S.O.: You briefly addressed my next question in your last response. I was going to ask you what it is like to have the husband and wife in the entertainment industry? How does it impact on the home, the children and everything?
S.D.A.: We have a way of doing it. We always make time out for the kids. We never abandon them. And we found out recently that whenever we have shows outside Lagos or outside the country, I find that I stay back so that he goes and I stay with the kids – or sometimes, if I have to travel on location or something, he stays in town. But if both of us have to go, then there must be a family member who will stay with them. And its not easy, you know. It’s not easy… That is where we fight the most… Because we work together, we don’t always agree on things. Of course we’re two different people. He’s a human being; he has different views and things like that. I’m a human being; I have my own set rules and principles, even though I try to do what the Bible says… You must submit to your husband. Of course I try to that, but at the same time, there are some things that I will need to stand on or grab on to and say no, this is how I want it and he may not like it and we fight a lot. But being in the entertainment world together is one of the most – in fact, I’m very lucky because even though we have our problems when we fight, we find that we always have something to talk about, something to bring us back together, you know… If there’s a problem in your house, and we have a show tomorrow, what are we wearing? Okay let’s do this and before you know it, we’re already talking. I have a movie… Okay, let’s read it together.
And again, it’s easier for me to go, shoot, stay out late, come back and he understands because he’s into it as well. We basically try to help each other out and do our work, but he’s still the same person that says if you have to do this job, do it well. Don’t say because of me you will not do it to the best of your ability.
S.O.: Do you see your kids going into the entertainment business?
S.D.A.: My first child, no. My second child, probably. I think she’s getting because she cannot stay in one place if she hears the slightest sound. She would stand up and dance or do something. My first child is more subdued. She’s more of a technical person. She like remote control, she likes cable, she likes phones… She doesn’t like toys actually. She doesn’t like things that are entertaining. She likes things that are very technical like the computer; she likes working with her father, things like that… So, I’m still watching them to see what will happen.
S.O.: Synergy… You guys only perform in exclusive circles?
S.D.A.: Yeah.
S.O.: Is there any special reason behind that? Or is it the kind of music you play?
S.D.A.: No, it’s not just the kind of music. We started out playing regular shows in places like Jazzville, Eko Hotel and places like that. But as you grow older and you expand your band, you find that you need to grow more because you find that in Lagos it is when you play private gigs that you’re respected more and you’re paid more. When you do regular shows at the Jazzvilles and Eko Hotels, they pay you just a little bit of money to get by. In everything you do, you try to expand and move up and earn more and gain more and be more recognized. I guess we moved up and people started accepting the fact you cannot just come and see us every week. We are only at exclusive places where you must have really paid well for and things like that. Its not just the kind of music, cos my band, we do copyright songs most of the time, apart from our own songs. We play highlife, we play funk, we play disco, we play oldies, we play all sorts of music. We even play at traditional weddings. We’ve played at a Nikkai before. We’ve played at even Owambe. We have different people in the band that specialize in different types of music, different genres of music.
S.O.: Sounds like you guys are having a lot of fun.
S.D.A.: Well, we’re trying. It’s been a lot of years of hard work, but we’re getting there.
S.O.: Did you know your husband before you started acting?
S.D.A.: No. I started acting… I’d done two movies before I met my husband. I’d done… My first major movie was really my breakthrough. The name of the movie was actually Breaking Point and that’s how he recognized me the first time he saw me. So I was already in the movie industry before we started dating.
S.O.: And he did not know you could sing when you met?
S.D.A.: The first day we met, I actually grabbed his microphone. I went to Jazzville (with) one of my friends. And he was on stage with his sister and his sister’s husband. I got on stage, I was carried away… I loved the song they were doing. I got on stage, grabbed his microphone and started singing with them. And at the end of the night he came to me and said look, I like your voice. I hope to set up my own band. Are you interested? And I said why not? So, we started working together. The first time he saw me, he knew who I was. That’s how come he let me take his microphone like that on stage. By the time he heard me sing, he saw another side of me and he liked it. That is the side he prefers. He prefers me as a singer because he says I’m a better singer than I’m an actress. He loves my acting but he believes that I’m a better singer than an actress.
S.O.: So the poor guy saw you on stage and fell head over heels in love. (GENERAL LAUGHTER)
S.D.A.: Well, I always tell him that, but he still tells me that I was the one that fell in love first. I’m not gonna argue because I actually tripped when I saw him. (MORE LAUGHTER)
S.O.: How sweet. Jaiye (that’s your husband’s name, right?), I read somewhere that he composes in French, Spannish and in Yoruba and English. Where did the French and Spanish come from?
S.D.A.: He studied languages. He’s French graduate and he lived in London for a long time so he did Spannish in London. He studied that and a little Italian as well. Then he came down to Nigeria and got into Unilag and he studied French, so he’s actually a French translator as well.
S.O.: So are you picking up any of these languages?
