A Peep into Femi Adebayo's Journey
It's often believed that some people have it all: now, I'm thinking it was a rude shock to many of Femi Adebayo's fans when he announced his second marriage to Omotayo Adebayo in October, 2016. Another rude shock was how he managed to keep his divorce from his first wife secret for eight long years.
Femi Adebayo has been acting since 1985, even before his university days, featuring as a child actor in his father's (Adebayo Salami) first flick, "Ogun Ajaye" and others including Tade Ogidan's "Owo Blow" in 1995.His foray into acting may have been intuitive. Still, the betterment of his craft over the years has been deliberate from playing minor to major roles in numerous movies before venturing into production. His very first effort was "Jelili" in 2011, a comedic exploration of the vogue in the days of Baba Suwe, Opebe, Aderupopo, etc., and a sequel, "Survival of Jelili" in 2019 which Desmond Elliot directed. However, we can’t but stress for the record that "King of Thieves" which he produced in 2022 upped his ante and became a testament to rubbing shoulders with ace producers like Kunle Afolayan, Tunde Kelani, and others who delight in embedding core traditional values in indigenous, sometimes, epic stories. In 2023, he followed up with another block-buster "Jagun Jagun" and now "Seven Doors", a story set in post-colonial Nigeria, which became number one on Netflix within 24 hours of its release in November 2024.
A lot of people don't know that many entertainers fancy education a lot. We've seen some leave the industry to become academics like Tatafo (Helen Paul), while some blend both like Dr Charles Fosudo. For the likes of Mike Ezeruonye and Femi Adebayo who has a first and a master's degree in law from the University of Illorin and University of Ibadan respectively, maybe it's just about the acquisition and nothing more. Or what would you say about a trained lawyer who enjoys making movies and being the CEO of a production outfit: J-15 Media Network?
Like the Afolayans that have an array of industry greats, the Adebayos have their own thing by the side too. Femi, the current special adviser to Kwara State governor on arts, culture and tourism, has a lengend actor father and two director brothers--Tope Adebayo and Tijani Adebayo, his elder brother, ranked as the second highest earning director in Nollywood by FilmOne in 2022.
Femi has done well for himself by all standards regardless of any marital setback he had. He has been a brand ambassador to different companies with accompanying awards for his unique performances. Last year (2024), his "Jagun Jagun" movie won him Outstanding Male Actor of the Year at the Abuja International Film Festival and Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role at the Africa Movie Awards. This year, his "Seven Doors" movie has earned him a nomination for Best Lead Actor in the forthcoming Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards (2025). Should he win, it will be another feather to his cap.
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