Honorable Tonto Dikeh Background
Hon. Tonto Wigo Charity Dikeh popularly known as Tonto Dikeh is a famous Nollywood actress, producer, model, recording artiste, television personality, politician and a philanthropist. Tonto is an industrious working class, independent corporate young lady and a self made young millionaire.
Personal Life
Honorable Tonto Dikeh was born on the 9th of June 1985 in Port Harcourt, River State in the south southern part of Nigeria. She is originally from Ikwerre tribe in River State in the south southern part of Nigeria.
Dikeh was born into a family of seven and is the third of five children. At the age of three, she lost her mother and was raised by her step-mother, who has two children. Dikeh studied petrochemical engineering at Rivers State University of Science and Technology.
Her traditional marriage to Oladunni Churchill was held in August 2015. In February 2016, Dikeh gave birth to her son, whom she nicknamed Baby X. However, since then, the couple are divorced.
Career
Tonto Dikeh began her career as a model while still in the university before joining the Nigerian movie industry popularly known as Nollywood. However, she started acting right from her secondary school days and was an active member of her school dramatic club.
Dikeh completed both her primary and secondary school education in Port Harcourt, River State in the south southern part of Nigeria and obtained both her First School Leaving Certificate and West African Senior School Certificate. After completing her primary and secondary school education, Dikeh proceeded to River State University of Science and Technology and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Petrochemical Engineering.
She had interest in acting at a very tender age and started performing on stage play, drama club and performing art, appearing in school plays, drama theatre and children’s television shows in her hometown of Port Harcourt, Rivers State in the south southern part of Nigeria.
In 2005, Dikeh contested and won the TV reality show called “The Next Movie Star”. After winning the TV talent hunt show, Dikeh became a household name in Nigeria and was given lead roles in movies. Following year, Dikeh had registered with the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) and joined the Nigerian movie industry.
After winning the 2005 Nigerian TV reality show called “The Next Movie Star” and joining the Nigerian movie industry, Dikeh acted in the Nollywood blockbuster movie “Dirty Secret” which was trending in Nigeria and skyrocket her to prominence.
Since then she has acted in more than 250 Nollywood movies, some of the movies include: Dirty Secret, Ropes of Faith, Before the Rain, Missing Child, Garden of Love and Terror, Dangerous Child, Pleasure and Crime, Love my Way, Men in Love, Palace Maid, The Bride is Mine, Sisters on Fire, Royal Apart, End of a Princess, The Princess of my Life, and many more.
Following a successful acting career, Dikeh decided to pursue a music career. Prior to that, she was featured in a music video for Amaco Investments, alongside Patience Ozokwor. She made her music debut by releasing the singles “Hi” and “Itz Ova”, the latter of which features Snypa. On 13 June 2014, Nigerian singer D’banj signed her to his record label, DB Records. Dikeh announced her departure from DB records in March 2015.
Endorsements
On the 5th of February 2016, Dikeh was named an Ambassador of a property firm in Abuja (NUMATVILLE) worth millions of Naira.
Further, Dikeh got an endorsement as a brand ambassador for a beauty and skincare brand (Pels International). The beauty brand is popularly known for making skin brightening beauty products.
In 2018, she also became an ambassador for Sapphire Scents, a new perfume line offering distributorship business opportunities to Nigerians. In the same year, Dikeh bagged an endorsement deal with the National Agency For Prohibition of Trafficking In Persons (NAPTIP) on human trafficking.
On the 24th of March 2019, she was revealed as the brand ambassador for Amstel Malta. This had happened when Dikeh stepped out in style for a dinner party organised by Amstel Malta. The dinner, organised specifically for brand influencers, saw Dikeh announced as one of its ambassadors. And she also signed a 100million naira endorsement deal with Zikel Cosmetics.
Dikeh has received countless awards and recognitions in Nigeria, Africa and oversees. Recently, she was announced as the running mate to Honorable Tonte Ibraye, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate for Rivers State.
You can read more Bantu Magazine articles online here or download Bantu Magazine here.
