Illuzionmagazine has just released its list of “Sexiest Africans Alive” and yeah, our favourite
Joselyn Dumas and
Yvonne Nelson were the only Ghanaians who made the list although it is highly saturated with Nigerian celebrities.
From an initial shortlist of 100 African elite athletes, musicians,
actors, socialites, TV personalities, fitness experts and super models,
the list was narrowed down to 20.
According to the magazine, the final 20, do not only have what appears
to be the sexiest bodies in their respective industries, but they have
excelled and distinguished their-selves in their chosen careers in the
year 2014.
Well, no Ghanaian male celebrity made it? Whoops!! What happened to the
likes of Chris Attoh, Majid Michel and perhaps Kwadjo Nkansah Lilwin,
lol.
GENEVIEVE NNAJI, AGE: 35, NIGERIAN, ACTRESS
Genevieve Nnaji is an AMAA award winning super star actress, with an
enviable profile, which include a profiling on the Oprah Winfrey show
and on CNN’s Connect The World where she was dubbed Africa’s answer to
Julia Roberts and Africa’s Screen Goddess, she was rumored to be next
Bond girl a few years back, the role later went to British actress Naomi
Harris. The Former face of Lux and MUD might not have been in any
recent movie aside from 2013?s Hollywood period film Half Of A Yellow
Sun, however, she was reported to have earned nearly $1.5 million in
endorsements alone, within the first quarter of 2014. Genevieve Nnaji’s
appeal transcends age and gender, as we have witnessed ,many African
superstars openly express their undying love and admiration for the
iconic actress.
WILLIAMS FALADE, NIGERIAN-FITNESS MODEL
Williams Falade is a Nigerian-British fitness model and the former
Miami Pro European Fitness Model Champion 2013, Body of Africa 2013.
Williams has built a brand and career out of his love for fitness, which
has notably made him a highly sought after fitness instructor and
celebrity personal trainer.
LIRA MOLAPO, AGE: 35, SOUTH AFRICAN, MUSICIAN
Lira is a celebrated South African platinum recording artist,who like
wine only gets better with age. she is revered and loved across South
Africa, On 29 April 2014 she released her debut American album “Rise
Again”. She is a multi-platinum selling and an 8x South African Music
Award-winning Afro-Soul vocalist who refers to her music as “a fusion of
soul, funk, elements of jazz and African. Lira won the 2014 Africa
Muzik Magazine Awards for Best Female Southern Africa. According to The
Star Newspaper, she’s currently considered the foremost adult
contemporary female solo artist in South Africa. She has appeared in
major ad campaigns and been an Ambassador for Audi, Shield, Samsung, MTN
and Blackberry. She has appeared on the covers of over thirty magazines
worldwide and currently holds the largest Facebook following of any
South African musician with over half a million fans.
FLAVOUR N’ABANIA, AGE- 30, NIGERIAN, MUSICIAN
Better known by his stage name Flavour N’abania (or simply Flavour), is
a Nigerian singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and performer.
Flavour gained world wide acclaim for his Ashawo and Nwa Baby singles
which till date still enjoy air plays. Just as the African continent
has been held spell bound by Flavour’s infectious sound and powerful
stage performance, so has he also grasped our attention with his larger
than life abs, that is finely sculpted and chiselled by presumably
hundreds of hours spent in the gym. Flavour keeps his millions of fans
always guessing with his now famous bathroom selfies.
DIDIER DROGBA- AGE: 36, IVORY COAST, FOOTBALLER
Didier Drogba, is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays for
Chelsea in the Premier League as a striker, and is the all-time top
scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team. He is best
known for his career at Chelsea, for whom he scored more goals than any
other foreign player and is currently the club’s fourth highest goal
scorer of all time. In October 2012, he was voted by Chelsea supporters
as the club’s greatest player ever. He has also been named African
Footballer of the Year twice, winning the accolade in 2006 and 2009.
CORNEL FREDERICKS, AGE- 24, SOUTH AFRICAN, ATHLETE
Cornel Fredericks is a South African track and field athlete who
competes in the 400 metres hurdles. He won the 2014 Commonwealth Games
gold in the 400m hurdles with a dominant display at Hampden Park.
Fredericks finished in 48.50 seconds, ahead of Trinidad & Tobago’s
Jehue Gordon (48.75) and the Bahamas’ Jeffery Gibson (48.78).
GAIL MABALANE, AGE: 29, SOUTH AFRICAN, ACTRESS
Gail Mabalane is a South African singer and actress best known as one
of the Top 14 finalists on the sixth season of the M-Net reality
competition Idols, in 2010.Gail, who auditioned in Bloemfontein, was
born and bred in the town of Kimberley. In 2001, she made the Top 5 of
Miss Teen SA, and she also enjoyed a stint in Johannesburg as a Kaizer
Chiefs cheerleader. in 2012, she became the face of beauty giant Olay,
and her career has since skyrocketed.
