Beverly Naya
Beverly Naya is a British-born Nigerian actress. She won Most Promising Talent at the 2010 Best of Nollywood Awards. She also won the award for Fast Rising Actress at the 2011 City People Entertainment Awards.
Early life
Beverly Ifunaya Bassey was born in London as the only child to her Nigerian parents. At 17, she began acting while studying philosophy, psychology and sociology at Brunel University. She also studied script-writing and film-making at Roehampton University. In an interview with BellaNaija, she explained that she relocated to Nigeria because of the rapid growth of Nollywood, and the opportunities that it creates for aspiring actors. In another interview, she cited Ramsey Nouah and Genevieve Nnaji as mentors.Career
She began acting at the age of 17 and studied film-making at Roehampton University, London. In the year 2011, she was named the "fastest rising actress" in the City People Entertainment Awards in Nigeria, when asked why she returned to Nigeria by Encomium Magazine she said and I quote"After I graduated from university, I just knew that I wanted to act, I knew I wanted to act, and in London I could shoot a film probably once in a year and that's it. Whereas coming to this industry, I can build a brand as well as shoot films more often and be given a more diverse amount of scripts. So, I decided to come back for that reason"
Filmography
- Guilty Pleasures
- Death Waters
- Tinsel
- Home in Exile
- Alan Poza
- Forgetting June
- Make a move
- Up Creek Without a Paddle
- Stripped
- Weekend Getaway
- ...When Love Happens
- Brother's Keeper
- Before 30
- Oasis
- Skinny Girl in Transit
- Suru L'ere
- The Wedding Party
- The Wedding Party 2
- Chief Daddy
- Dinner
- Affairs of the Heart
- Jumbled
- The Arbitration
- Dibia
- In Sickness and Health
Awards and nominations
Year 2011 | Event | Prize | Work | Result |
2014 | ELOY Awards | TV Actress of the Year | Tinsel | |
2011 | City People Entertainment Awards | Fast Rising Actress | ||
2010 | 2010 Best of Nollywood Awards | Most Promising Talent | ||
2020 | Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards | Best Documentary | Skin | Won |