This beautiful mother of three made her marks while she was
in the Nigerian movie industry. But lately, not so much of her has been seen or
heard. Her die-hard fans may have been aware that the veteran actress is now a
registered nurse, healthcare and educational activist, television producer,
writer and public speaker.
Regina Askia Williams was born Imaobong Regina Askia Usoro
in 1967 in Lagos. She bagged a degree in Biology from the University of
Lagos. She is presently a registered
nurse in the United States where she is currently running her Ph.D. She is
married to Rudolph ‘Rudy’ Williams for whom she has two children; Teesa Olympia
and Rudolph Junior. She also has another daughter, Stephanie Hornecker, who is
a model, from another relationship.
Regina started as a model after winning Miss UNILAG in 1988,
the exact year she transferred to UNILAG from the University of Calabar. Still
in 1988, she contested for Miss Nigeria, but didn’t win. She, however, became
Miss Nigeria in 1989, after Bianca Onoh resigned as Miss Nigeria. In 1990, she represented
Nigeria in Miss Charm International held in Leningrad, Russia. She was the
first Nigerian at Miss International where she was remarkable for her
outstanding traditional costumes.
Her acting career started in 1993 with her debut role of
gold-digger Tokunbo Johnson in a Nigerian soap opera, Fortunes shown on NTA
network service. She started getting roles in Nollywood films afterwards. She
has acted in movies alongside other veterans such as Genevieve Nnaji, Saint
Obi, Gentle Jack and others. Before she started missing, Regina starred in
several movies and was paid as much as 300,000 naira for her roles.
In 2000, Regina was awarded, ‘Best Actress in Nigeria’ by
Afro Hollywood London. In 2007, she was among those awarded by the Celebrating
African Motherhood Organisation (CAM). She has received several other awards.
This may be surprising, but it is true that Regina survived the September 11,
2001. Regina who had barely relocated to New York three months before the
incident escaped from the building.
Regina has tried her hands in several other things. Just
like she did in acting, she keeps hitting success. But that doesn’t change the
fact that her fans have declared her missing and would keeping looking and
searching for her until she makes a come-back.
Regina Askia Williams and two of her children.
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