LUNGA SHABALALA, AGE: 25, SOUTH AFRICAN, TV PERSONALITY
Lunga Shabalala is a South African socialite, model, television
presenter and actor best known for taking over as the host of the SABC1
music show Selimathunzi from Kaos Matu after winning a countrywide
presenter search, in 2011. He is considered South Africa’s ultimate bad
boy, as his toned abs have become signature brand which earned him the
coveted South African rep for Calvin Klein men’s underwear line after a
nationwide search, his career has since been growing in leaps and bounds
just as his appeal moves further beyond the South African shore.
ASSOU EKOTTO, AGE: 30, CAMEROONIAN, FOOTBALLER
Assou Ekotto is a professional footballer who plays for English club
Tottenham Hotspur. Born in France, he plays internationally for the
Cameroon national team. Since arriving at Tottenham, Assou-Ekotto has
pursued an interest in the local community and its inhabitants,
expressing a “great sense of connection to Tottenham”. He carries an
Oyster card and frequents the London Underground, and often walks with
Tottenham supporters towards the stadium before home matches. During the
London riots, the outspoken footballer suggested in an interview with
BBC Sport that his colleagues do more to mitigate geopolitical issues,
such as donating a hundredth of their salaries towards local causes.
YVONNE NELSON, AGE: 28, GHANAIAN, ACTRESS
Yvonne Nelson is an award winning actress, model, film producer and
entrepreneur. Yvonne, a former Miss Ghana contestant, shot to fame after
a big-screen role in Princess Tyra and Playboy. She quickly became a
household name on the African continent. She arguably has the best legs
in the industry which goes on for miles. Yvonne Nelson is not only a
winner in the beach front, but she has almost become a style icon in her
native West Africa, with her almost cult-like following on Instagram
where she constantly updates her nearly 250,000 IG followers with daily
personal outfits pictures.
ALEK WEK, AGE: 37, SOUTH SUDANESE, SUPER MODEL
Alek Wek is a South Sudanese British supermodel, designer and
philanthropist who began her fashion career at the age of 18 in 1995. As
the first black model whose looks did not conform to Caucasian
aesthetics, she has been hailed for her influence on the perception of
beauty in the fashion industry. Wek has modelled, either on runways or
in print advertisements, for Issey Miyake, Moschino, Victoria’s Secret,
Clinique, Shiatzy Chen, John Galliano, Chanel, Donna Karan, Calvin
Klein, Jasper Conran, Alexander McQueen, Givenchy, Armani, Fendi and
Christian Dior. She has also been featured in articles in American and
British Vogue. And has been on the cover of Elle magazine, i-D Magazine,
Canadian, German and Japanese Vogue, Cosmopolitan magazine, Glamour
magazine, Forbes Magazine Africa, and Ebony magazine. Dark-skinned
models were rare, if not unheard of, in the high fashion industry. Wek
was “the first black model who didn’t conform to a Caucasian aesthetic,
the first with an uncompromising, sub-Saharan beauty… her industry saw
her as new and exotic – a savage beauty.” As a result, Wek’s mainstream
success was celebrated by black women all over the world. Oprah Winfrey
commented that “if [Wek] had been on the cover of a magazine when I was
growing up, I would have had a different concept of who I was.”
TIWA SAVAGE, AGE: 34, NIGERIAN, MUSICIAN
Known by her stage name Tiwa Savage, is a Nigerian singer-songwriter.
The Pepsi ambassador, is currently signed to Sony/ATV Music Publishing
and Mavin Records. She co-wrote the track “Collard Greens &
Cornbread” on Fantasia Barrino’s Grammy-nominated album Back to Me.
Savage was featured on Solar Plexus, a compilation album that was
released a day after the establishment of Mavin Records. On 3 July 2013,
she released her debut studio album Once Upon a Time. Savage sings in
English and Yoruba. As a singer, her achievements include one MTV Africa
Music Award, one The Headies Award, one Channel O Music Video Award,
one Nigeria Music Video Award, and two City People Entertainment Awards,
and a BET nomination for Best International Act among others. On the
release of her now infamous music video ‘Wanted’, Tiwa trended across
the continent for weeks, receiving a continent wide media backlash for
the sexually provocative music video.
BURNA BOY, AGE: 23, NIGERIAN, MUSICIAN
Burna Boy is an amazing Nigerian vocalist with his unique sound blends
Dance-hall, Afrobeat, R&B and Hip-Hop into one tightly knit package.