S.D.A.: Well, sometimes, when we’re in a place and he doesn’t want people to know what we’re talking about, there are some words in French that he has taught me, so when he says any words like that, I know what he’s talking about. I’m not very good with languages, but sometimes when he says things, he says something in it that makes it easier for me to understand what he’s saying. I didn’t pique interest early enough, so I guess that’s where my problem is. I can read French, but I might not understand what I’m saying. And then I can understand a little Spanish, but I don’t speak very well.
S.O.: Your husband is obviously comfortable with you acting because he’s also in the entertainment business, so this rumor on the Internet that he wants you to quit acting is just a rumor?
S.D.A.: I don’t know what they’re talking about. I have a husband who always tells me that he loves women that are hardworking and have a drive. He tells me if this is what you’re meant for, if you’re very popular because you’re an actress, (then) make the best of it while you’re young. He doesn’t stop me from doing what I like to do. Judging by the kind of negative publicity that I’ve got, the things that some people have written about me, if he wanted me to stop acting I would have stopped a long time ago, a long time ago… He believes in me. He has faith in me and he knows that I will go places if I work hard at what I’m doing. And he’s not one to stop your dreams or put a stop to your career because he feels or she’s my wife, she can’t be seen doing things like that. He wants me to really really be big and he encourages me, he helps me. So he has never told me to quit acting.
S.O.: How does the acting part of you facilitate the musical part of you?
S.D.A.: When it comes to music, my husband is more popular than I am. He’s the one that people know as a musician. He’s the one that they know as a family of music people because of his sister and the others. So his fame gets more job for us when it comes to the music aspect than my fame, because – don’t forget a lot of people still don’t know that I am a singer. It’s just recently that we released one of our videos that people got to know. So they know him as the musician. But when they see me performing with him, they say aha, that actress o, she sings.
S.O.: A couple of questions from the members of my website, Naijarules.com: you’re a mother and working lady. How do you manage to remain so good looking?
S.D.A.: I don’t know, really. It’s God. I don’t have any special routine and I’m not a designer freak. I probably don’t know the names of these facial or body things… I think I stay trim because I work round the clock. If I’m not shooting a movie, I’m going to school or I’m running Synergy or I’m running my African shop. I sell African things. I’m doing one thing or the other every given time. Whatever comes with it, I believe its God because I know I have good skin and I don’t do anything special to maintain anything. I just try to be very clean. I try to wash my face all the time. The products that I use are basically the Ginseng products and Vaseline. I don’t have any funny thing that I do in the morning. I’m sorry, I might not be of help on that because I think its all God.
S.O.: Another question from the website: Rattlesnake 4, is it going to be released anytime soon? And are you still in it?
S.D.A.: I’m still in the part 4, yes. But I don’t know when they’re going to release it. I have no idea. Amaka Igwe will be able to answer that question. I shot a lot of things and it is not all of them that came out in the part 3, so I’m thinking that they’re going to put all that in a part 4.
S.O.: Okay. Can you tell us about your African shop?
S.D.A.: Yes, Monafrique. I like to make things. I like to create things and design things. And I’m also someone that I don’t know how to buy gold or silver or diamond or things like that, but I like a lot of beads and I like African fabrics, so I just started traveling to Cotonou, Ghana, Lome, and I just buy fabrics from all these African countries, come back and design things – bags, table clothes, earrings, moccasins – you know things like that. But I found out that when I started wearing them, a lot of people liked them and they would come to me: How did you get this? And I’m like I made it. And they say instead of buying all these boutique clothes that they tell you buy one for 15 – 20,000 Naira, why don’t you make something simple for me, something nice, and make an African handbag that will go with the fabric. And I started making it for some of my friends. Before I knew it, a lot of orders started coming in and things like that. As I am now, I don’t even know how to satisfy all my customers because so many people have been calling me and I don’t know how many I can make at a time.
S.O.: You’re having a very busy life. What’s a typical day like?
S.D.A.: Frankly speaking, I don’t have a typical day. I know that from the time I wake up in the morning till about 10-11, I must make sure that in that space of time, I try to see my kids for at least one hour. The rest of the time, I’m either shooting a movie, I’m at the office working for Synergy or I’m designing one thing or the other for clients of Monafrique or I’m doing a write up for something I want to send on the ‘Net, because there are some people that sent me mail from London and tell me I want you to write this for this magazine or things like that… I work on my computer. I’m always busy. I always have one thing to do. And it’s not just about the money. I think I’m a very restless person. I can’t stay in one place a long time and I always want to do something to keep my mind working and keep busy. I buy a lot of books… I don’t have a routine life. I’m a very spontaneous person. I can wake up and say okay, I’m going to Ghana to buy fabrics.
