Richard Mofe-Damijo (Nick Name: RMD, born 6 July 1961, Age: 62 years old) is a famous Nigerian actor, writer, producer, lawyer, and former journalist whose career in Nollywood started in the late 1990s.
He was also the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Delta State. Richard is popular for playing major roles in movies and drama series, and he has featured in dozens of films. With his long list of movies, RMD has won several awards, including the 2005 Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and a Lifetime Achievement Award. All these and more have drawn attention and admiration to Richard Mofe-Damijo’s family.
The veteran actor, who just turned 62 years old, is regarded as Nigeria’s hottest grandpa for his handsome looks, grooming, and charisma. He is currently the COE of RMD Production Limited and produces his own drama series, The Mr. X Family Show.
Profile Summary of RMD
- Full name: Richard Eyimofe Evans Mofe-Damijo (RMD)
- Date of birth: 6th July 1961
- Age: 62 years old
- Nationality: Nigeria
- State of Origin: Delta
- Education: University of Benin
- Spouse: Jumobi Adegbesan
- Children: Oghenekome, Nichole, Tega
- Occupation: Entrepreneur, actor, movie director, politician
- Years active: 1990s-present
Richard Mofe-Damijo’s Family Background
Richard Mofe-Damijo was born to Mr. and Mrs. Mofe-Damijo in 1961. The actor’s father worked at the Nigerian Ports Authority, Warri, until he died in 1990. Also, his mother was a trader before her death. Both of his parents suffered from diabetes and hypertension before their death. In an interview, which he did to mark his sixtieth birthday, he revealed that his mother died at 59 while his dad died when he was either 57 or 58 years old. Although it is said that the actor comes from a large family of about 18, there is no public information about his siblings.
For his immediate family, the good-looking celebrity is happily married with children. He has confessed that he sees his family as his greatest achievement, and he readily flaunts pictures of his beautiful wife and kids on his Instagram page. He has adorable children who are all doing well for themselves. Before his current wife, RMD had a wife, and his marriage to her ended in 1996 following her death.
RMD’s First Wife, May Mofe-Damijo, Died in 1996
The veteran actor was previously married to May Mofe-Damijo (née Ellen-Ezekiel). She was fondly called MEE, an abbreviation of her maiden name. MEE lived from 1956 to 1996. Within her 39 years of existence, she made her mark in the media, and she touched many lives so much that after 25 years of her death, she is still remembered by many. Among her living legacies are the books she wrote; Centerspread, Dreammaker, and Wind songs: a collection from Nigeria’s number one columnist.
The Ghanaian-born journalist was also the publisher of Classique Magazine, editor of Quality Magazine, host of MEE & You Television Talk Show, and a philanthropist. People loved to watch her show on NTA 2 Channel 5. She was equally the first female publisher in the country, and her first magazine was a celebrity magazine with celebrities like Delemomodu and Richard Mofe Damijo as associates. Sadly, her publication company collapsed after her death.
May equally founded the Sunshine Foundation, through which she reached out to as many needy people as possible. She was a humanitarian, and her husband reckoned that she played a major role in the person he turned out to be. Their marriage was beautiful, and it produced two children; a son and a daughter. However, Mofe-Damiji was not MEE’s first husband. She was previously married, but the marriage did not last long. She and her first husband got divorced.
The renowned journalist died on the 25th of March 1996 in a hospital in Surulere, Lagos, where she had undergone a fibroid operation. The doctors who operated on her said that she had strangely started bleeding in her stomach and from her mouth after her second surgery. This was strange because the operation was done around her pelvis. She was fine after the first; she was even reading, joking, and playing. According to the doctors, she had had two previous surgeries abroad, similar to the one that led to her death. Sadly, the inevitable happened, but her memory still lives on.
RMD Married His Second Wife, Jumobi Adegbesan, in 2000
Four years after the death of his first wife, Mofe-Damijo decided that life has to go on, so he got married to his second wife, Jumobi Adegbesan. Jumobi was born on the 27th of January 1972 and is currently 52 years old.
By her date of birth, Richard Mofe-Damijo is 11 years older than Jumobi, but the age difference could not stop the love they share. They dated for three years and decided to make their relationship legal by tying the knot on the 29th of December 2000.
