Regina Chinedu Chukwu, a name that resonates today in Nollywood, has shared the harrowing yet inspiring journey that shaped her into the woman she is, a resilient mother, entrepreneur, and actress. Often associated with glamour and fame, Regina’s life is a powerful story of loss, sacrifice, perseverance, and determination.
Born and raised in Abule Oki, Iyana Ipaja, Lagos, Regina, whose Yoruba name is Abosede, attended Alimosho Primary School and later, Alimosho Grammar School. Her academic journey continued at the Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH), but her dreams of completing her education were cut short when she got married at the age of 22 to Sunday Chukwu.
Their union, however, was tragically brief revealing, “My marriage lasted barely three years. My second child, Richard, was just four months old when my husband died.”
Sunday, an electrical appliances seller in Lagos, who had promised to support her dream of studying Theatre Arts, died after a long battle with tuberculosis, a diagnosis he kept hidden from her until much later.
Their love story was both touching and tragic.
“My husband broke my virginity,” she said, recalling how he promised to train her under a professional Igbo film actor, while raising their family together.
But hardship followed as she explained, “There was no way I could pay my school fees and the children’s school fees. I had to sacrifice my own for my children.”
Sunday’s death devastated her. He was buried in his hometown in Anambra without her knowledge or presence. “It was the second day I went out, and I saw his burial ground. I fainted,” she recalled. But that was just the beginning of her ordeal.
Regina was subjected to traditional widowhood rites, her hair was cut, and she was forced to mourn for a year, all together. “The day they cut my hair, my mother cried. It was the hair my husband loved they cut. I have long hair which my husband like to play with” Even more painful was the fact that her children were taken from her. “They collected Richard from me and tried to force me to remarry within the family and be bearing children for my mother in law. There is no bastard in Igbo land. I am still their wife till date. If I die today, they will bury in in Anambra.’”
Amid the cultural and emotional trauma, Regina summoned strength to rebuild her life adding, “Immediately my husband died, I faced my business so I could train my kids. We don’t know how to beg for anything, six of us, my parents raised us strong.”
Her foray into Nollywood came unexpectedly. “One fine girl, who used to pass where I was selling, kept telling me I should join Nollywood. One day she took me to meet some notable actors and actresses, that was how it started.”
Regina later joined Kunle Afolayan’s group and has since produced ten movies.
However, she took a break from Nollywood to focus on her children’s education explaining, “I made up my mind that my kids will go to private universities. I wanted them to go to Covenant University.”
According to her, two of her children attended Babcock University, Ilisan Remo and the first child, Racheal, whose Igbo name is Chukwuamaka has graduated while Richard will soon graduate and her adopted daughter, Ifeoma, whose biological mother never paid a dime for her schooling, graduated from Nnamdi Azikiwe University.
She boasted, “No man contributed a dime to my children’s education.”
Today, Regina Chukwu is not only a successful actress and filmmaker but also an entrepreneur in the skincare industry.
