Ten things you may not know about Tonto Dikeh



Nollywood actress turned singer, Tonto Dikeh, has been in the news in the last few days as a result of two singles, Itz Ova and Hi which were greeted with widespread criticism.

Ever since the songs were released on Wednesday, Dikeh has become a trending topic on Twitter and the butt of joke on Black Berry and major social media sites.

She has been lampooned by the public and celebrities like M.I; her ex-lover, Wizkid; Basket Mouth; Seyi Law; and most recently by the equally controversial Nollywood filmmaker, Charles Novia.

But away from scandals and controversies that have trailed the 27-year-old singer, here are 10 quick facts about Dikeh, who hit limelight after emerging the first runner-up in the Next Movie Star Reality TV Show, in 2005.

1- A native of Ikwere, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Dikeh was born on June 9, 1985 and is a  Petro-Chemical Engineering graduate of the  Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, Rivers-State.

2- Having lost her mother when she was just three years old she was raised by her step-mother and has seven siblings.

3- Dikeh began smoking at age of 13 and in May announced that she had quit smoking on Twitter claiming that the prayer of Pastor T.B Joshua through his Christian TV station, Emmanuel TV, healed her.

4- Her breakthrough role came in 2006 when she starred in the movie, Holy Cross. Although her second movie, it ensured that she became the sought-after actress at that time.

5- Her role in the 2010 soft porn movie, Dirty Secret, remains her most controversial till date as it contained a lot of uncensored nude and sex scenes. She later starred in similar flicks like Dirty Deeds and Strippers in love.

6- In September 2011, Dikeh bought a jeep for her father, Chief Sunny Dikeh. According to her, her dad, who once campaigned to be the Governor in Rivers State under the All Nigerian Peoples Party was initially not in support of her acting career.

7- In October, 2011, the sassy actress got her 57th tattoo during a visit to the US.

8-In August, Tonto Dike and fellow actress, Rukky Sanda, made a joint donation of N1m to a cancer patient, Fummi Lawal. In the same month, she beat Ini Edo, and fellow nominee in the Best Actor of the Year category, at the Future Awards 2012 to win the coveted award.

9-In February 2011, she was alleged to be in a steamy relationship with Wizkid and reportedly bought him a Toyota Camry after he lost his cars to robbers. Both parties denied the allegations

10- November 2011, she featured on Kas’ single titled Iyawo Wind.



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