Veteran Nollywood actress, Patience Ozokwor, shared her experience of being pressured to adopt certain titles and identities.
She expressed how individuals attempted to label her as the “Liz Benson of Enugu,” drawing comparisons to the famous actress Liz Benson.
She revealed that there were suggestions for her to use her husband’s first name as her surname, a practice commonly seen in many cultures. Despite this, Ozokwor made a conscious decision to uphold her husband’s family name instead.
“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’.
“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’.”
