Entertainment
‘I’m Now Grace-Charis Bassey, No Longer Bellinda Effah’
Award winning Nigeria actress and global brand, Belinda Effah on Monday 26th of April officially announced her name change in a press conference that took place at The Ethnic Hub.
The actress disclosed that her brother renamed her and her sisters because he felt they needed an English name.
She claimed that she bore the name without knowing it meant pretty serpent. Belinda explained that she researched about her name at a time when people started asking what her name meant.
Having discovered the meaning, she took steps to change her name 3 years ago but she backed out because she couldn’t withstand the tedious process.
According to her she had a divine encounter with God last year 15th of August to change her name.
“A couple of years ago I wanted to change my name when I found out that I could not really grasps the meaning of my name. Some people said it meant ‘beauty’ some other people said it meant ‘beautiful serpent’. So I was cut in between not knowing what the right meaning is. Linda seemed to have diverse meaning and I wasn’t quite comfortable with that.
“Also with the fact that Belinda was not the first name that my parents gave to me.
“My birth name is Uyu.
I came across Belinda in secondary school, one day my brother came up with the idea of changing my name and my sister’s name because we were all bearing native names. He came up with different names and asked us to pick. Funny enough I picked Melinda but I didn’t like the name because people started calling me Mirinda in school. So I decided to just go on with Belinda because they could not twist it to something funny like Mirinda.
“I should have known not to pick Belinda because my brother actually picked it for my sister but she said she wanted Fiona. She checked the meaning and it was cool and she went on with it. I didn’t check I just got carried away with Belinda because it sounded cool, it sounded hip, and that’s what I get all the time when people hear my name. they say oh, I like that name.”
“On the 15th of August 2020. I had a divine encounter with God to change my name to Grace.
“Nobody changed my name to Grace, God did.
So after my encounter with God, I called my parents and told them not to call me Belinda anymore, and my mom said wow… congratulations. The interesting part is that my mom said she named me Grace at birth.
“She said, she had a friend who bears Grace and she went through all the troubles with her during the Labour of my delivery. So she decided to honor her friend by naming me after her so she named me Grace. Since my father has the final say as to what name I bear, he insisted that I bear Uyu”.
Former Belinda adviced the world to bear names with good meaning as your name represents you.
“I believe that name should not be about how it sounds or how hip or cool it is but about the meaning, because name is about representation. When you are being identified by a name it represents you”.
Having narrated the aforesaid, she officially announced her new name and unveiled her new business name.
“So… dear world, ladies and gentlemen of the press, dear family and friends.
“I will like to be recognised and identified as Grace-Charis Bassey henceforth, and not as Belinda Effah anymore.
“I know it’s going to take a while for people to adopt to this, people may make mistakes and still call me Belinda. It’s ok, I’m giving you guys six months to get use to it.
“I’m Grace-Charis Bassey and I want to unveil my new logo for my business. From House Of Belinda to Grace-Charis Bassey empire. So this is my representation now. A couple of people have asked me what Charis means. Charis means Grace, so I’m double dose of grace,” she concluded.
Entertainment
Actor Lalude Laments Unpaid N1.5m Promised Him by MC Oluomo to Campaign for Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu
Nollywood actor, Fatai Adekunle Adetayo, popularly known as Lalude, has accused the president of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), MC Oluomo, of failing to fulfil financial promises made to celebrities who campaigned for President Bola Tinubu and Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, during the 2023 general elections.
Speaking during a recent episode of the Beyond the Fame podcast, Lalude expressed deep disappointment over what he described as abandonment, revealing that he and other entertainers were promised N1.5 million each by MC Oluomo but never received a dime.
Lalude, known for his iconic ‘babalawo’ roles in Yoruba movies, said he and other actors, including comedian Ganiu ‘Alapini’ Nofiu, were lodged and made to campaign for weeks without proper compensation.
According to him, they initially received N10,000 daily for feeding, but even that was stopped abruptly.
“We were camped for seven weeks. We trekked long distances every day while MC Oluomo followed us in his car. In the end, we were abandoned,” he lamented.
He claimed that both he and Alapini were promised N1.5 million each, a promise that was never fulfilled.
‘We finished the work and no dime was given to us. Is it good? It was MC who called us.
“MC promised me and Alapini. He asked us to demand for whatever we wanted. We did but we got nothing up till date.
“He took us to where we lodged to campaign for the president. He promised to give us N1.5 million each.
“Whoever is behind these misdeeds will not prosper. I know they will still come to us by 2027 and we are waiting for them?” He added bitterly.
This comes just days after veteran Nollywood actor Ganiu Nafiu, popularly known as Alapini, and actress Bukky Adekogbe Raji, also known as Aminatu Papapa, expressed deep regret for supporting President Tinubu during the 2023 presidential campaign.
Popular Nigerian film and stage producer, Kayode Peters, has passed away in Canada.
“Yes, he is,” Yaw told Peoples Gazette when asked if Mr Peters had died. “I am still trying to speak with his brother but he is not picking.”
Circumstances surrounding the producer’s death remain unclear as of the time of this report.
Mr Peters was known for his work on several stage plays and sitcoms, including Extended Family, and he was behind the hit comedy sitcom Flatmates in the early 2000s. He was also regarded as a significant contributor to Nigeria’s contemporary theatre and television space.
Anna Wintour has stepped down as the editor-in-chief of Vogue after an impressive 37-year tenure.
According to recent reports, Condé Nast, the publisher of Vogue, has initiated the search for her successor.
This significant development marks a new era in the fashion industry, given Wintour’s unparalleled influence in shaping Vogue’s editorial direction and cementing its position as a global fashion authority.
As Wintour’s legacy continues to inspire future generations of fashion enthusiasts and industry professionals, her departure raises questions about Vogue’s future direction and the potential shifts in editorial focus.
However, the circumstances surrounding her departure remain undisclosed.
