Profile of legendary Nigerian actor, Olu Jacobs

In this post, News360 Nigeria chronicles the life story and career achievements of legendary Nigerian actor, Olu Jacobs.

Olu Jacobs, whose real name is Oludotun Baiyewu Jacobs, is a seasoned actor and film executive from Ogun State, Nigeria.

He has acted in a number of foreign and British television shows.

His reputation as one of the most accomplished and well-liked African actors of his time has grown.

He is regarded as a cultural icon and is deemed to be one of the greatest African actors of all time by a number of media outlets, critics, and fellow performers.

Birth 

Olu Jacobs was born on July 11th, 1942, he spent the first years of his life in Kano State, in the northern region of Nigeria.

His parents were from Egba Alake (also called Egba Ake), which is located in Abeokuta.

He had always enjoyed seeing stage plays, and he found this act particularly fascinating.

The next stage play was about to start, and he told his parents he wanted to dance with the little girls. They gave their approval. His career in acting was made possible by his involvement in the play.

Education

Olu Jacobs attended Holy Trinity School, where he became involved in the drama and debate groups.

Young Olu Jacobs faced opposition from his father when he told him he planned to study drama overseas because of his strong interest in the arts.

He then applied for a visa, which was approved, without telling his father.

Subsequently, he traveled to England to pursue his acting studies at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, a school offering vocational conservatoire training for theater, film, television, and radio situated in Bloomsbury, central London.

The drama school he attended was established in 1904 and is still among the oldest in the United Kingdom.

Acting career

Following his studies at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, Olu Jacobs gave stage acting a shot.

In 1972, he performed in a number of stage productions, including A Taste of Honey as The Boy at Sheffield’s brand-new Crucible Theatre.

He made appearances in a number of British television series and shows during his time in England in the 1970s, such as The Professionals, Angels, The Tomorrow People, Barlow at Large, The Goodies, and Till Death Us Do Part.

He performed in Michael Codron’s 1978 production of Sir Tom Stoppard’s play Night and Day as President Mageeba.

Jacobs has subsequently starred in over 120 Nollywood films and is considered one of the top Nigerian Nollywood actors. He has also appeared in television commercials for Ribena and Binatone.

Private life

Olu Jacobs Jacobs is married to Nollywood actress, Joke Silva since 1989 and the union is blessed with two children.

Olu Jacobs together with his wife and children

He met his wife while directing the premiere of Wole Soyinka’s Jero’s Metamorphosis for Nigeria’s 21st anniversary.

The Lufodo group

Olu Jacobs is not just a thespian; he is a lover of theatre and film, in 1985, he and his spouse, Joke Silva founded the Olufodo Academy of Performing Arts, which functions as a production company for stage and cinema.

Together with the group, the two went to privately owned schools to teach the younger students the importance of theater.

It developed over the ensuing years, and on September 25, 2000, it was incorporated as a fully-fledged media and entertainment services company.

Battle with Dementia

The well-known actor Olu Jacobs had been fighting dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) for a few years, according to information released in 2021 by his wife Joke Silva.

Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative condition that affects the brain, has been extremely difficult for Silva, he emphasized. He has since been out of the spotlight and away from the big screen.

Olu Jacobs has been falsely reported to have passed away two times between 2020 and 2024.

Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) disproved the story in 2020, and his family denied the false allegations that surfaced again in  June, 2024.

Honors

The legendary actor has received several recognitions and honors for his contribution to the Nigerian movie industry, these awards includes;

Best Actor in a Leading Role at the 2007 Africa Movie Academy Award.

He received the 2013 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) Industry Merit Award for outstanding acting.

In 2016, MAA also gave him its Lifetime Achievement Award.

Olu Jacobs received the esteemed Industry Merit Award at the 2013 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards in recognition of her exceptional acting career.

He and his wife received an icon award and a membership certificate from the Audio-Visual Rights Society of Nigeria in August 2022 (AVRS).