Toni Tones (Real name: Gbemi Anthonia Adefuye, born: July 20, 1985; Age:38 years old) is a Nigerian actress, model, author, and photographer. She is best recognized for her role as young ‘Eniola Salami’ in Kemi Adetiba’s award-winning movie ‘King of Boys’.
She also has a recurring role in the Netflix original series ‘Smart Money Woman,’ which is currently streaming. Toni is the daughter of Ogun State Senator Anthony Adefuye. As an actress, she is one of the few famous personalities that have left their footprint already in the Nollywood industry, outside the influence of their father’s connections. Toni’s personal life, career, and so many other achievements have made her one of the most well-respected personalities in Nigerian entertainment.
Summary of Toni Tones’ Biography
- Full Name: Gbemi Anthonia Adefuye
- Nickname: Toni Tones
- Gender: Female
- Date of Birth: July 20, 1985
- Toni Tones’ Age: 38 Years Old
- Ethnicity: Yoruba
- Nationality: Nigerian
- Zodiac Sign: Gemini
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
- Religion: Christianity
- Marital Status: Single
- Toni Tones’ Parents: Senator Anthony Adefuye (Father)
- Siblings: 5
- Toni Tones’ Height in Inches: 68 Inches (5 Feet 8 Inches)
- Toni Tones’ Height in Centimetres: 172 cm (1.7 m)
- Toni Tones’ Weight: 58 kg (128 lbs)
- Toni Tones’ Net Worth: $2 million
- Famous for: Being a Photographer, Writer, Actress, and Singer
- Toni Tones Instagram: @iamtonitones
- Twitter: @iamTONITONES
Toni Tones Hails From Ogun State, Nigeria
Gbemi Anthonia Adefuye, aka Toni Tones, was born on July 20, 1985, in Lagos State. She was born to a Nigerian Senator named Anthony Adefuye and his wife, and is the youngest of the couple’s five children. Toni Tones was born and raised in Lagos, but she hails from Odolewu, ljebu-Ode L. G. A. in Ogun State.
Toni is from a Yoruba-speaking ethnic group, and is at least bilingual, with a natural fluency in English and Yoruba. She was born into a Christian family as well. The actress is Nigerian by nationality, and she was born under the Gemini zodiac sign.
Toni received her primary education at Our Lady of Apostle Primary School in Yaba before attending Queen’s College in Lagos for her secondary school education. For her university education, she left Nigeria for the UK where she attended the University of Lancaster in United Kingdom.
At the UK college, she studied Marketing and Economics. After her first degree, Toni then proceeded to the Relativity Film School in Los Angeles to hone her acting skills, as she had always been very interested in acting.
Toni Tones Began Her Career as a Photographer
When she was in her final year at college, Toni Tones discovered a hidden passion for photography that she had never paid attention to. She officially started her career as a photographer in 2009 after her return to Nigeria from the UK. She was only 24 years old at the time.
Prior to her return, she had completed three months of photography classes in the United Kingdom. Luckily for her, her work piqued the interest of Nigerian hip-hop singer D’banj, who decided to hire her as the chief photographer for his reality show ‘Koko Mansion’ in 2009.
It wasn’t long before she began to make waves as a celebrity and model photographer in the Nigerian fashion and entertainment circles. Working with D’banj that year helped her gain more industry recognition and she expanded her career with a speed that was almost unseen for a newbie.
Toni has notably worked with some of the top Nigerian entertainment outfits such as Genevieve Magazine, FAB, MADE, Sound City, and Vanguard’s Allure. She has also done photo shoots for Nigerian celebrities like Don Jazzy, Tiwa Savage, Banky W, Wizkid, Omawunmi, Waje, and many more.
She Used to be a Singer and Model at Some Point
Toni Tones is also a singer. She began her career in 2011 and in 2013 she released her official single titled ‘I Know What You Like,’ which was produced by Baby Fresh and distributed by Mavin Records. Two years later, she followed that up with another song called ‘Hey Boy,’ which featured Nigerian singer Cynthia Morgan.
However, it’s important to note that her singing career never really took off like she might have hoped. Presently, she seems to have abandoned singing, at least temporarily, in favour of her more flourishing career ventures.
Just like her singing career that never really got the much-needed buzz, Toni Tones’ modeling career was more like a passing phase for the famous personality. She didn’t really model much. However, reports have it that she once modeled for a brand called ‘Durovo’ at the age of 14 because the owner of the brand was a friend of her family at that time.
In the last few years though, Toni has graced the covers of some notable magazines, but she still cannot be said to be a professional model.
She Has Been Most Successful as an Actress in Nollywood
After several failed career ventures, Toni Tones eventually rose to fame, but this time as an actress rather than a singer or model. Her earliest recorded television role was in ‘Gidi Culture,’ a web TV series. She also starred in the 2016 film ‘It’s Her Day’. Her big break came when she landed the role of young ‘Eniola Salami’ in Kemi Adetiba’s 2018 blockbuster movie ‘King of Boys’. She also reprised her role in the 2021 sequel to the same film.
She has also appeared in the romantic series, ‘Smart Money Woman’, which premiered on Netflix in 2020, launching her further into the spotlight. In her career, she has been nominated for a couple of awards, including the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) for ‘Best Supporting Actress in a Movie or TV Series’ in 2020 and the Best of Nollywood Awards (BON) for Best Lead Actress (English).
This Nigerian actress is presently one of the most influential social media influencers with an estimated net worth of about $2 million, as of 2022. She has an impressive number of exceptional eye-catching movies under her belt that have not only received enormous sales but have helped in broadcasting her popularity to Nigerians.
Toni Tones’ Movies
- Married to the Game (2014)
- What Lies Untold (2015)
- Royal Hibiscus Hotel (2016)
- Head Over Heels (2017)
- King of Boys (2018)
- Lara and the Beat (2018)
- Your Excellency (2019)
- Quam’s Money (2020) TV Series
- Deadline (2014)
- Rumour Has It (2016)
- Forbidden (2018)
- Smart Money Woman (2020)
- King of Boys: The Return of the King (2021)
Toni Has a Svelte Physique That She Maintains Faithfully
The actress presently weighs 58 kg in 2022. While she has maintained a svelte body type for years through careful dieting and exercise, Toni is not above losing or gaining weight for her movie roles. According to the actress, she gained over 40 pounds to fit better into her role as young Eniola Salami, in ‘King of Boys.’ The actress also revealed that she was terrified that she might have been unable to lose the weight after.
However, she went on a gentle diet and gradually lost all the extra weight. She was 75 kg while she played young Eniola Salami, but she gradually reduced to about 60 kg, which was just 2 kg away from her pre-King of Boys weight. Toni is also relatively tall and stands at a height of 5 feet 8 inches. Her other body measurements are currently not available.
Is Toni Tones Married?
Toni Tones is single, and has never been married. The Nollywood actress recently shared her views on marriage and children and revealed that she believed women didn’t need to have children or marry to be considered successful or fulfilled.
In a series of tweets, the actress shared her thoughts on what most girls want as a follow-up to a tweet thread about how not every woman wants marriage from a relationship. According to Toni Tones, women do not have to follow the established order, which includes waiting until after marriage to have sex, having children only after marriage, and doing what others expect them to do.
From the look of things, Toni doesn’t seem to be interested in settling down anytime soon and seems very happy and content being single. Meanwhile, in February 2022, she released a series of video clips of herself on a date night with her yet-to-be-identified man who went all out to make it a memorable one by renting out an entire cinema room for them to enjoy a quiet date night, eating and watching movies. Unfortunately, we are yet to hear a thing about her relationship with the unknown man.