Nollywood veteran, Patience Ozokwor, has opened up about how people tried to impose titles on her at the beginning of her career and how she handled it.
The thespian said when she began her acting career, people tried to compare her with legendary actress, Liz Benson, by tagging her as “Liz Benson of Enugu” but she rejected the tag because she believes they are both unique.
She disclosed that she also rejected suggestions to answer her husband’s first name as her surname and instead chose to bear his family name.
Ozokwor spoke in a recent interview with Nwafo TV.
“I don’t know how it started, all I know was that when I started [my acting career] and people started recognising this woman from Enugu.
“So, there was a time I came to Lagos for a shoot and people started saying, ‘That’s her, this woman from Enugu.’ They said, ‘You’re the Liz Benson’ of Enugu.’
“I said, ‘No, with all due respect, I don’t want to be like Liz Benson, I want to be myself. I am Patience Ozokwor of Enugu’,” she recalled.
She added: “And some people came and said, ‘You don’t even need to answer Patience Ozokwor again. Answer your husband’s first name Edmund; Patience Edmund.’
“I said, ‘No, because in Igbo land you’re not just married by one man, you’re married by a family. I don’t know about other tribes.
“So my husband’s people, their name is Ozokwor. When you mention Ozokwor in any part of this world, people who know the Ozokwors would say ‘I know where she comes from’.”
