Monalisa Chinda

Monalisa Chinda was born in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, south-south Nigeria, to Ikwerre parents. She is the firstborn in a family of 6 children (two sons and four daughters).^[5] She attended Army Children's School GRA for Primary and then Archdeacon Crowther Memorial Girls' School, Elelenwo. Both schools are located in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.^[6] She obtained a degree in theatre arts from the University of Port Harcourt.^[7]

Monalisa's first major movie was Pregnant Virgin,^[8] which she did in 1996 and subsequently, after she graduated in 2000, she did Above the Law and has done many others since then.^[9]

In 2007 her road to stardom kicked off when she started appearing in the television soap Heaven’s Gate.^[10] In 2011, she debuted as Executive Producer in the Royal Arts Academy movie, 'Kiss & Tell', which Emem Isong co-produced with her and Desmond Elliot directed.^[11] In 2012, she became one of the first of four Nollywood actors to be featured on the cover of Hollywood Weekly Magazine.^[12] In November 2014 the actress branched out of acting a little bit and debuted her Talk Show titled 'You & I with Monalisa."^[13][14]

Monalisa is involved in a lot of charity work. She has a column (Monalisa Code) in the Saturday edition of The Sun Newspapers where she writes on social issues and relationships. She is a consultant with Royal Arts Academy, a media school known for breeding new talents, in acting, directing, and screenwriting.^[15] She partnered with Goge African to encourage tourists in Nigeria.^[16]

• In 2011, Monalisa was crowned the Face of Port Harcourt - Carnival Queen, in her hometown of Rivers State.^[17]
• In 2010, she was nominated for Best Actress in a drama series at the Terracotta TV and Film Awards^[18]
• Best Actress, Afro Hollywood Award 2009 at the Monte Carlo Television Festival^[19]

• List of people from Port Harcourt
• List of Nigerians