Actress Maureen Solomon-Okereke Opens Up About Leaving Nollywood at Career Peak
Veteran Nollywood actress Maureen Solomon-Okereke has spoken candidly about her decision to step away from acting at the height of her career, stating she has absolutely no regrets about prioritizing motherhood. In an interview on Channels Television's Rubbin' Minds, the actress clarified that her exit was entirely voluntary and not influenced by her husband, contrary to public speculation.
Solomon-Okereke, who starred in over 80 films and rose to fame with roles in Not Without My Daughter and Women Affair alongside stars like Genevieve Nnaji, Ramsey Nouah, and Ngozi Ezeonu, left Nollywood in 2011. She explained that while she could manage her first child on set, the arrival of her second child made it impossible to continue.
Motherhood and the Decision to Step Back
“When I had my son first, it was easy. I could take him to work, movie sets and locations, but when my second child came, it was not that easy,” she said. The demands of caring for two young children forced her to make a difficult choice. “Regrets how? I have a 20-year-old and a 19-year-old now. I don't regret it at all. It got to a point where my daughter was about 5 years and it wasn't just going well, so I had to stop and give my time to them,” she added.
During her absence, rumors circulated that her husband had pressured her to quit acting. Solomon-Okereke firmly denied these claims, emphasizing the decision was hers alone. She also dismissed the industry's growing emphasis on social media following as a measure of an actor's value, stating plainly, “I don't believe in it.”
Return to Nollywood After Seven Years
After a seven-year hiatus, Solomon-Okereke has returned to Nollywood and says the transition back has been smoother than expected. She kept a close watch on the industry's evolution during her time away, and her passion for acting never waned. She also shared that her acting career began by chance: she accompanied her elder sister to an audition and ended up being handed a script herself. “The opportunity actually came on its own. I didn't go looking for it. They were giving people scripts to read, it got to my turn and I read, that was it. My sister went to check for her name and saw my name,” she recalled.
She made her debut in the 2000 film Alternative, directed by Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen, for which she was paid just ₦2,000. Now back on screen, Solomon-Okereke remains grateful for her career and confident in her choice to put family first.