S.O.: The movie industry in Nigeria is growing and that is a good thing. But from all you have said so far, one can tell that if anything happens to the movie industry, you have so many other options, so many things you can do…
S.D.A.: You can say that because I have a thousand and one other things that I do on the side, but believe me, if you asked me, deep down inside, I would tell you that the one that I really really really think I love most is the acting and that’s the movie industry. I really wouldn’t want anything to happen to it and I doubt if anything is going to happen to it cos I want to be part of it. Really really grow big and go international, you know… If you asked me to choose between acting and everything that I do, I probably will choose acting, although acting is the one that doesn’t guarantee a steady income per se. But it’s the one that I love most. At the same time, I get regular income from the other things that I do, more than the acting thing. The movie industry is very peculiar and I don’t like to slot myself in every movie, so I try to do one in like two months so people don’t get tired of seeing my face on every poster. So when I do that, you know the income is not going to be as regular as the next person who does movie after movie after movie.
S.O.: What does the future hold for Stella the actress and Stella the singer?
S.D.A.: Stella the actress and Stella the singer is really going to be big by the grace of God. I want to be a source of inspiration to everybody. I want to come to London and say I want to do a show and people will say Oh God, Stella is having a show, I must see the show. It’s not just about popularity. I want to be able to affect the life of people positively. I want to be able to affect the life of the youth. I still see me being someone who is looked up to, someone who does things just to better the community, the society and things like that. Of course I want to be rich. Believe me, I want to be rich. If not for my sake, at least for my children. I just want to go all over the world. I want to be remembered as that person who was really really really good. I just want to be a good person.
S.O.: When you say you want to be rich, what is your definition of wealth? How much is rich?
S.D.A.: I can’t tell you in numbers, but I know that wealth to me is being able to afford anything that I want. I’m not naturally a materialistic person. I’m not flashy, I’m not extravagant or anything. I’m very simple. Rich to me means I can sit down and a thousand and one people can come to me and say we need to pay school fees, I need this, I need that… I want to be able to say oh, take money. Do whatever you want with it as long as it makes you happy. I want to be able to take care of my parents. I want to be able to take care of my cousins. I want to be able to spoil my kids. I want to be able to tell my husband happy birthday and give him the key to a car that he has been dreaming about or talking about, you know? Things like that. I want to be able to surprise my sister and tell them I’m giving you – your husband and your children – an all expense paid trip to Hollywood or Disneyland or something. I just really want to make people happy. I like to be happy and I like people around me to be happy, that’s it.
S.O.: Stella, I try to give every star I interview a chance to react to stories in the media or anything that’s been written or said about them that they feel is untrue and they want to give their own side of the story. Is there anything that has been written about you that you would like to react to?
S.D.A.: I don’t really like to respond to such things because my life will definitely go on. People won’t think about me every day. I got tired or trying to defend myself. Like a few weeks ago, there was (a publication) that came out that said that on the 11th of December (2003), I was at the Bar Beach and I was making out with Richard Mofe-Danijo. And I thought that was so crazy because it was on the front page and they gave date and time. That date that they gave, my husband was with me at the beach. He was there with the driver and (lost in phone static). They needed to fly to Abuja and he called me and asked me where are you? And I’m like, I’m shooting at the beach o. Will you come? And he said no problem. And he came there. On that particular day, I was there with all our friends and I didn’t enter this particular car that they were talking about and you know there were a lot of people on set. You had the director, you had the cameraman, you had the technical crew, you had the other artistes on set. …Where was the town that we did whatever they said we did? My lawyer wrote them a letter demanding a retraction or we would take them to court and I just turned to the lawyer and said how many do you want to fight? After that one, other magazines picked up on it and started writing rubbish. And people just expected me to break down or cry or things like that. Eventually we got home and laughed over it because it was so crazy that the day they decided to pick was the same day that my husband was with me all through. People will always talk about. Be good. Be bad. They will still talk about you. And it looks like they need me to sell their magazine, well fine, if they think that I’m that important. All I just say is that I’m glad that the people that matter most to me know who I am and they’re always supportive, they’re always behind me. Things will come, temptation will come, the devil will try to use people to bring you down and destroy you. If you’re a child of God, as long as your conscience is clear and you know that God sees all, just put everything in the hands of God. As long as your husband needs you and knows that whatever it is, you’re in it together, and he supports you, I don’t need any other person to vouch for me or anything. Because it will continue, not matter what I do or what I say or how many court sessions I go for. They will still write whatever they want to write. You can’t kill them and you can’t stop them. I think it will be easier moving on.
And believe me, since that publication came out, I’ve been twice a popular as I ever was. Nowadays, people are coming to me wit scripts, with jobs… I’ve had people from London telling me they want me to be their representative, they want me to provide local programs for them. I’ve had people telling me I want you to be my editor in chief, I want to start an entertainment magazine. You know people said they read about this thing and everybody wanted to know who Stella was. And when they met me, its like ok I want to do something with you actively. So it actually opened doors for me that I didn’t expect. So I’m like okay God, if this is the way this has turned out, I’m grateful.
S.O.: Thank you very much Stella.