His songs span from ballads full of depth, sometimes to controversial
subject matter as well as, his Dance-hall tendency implies, songs that
are just meant to get you in the mood for the groove. Burna Boy is a
refreshingly goofy, ultimate bad boy, with his near nonchalant yet
infectious disposition, though a musician he is however a style
trendsetter, as any clothing or accessory worn by him, becomes almost a
nationwide trend amongst the hippy- pop culture savvy young Nigerians,
be it a tattoo, sunglasses or tee. Burna Boy is known for his smooth
Patois-influenced Dance-hall crooning, and most especially for his hit
singles“Abeg Abeg Abeg”, “Party Wit Me”, “Firewood”, “Touch Your Toes”,
“Like To Party” and the Davido-assisted “Trumpet”.
VIMBAI MUTINHIRI, AGE: 27, ZIMBABWEAN, TV PERSONALITY
Vimbai Mutinhiri is a Zimbabwean model and television personality. She
was born in Harare, Zimbabwe but raised in Belgrade, Serbia and in
Johannesburg, South Africa. Prior to participating in Big Brother Africa
Amplified in 2011, she studied in South Africa graduating from the
University of Cape Town with an honors degree in politics, philosophy
and economics. Vimbai is perhaps, one of the very few who actually
successfully built a burgeoning career outside of the fickle Big Brother
Africa fame. She has gone on to host major African events, notably the
first ever Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards broadcast live to 54
African countries from Lagos, Nigeria. Currently the Face of Castle Milk
Stout (Cameroon), she has also been on the runway at the SA Fashion
Week and the Zimbabwe Fashion Week.
BRENDA WAIRIMU, AGE: 23, KENYAN, ACTRESS
Brenda Wairimu is a Kenyan television actress on Africa Magic’s Kona
series, she is a budding starlet who seems to be shooting for the stars.
Brenda’s mainstream appeal is inimitable- even as she is presently one
of Africa’s ‘IT’ girls of the moment. With her talent, Brenda should
spear-head the next generation’s screen goddesses.
DILLISH MATTHEWS, AGE: 23, NAMIBIAN, BBA REALITY STAR
Dillish Mathews is the winner of the 2013 Big Brother Africa reality
show, even though she is yet to pick a definite career path, as she is
yet to hit her first real breakthrough, we are however hopeful that in
the nearest future, she will grace our screens once more, either as an
actress or Television personality, either way, we will cautiously keep
our tongues in-check as Dillish is the mother of surprises, just as she
turned from the BBA’s underdog into its eventual winner, there is
definitely no telling what this starlet can or can’t do.
JOSELYN DUMAS, AGE: 34, GHANAIAN, ACTRESS
Joselyn Dumas is a Ghanaian television host and actress. In 2014 she
starred in A Northern Affair, a role that earned her a Ghana Movie
Award and an Africa Movie Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
Joselyn Dumas is indeed a sight to behold. She shot to continental fame
as the curvaceous bombshell bride in Lynxx’s music video, and since then
her career has never been the same and so has been her appeal which
transcends borders and nationalities, she appeals equally to west
Africans as she does the Southern part of Africa.
BLESSING OKAGBARE, AGE: 25, NIGERIAN, ATHLETE
Blessing Okagbare is a record breaking Nigerian athlete, who
participated in both the 100m and 200m races at the 2014 Common Wealth
Games in Glasgow. She made it through to the finals of the 100m and won
with a time of 10.85, breaking the games record of 10.91 seconds set by
Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie 12 years earlier at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
in Manchester. Okagbare also won the gold medal in the 200, with a time
of 22.25 seconds. In doing so, she became the fourth woman to win the
100m and 200m double at the Commonwealth Games.
FALLY IPUPA- AGE: 36, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, MUSICIAN
Fally Ipupa is a Congolese singer-songwriter, dancer, philanthropist,
and guitarist from Kinshasa, he was part of the band of Koffi Olomidé,
Quartier Latin International, from 1999 to 2006 before starting a solo
career. His first solo album was Droit chemin released in 2006, which
went on to sell over 100,000 units, and his second album Arsenal de
Belles Melodies (A2BM) was released in 2009. In 2007, Ipupa won the Kora
Awards for Best Artist or Group from Central Africa. In 2010, Fally
Ipupa won the MTV Africa Music Awards 2010 for Best Video (for Sexy
Dance) and Best Francophone. He won the urban awards for best African
artist. Ipupa was nominated in the Best Live Act category at the 2014
MTV Africa Music Awards. He released an album titled kosa leka in 2014.
IAN MUGOYA, AGE: 24, KENYAN, TV PERSONALITY
Ian Mugiya, is the sexy Kenyan Television personality, who is referred
to by the Kenyan media as “the ladies man” . With such a title comes
expectations from his millions of Kenyan fans who are struck by his
charm and good-looks. Ian like the many young people on this list is
slowly reaching beyond the shows of Kenya, looking to export his East
African ‘je ne sais quoi’ to the rest of the African continent.
Source: illuzionmagazine