lived in her compound. “I got into a fight with a neighbor of mine who was a boy and I beat him up… I was six years old. We were mates and he was fat. He definitely asked for it and he got it,”

On how helping his mother shaped her "

She traded, she sold stuff, she got her children to sell stuff for her and we had to. We had no choice. We were living in her house. We cried. She did things you needed to do at that time. Your friends are not doing it. Why should you be the one to be doing it? You’re embarrassed about it, but I’m grateful for that because I think if I wasn’t even given that chance to be humble, I probably wouldn’t appreciate what I have today and understand that it doesn’t make me better than the next person. And I just know that everyone is equal and everyone is entitled to love and respect." 

On her first movie role 'Most Wanted' 

"My role was to interview Regina Askia, a former beauty queen turned actress who was a goddess at that time. That was major. I had to pull it off as a pro and I did it, and the producers asked me if I had done it before and I said no. They were amazed at my confidence—probably I had some training in church or something but I remember I enjoyed doing it,”

WHAT THE INTERVIEWER SAID ABOUT GENEVIEVE'S PERSONALITY.

It is hard not to fixate on her obvious beauty, but the most powerful aspect of Genevieve is her ability to read and control the emotional tone of any interaction. It’s a skill that has been mastered by American celebrities and politicians living in a society where public opinion matters, but unsharpened in Nigeria’s more prominent personalities who dominate an environment where worship is expected, not earned. Genevieve’s emotional intelligence stems from what she calls a strong connection to real people in Nigeria.