Biography of Tonto Dikeh

Tonto Charity Dike is a popular Nigerian actress, singer, songwriter, television personality and humanitarian. She is known by different monikers and nicknames – Tontolet, Poko, Mama King and King Tonto. The controversial actress who is one of the biggest names in the Nigerian movie industry, has been acting since 2006. The light-skinned actress is always in the news for one controversy or the other; she uses this medium to promote both her personal, social, humanitarian and business endeavours. Tonto Dikeh is one of the actress who has developed a thick skin in the industry. She does not let critics stop her from shining and living her dreams.

Early life and background of Tonto Dikeh

Born on June 9, 1985 to Mr Sunny Dikeh and Mrs Veronica Dikeh as the third of five children. She’s of Ikwerre descent from Obio-Akpor, a LGA in Rivers State. She was raised by her step-mother, having lost her mother to the cold hands of death at an early age of 3. Tonto Dike had her primary and secondary education in Port-Harcourt before proceeding to the Rivers State University of Science and Technology to earn a degree in petrochemical engineering.

Her Acting Career

She came into limelight with feature appearance in movie “Dirty Secret” which created lots of contention in Nigeria due to its numerous adult scenes. Tonto Dikeh got her big break after emerging the first runner-up of a reality show called “Next Movie Star” in 2006. She was once a car dealer before delving into acting.

After her second movie “Holy Cross“, her acting popularity soared high as she got leading roles in a number of movies. The talented artiste has featured in not less than 200 Nollywood movies. After acting for a while, she decided to venture into music thereby joining the list of Nollywood actors who have at one time or another navigated acting and singing professionally.

In 2011, she released some singles “Hi and Itz Ova” featuring Snypa. Her songs were received fairly well; while many praised her efforts, others questioned her vocal ability. Tonto got signed to D’banj’s record label, DB Records in June 2014. She announced her departure from the record label in 2015.

Tonto Dikeh’s Endorsements

Mama King has signed a few ambassadorial deals with corporate bodies like Zikel Cosmetics, Amstel Malt, Sapphire Scents and largest Chinese Restaurant in Sub Sahara Africa – Silk Road Restaurant.

Tonto Dikeh’s Humanitarian Works

In 2000, Tonto Dikeh established her NGO – Tonto Dikeh Foundation.The foundation aims at promoting the standard of living of underprivileged and displaced women, girls, youths, and children in Africa, regardless of their political, religious and cultural differences. It also focus on addressing issues concerning women, rape, empowerment, climate change and child right. The foundation has offered about 6983 people scholarships and healthcare provision.

Tonto Dikeh’s Controversial life

Tonto Dikeh can either be seen causing squabbles or promoting her brand on social media. She has been associated with quite a number of drama and scandal. She has occasionally be causing stirs on social media as it regards her marriage and personality.

Here are some of the controversies she has been linked with:

Tontolet has been romantically linked to a lot of superstars including Iyanya, Wizkid and 2Face.

She got tongues wagging at 2face Idibia’s Unforgettable concert, where she was all flirty and all over 2face.

There were speculations that Tonto Dikeh is a lesbian. Ini Edo and Halima Abubakar were reported to be her lesbian mates. A scene that had her kissing another girl in Strippers in Love actually fueled the rumours.

Tonto Dikeh has had feud with Mercy Johnson and other celebrities. She revealed on her social media page that she once attempted suicide.

The sultry actress is a big fan of body arts and has a large tattoo on her back which caused controversy with people saying that it had an illuminati element to it. She also has 57 letters tattooed on her body, 57 stars and 570 lines and curves as well.

The screen diva admitted to bleaching her skin, stating that it was to enhance her skin’s complexion. However, many are of the opinion that it was an attempt to enable her get more movie roles.

Tonto Dikeh’s Reality Show: King Tonto

In June 2018, Tonto Dikeh aired the first episode of her reality show “King Tonto” on Linda Ikeji TV. King Tonto is a platform where she bares it all out.

Tonto Dikeh’s Relationship and Family Life

Tonto Dikeh was once married to Olakunle Olasumbo Churchill, a nephew of Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of Nigeria. Olakunle Churchill owns Big Church Entertainment and Big Churchill Haven Limited. They had their traditional wedding in August 2015. In February 2016, they welcomed their son, Andre Omodayo Churchill, nicknamed Baby X. They got divorced a year later.

On International Women’s Day in 2017, the mother of one revealed in a video that she was a victim of domestic violence and was infected with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in her marriage to her estranged husband, Mr. Churchill. She further stated that she opted for a divorce due to her husband’s infidelity as he was having an affair with Rosaline Meurer, one of her protégés.

It was reported in June 2017 that Tonto’s dad had returned the brideprice Olakunle Churchill paid during his traditional wedding to Tonto. This marked the end of the union. As of now, Tonto Dikeh isn’t married but she’s in a relationship. In a recent live instagram video session with Reverend Laurie Idahosa, she revealed she has been with her man for four years. She further disclosed that they were both in unique situations at the time they met. He had recently lost his wife while her marriage had crashed.

Awards and nominations

Tonto Dikeh was nominated for BON Awards – 2012

Afro Hollywood Awards nominated her for Best Actress (English language film) category – 2012

Future Awards Nominee for Actor of the year – 2012

Best Actress of the Year at ELOY Awards – 2013

Nominee at the City People Movie Award for Best Actress of the Year (English) – 2014

Best Actress Award by Peace Ambassador Awards – 2016

Nominee for the South-South Progressive awards – 2016

Nominated for the GAB Special Recognition Awards in The Arts category – 2016

Humanitarian ambassador of the year nominee at the Starrz Awards – 2017

Nominated for Her Network Woman of the Year (HNWOTY) Awards – 2018

Social Media honours the Tonto Dike Foundation with the Social Good Awards – 2019

J-KRUE Awards nominated Tonto Dikeh Foundation for the Humanitarian Foundation of the Year – 2019

Award of Excellence for Female Activist of the Year by QOEN – 2019

National Peace Award for Domestic Violence Advocate of the Year – 2020

Tonto Dikeh’s Net Worth

With an estimated net worth of $1 million dollars, the award-winning actress is rated one of the richest and influential female celebrity.

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