Mama Rainbow: Inspiring Story of Nollywood’s Icon Who Plans to Keep Going Till She’s 120
Donned in a shimmering gold gown accessorized with bold jewellery, Mama Rainbow, was a rolling ball of infectious energy as she made her grand entrance at the popular Monarch Event Centre in Lagos on Thursday, October 20.
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Friends, family members, and colleagues in the entertainment industry had gathered at the highly sought-after venue to join her in celebrating her grand 80th birthday.
The octogenarian completely owned the show as she danced her way to the stage, with everyone in the hall rising to their feet and capturing the beautiful moment on their mobile devices.
Source: Instagram
One would expect that at 80, Mama Rainbow should well be on the verge of hanging her boots, but this isn’t the case for the seasoned veteran who is still as hungry for success as she was when she joined the industry years ago…
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Mama Rainbow's early life
The actress whose real name is Idowu Philips was born in October 1942 to Prophet Jacob Adebanjo Ifemade and Mrs Ifemade in the Ijebu Ode area of Ogun state. There’s little known about her childhood, but in several interviews, Mama Rainbow has maintained that hers wasn’t a glamourous story. It was one punctuated by struggles and basically a case of making lemonades out of life’s lemons.
A young Mama Rainbow would go on to complete her primary and secondary school education in Ijebu Ode, before proceeding to enrol in a nursing school. Later on, Idowu Philips graduated as a certified nurse and practised for a solid 20 years. Her nursing career saw her working in several government-owned hospitals.
However, even though in the medical field, there was another part of Philips that wanted to delve into theatre. This was especially the case because her husband, late Ayanfemi Philips, had a theatre group and watching members get about their rehearsals fanned the flames of her interest.
Unfortunately, Ayanfemi passed away in 1984 after battling sickness for about two years, and though a huge blow to the actress, it was the beginning of a career that would see her being celebrated as a screen legend.
Mama Rainbow delving into acting
Upon the painful death of her husband, Mama Rainbow left her job as a nursing professional and took charge of the drama group left behind by her late husband.
This was the case because she had a resolve to ensure that his name would never be forgotten even though he is no longer of the world. In a 2021 interview, the actress admitted that her resolve to keep the Osumare name alive motivated her to keep going.
“What has kept me going over the years is the promise I made to my late husband to keep our name ‘Osumare’ which means ‘Rainbow’ in English. So, my motivation is because I do not want my husband’s name to go into oblivion.”
With her husband gone, the sole responsibility of raising five children fell on Mama Rainbow and it became a herculean task of sorts to keep the drama group running. The group, however, stayed active for about five years as she had the assistance of another individual, Tajudeen Gbadamosi, before it was disbanded.
Mama Rainbow became more outgoing and started taking on most of the movie roles that came her way. At the time, it was more than the love for acting but more about getting enough jobs to put food on the table and take care of her children.
The actress wasn’t going to tread the path of marriage again and she knew every role that came her way had to be accepted with both hands, as long as it paid the bills.
Unfortunately, Mama Rainbow’s quest for survival would see naysayers come to the conclusion that she was simply a ‘cheap actress’ who would jump at roles without nitpicking.
“It was written in newspapers then that I was the cheapest actress. I was popularly known as ‘Iya Osumare’ then not ‘Iya Rainbow’. If I did not do that then, I wouldn’t have been able to successfully raise my five children,” Mama Rainbow said in a 2019 interview.
With over 100 movies to her credit, there’s no denying that the words of her naysayers never deterred Mama Rainbow. Some of the movies she has featured in over the years include:
Back to Africa (1997)Lagidigba (2000), Jesu Mushin (2002), Irepodun (2002), Eyin Ogongo, N150 Million (2003), Ìfé òtító (2003), Fila Daddy (2003), Arewa okunrin (2003), Omo oku òrun (2003), Okun ife (2003),Okun ife 2 (2004), Okan soso (2004), Okan soso 2 (2004), Ògìdán (2004), Oga Bolaji (2018), Sugar Rush (2019).
Mama Rainbow has equally worked alongside fellow veterans like Jide Kosoko, Lere Paimo, Ngozi Nwosu, Oga Bello, Peju Ogunmola and Yinka Quadri, to mention a few.
A queen for commercials
Although not as present in the big-budget Nollywood productions, Mama Rainbow has a place in the hearts of the younger generation, and this is all thanks to her character as Iya Segun in telecommunication giant Airtel’s native theme television commercials.
“Airtel your advert are just on point. mama ambassador is correct! the best cast for all your adverts!” one social media user wrote in the comment section after watching the popular Gele advert.
In the commercial, Mama Rainbow takes centre stage alongside colleagues Ngozi Nwosu, Dele Odule, Ayo Mogaji, and Lateef Adedimeji, among others.
During an 'owambe' gathering, Iya Segun (Mama Rainbow) is the only one with an outdated headgear style while other women had moved on to a more sophisticated and easy-to-wear readymade style.
Other women (Ayo Mogaji, Ngozi Nwosu) come to her aid and attempt to properly style the headgear but their efforts become wasted as the headgear gets ruffled while she was dancing.
The women come together again and present Mama Rainbow with their sophisticated readymade headgear and she’s eventually able to party with no worries.
“When we were shooting we didn’t know it would be this big. That’s why we often pray that the work that would change one’s life should come on time. That advert gave us more prominence. People say that we changed the face of Airtel, but Airtel also changed my life,” Mama Rainbow opened up in an interview.
The veteran actress has featured in several other commercials for Airtel and even gone ahead to feature in an online series, The-Inlaws.
Mama Rainbow’s character in Airtel commercials, in a way, presents her as the Nollywood grandma whose legendary performances draw in the young and old.
Although now an octogenarian, the actress has said it in several interviews that she doesn't plan to exit the movie scene anytime soon.
According to Mama Rainbow, God has promised her 120 years on earth and she plans to do what she loves doing until the very end...
"As far as I am alive, I will continue with acting. In fact, both acting and ministry work will not stop me because I’m going to spend 120 years. That was what God promised me if I serve Him to my latter end," she told Encomium in 2015.
Actor Olu Jacobs attends AFRIFF with wife Joke Silva, wins Lifetime Achievement award
It would be recalled that last year, Legit.ng reported that veteran actor Olu Jacobs made a public appearance to attend the Africa International Film Festival (Afriff) where he received the lifetime achievement awards.
Olu Jacobs, who appeared pale, shared a photo of himself prepared to attend the event with his wife on Instagram.
The photo stirred massive reactions from fans who wondered about his looks might be a result of old age.
Source: Legit.ng
