Biography of Beverly Naya

Beverly Ifunaya Bassey popularly known as Beverly Naya is a British-born Nigerian actress, model, producer, scriptwriter, and entrepreneur. She’s one of the fast rising star in the Nigerian movie industry. The determined and fearless actress has received high acclaim for her work on stage, on television and in film. She’s one of the few celebrities passionate about colourism. She exhibited this in her “Skin” documentary.

Early life and background of Beverly Naya

Beverly Naya was born on 17 April 1989 in London, United Kingdom. She is the only child to her Nigerian parents. Beverly hails from Delta State, from Ibuzo, the Igbo speaking Delta region. She had her formal education in the UK. She studied philosophy, psychology and sociology at Brunel University. She also studied script-writing and film-making at Roehampton University.

Her Acting Career

Beverly Naya began acting at the age of 17 while studying at the Brunel University in Uxbridge, England. She got an award for acting in college, She acted in movies and did theatre shows in the U.K.
In the U.K, Beverly did a few short films for the British Broadcasting Corporation and The Metropolitan Police. She acted in a couple of theatre productions including one by Debbie Tucker-Green, called Stoning Mary and then Psychosis and Crave.

She broke into the Nigerian entertainment scene in 2010 when she starred in the Nollywood film “Living in Exile” and has since then feature in a number of blockbuster Nollywood films. Due to the rapid growth and opportunities present in Nollywood, Beverly decided to move back to Nigeria with influence from her mum. In an interview, she cited Genevieve Nnaji and Ramsey Noah as her mentors. She’s also inspired by the works of Mo Abudu and Oprah Winfrey.

In 2011, Beverly Naya starred alongside OC Ukeje in the AMAA Award nominated hit film Alan Poza, her performance earned her another nomination for Best actress in a lead role.  The dark-skinned actress has featured in quite a number of movies and series including Tinsel, Skinny girl in transit, Make a move, Forgetting June, When Love Happens, Something Wicked amongst others.

Beverly Naya premiered her new documentary “Skin” in Lagos on March 31, 2019. The documentary was sponsored by Nivea. Skin centres on loving and caring for the skin irrespective of its shade. This narrative is interwoven by poignant personal accounts of individuals who have dealt with the pressure to conform to certain standards of beauty, revealing how colourism continues to shape the face of society in Nigeria. This documentary saw Beverly exploring her root and cultural heritage.

Beverly is one of the most stylish celebrities as she proved that at her hosting duties with ‘A Night with the stars’ hosted by Moet and Chandon in 2020. She was named by Forbes as one of Africa’s most promising entrepreneurs under the age of 30.

Beverly Naya’s Endorsements 

Beverly Naya is currently a brand ambassador for Schweppes Nigeria.

LG Africa endorsed Beverly Naya as one of its brand ambassadors.

She was the host of the Verve Life 2019 edition.

Darling Nigeria signed an endorsement deal with Beverly Naya, to be the brand ambassador of its numerous range of products.

The skincare advocate is an ambassador for Nivea Nigeria.

Her Humanitarian Works

Aside being ambassador for various brands, Beverly is also an activist. She is constantly looking for ways to positively effect change and growth in our society. Beverly Naya is the founder of her very own campaign called #FiftyShadesOfBlack which was created to empower black women and girls to love themselves.

Beverly Naya’s Relationship

Not much is known about Beverly Naya’s personal life, as she tries her best to keep them out of the public view. She is not yet married and believes that pressure on women to get married should be reduced. The beautiful actress has been linked to a number of young and single men in the Nigerian entertainment industry; like pop singer, Flavour and TV show host, Uti Nwachukwu. She has since debunked such claims.

Awards and nominations

She won Most Promising Talent at the 2010 Best of Nollywood Awards.

She also won the award for Fast Rising Actress at the 2011 City People Entertainment Awards.

In 2011, she was nominated for Best Actress in a Lead Role at AMAA awards.

She was nominated for the 2014 ELOY Awards for TV Actress of the Year for her role in the Nigerian series, Tinsel.

Nominated for the African Magic Viewers’ Choice Award (AMVCA) in the Best Supporting Actress – 2016

Best Actress at the Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival (TINFF) – 2018

Forbes 30 under 30 Awards, Africa – 2018

Official selection (Skin) at the Urban World Film Festival – 2019

The Skin was officially selected to play at the Slum Film Festival – 2019

Official selection (Skin) at the San Francisco Black Film Festival – 2019

The Skin was officially selected at the Africa World Documentary Film Festival – 2019

The documentary – Skin, is an official selection of this year’s iREP International Documentary Film Festival – 2019

Beverly Naya’s Net Worth

Beverly Naya is one of the most successful Nollywood actresses with an estimated net worth of $500,000 dollars.