Before her marriage to the actor, the pretty lady was equally a well-known person. She worked as a presenter with Africa Independent Television (AIT). While working with AIT in the ’90s, Jumobi hosted a popular afternoon show, Lunch Break. It was rumored that at the time, she always fantasized about being Mrs. Mofe-Damijo someday. She has since ventured into the commercial business industry since her marriage to the love of her life.
Together with her husband, the committed wife has built an amazing family of six; the couple and their four children, two of which are from Richard’s first marriage. Their two children together are also male and female. Unlike his wife, who is withdrawn from social media, the never-aging man does not hesitate to flaunt his beautiful family on social media. They indeed have a happy and blessed home. Their anniversaries are always the bomb as he never hesitates to make the fans go wild with their perfect couple goal pictures and love write-ups.
Jumobi Takes all the Credit for Richard Mofe-Damijo’s Family Unity
RMD has given the credit of his marriage success to his wife. According to him, the sacrifices she makes are the reasons why their marriage has been able to stand the test of time. He said that she quit her job as a TV presenter intentionally to give more attention to the family, adding that one person in the spotlight was enough, so she will retreat and face other businesses.
She withdrew so much into her shell that one could hardly see her pictures on social media. Jumobi will not post nor let someone else post her pictures or videos. Not until her husband decided to break the rules in the recent past and started sharing her beautiful pictures on his page.
In the past twenty years of their marriage, the couple has not had any public fights or known misunderstandings. Rather, it has been all shades of love and fun for the family, as one can easily perceive from the social media page of the jovial actor. However, there have been rumors about Richard having side chicks. Some claimed that he had another wife and was going to leave his current wife very soon.
In an interview, Richard Mofe-Damijo debunked these claims, stating that he had no other woman anywhere and no side chicks. He lamented over people who have no sense of sanctity for celebrity marriages and always want to see the crash of their marriage. The actor equally emphasized that his marriage is not a “celebrity marriage,” so he and his wife have chosen to keep it out of the media.
Their marriage has continued to wax stronger, with RMD ever ready to bring his “lover-boy” movie roles to reality with his wife. Ignoring all controversies, the actor readily showers praises and sweet names on his wife. Some of the pet names he calls her are; Adunmaradun (shining black beauty or ebony), Oluwaseunfunmi (God made this one for me), Aabike (the one to be taken care of), etc.
Meet the Children of the Veteran Actor
The proud father and grandfather is blessed with five kids and three grandchildren. His first two children are mothered by May, his first wife, while the last two are the biological children Jumobi. Both women gave birth to a daughter and son each. His first son has two children, making him a happy grandfather.
However, RMD is reported to have had a son before his first two kids with May. This son of the actor seems to be a bit off the picture. He is not the son of any of the two women, and he is not well known like his siblings either.
Brume Mofe-Damijo
- Year of birth: Uknown
- Age: Uknown
- Occupation: Uknown
Brume is believed to be the first son in Richard Mofe-Damijo’s family, although not much is known about him. He is seen in the family photographs of the Mofe-Damijos, especially when there is a special occasion. There are speculations that RMD had a son with one Mrs. Esther Etinaebedia, before his first marriage. This woman is probably the mother of Brume, and the young man is based abroad with his son and wife.
Oghenekome Mofe-Damijo
- Year of birth: 1984
- Age: 40 years old
- Occupation: Uknown
Kome is the first son of May, although he may not be the first for Richard. He was born in 1984 when his father was only 22 years old. Although it is not quite known to the public what he does for a living, the young man appears to be excelling greatly in his career. In addition to being successful, the 40-year-old is happily married with two kids; a girl (Rori) and a boy (Kobi).
He is married to an equally successful woman, Eniola Abiodun. They did their traditional wedding on the 13th of December 2013, and their church wedding followed the next day. The church wedding took place at Household of God Church, Oregun, Ikeja. The marriage between Kome and Eniola has been a blissful one and is blessed with two kids, a girl and a boy. They welcomed their first child, Rori, in March 2015, while Kobi was born in March 2017.
The two lovebirds met when they were still teenagers. Their meeting happened at Sunday School; they became friends, and Kome tried to woo her at some point, but her father told him to face his books because he was only about seventeen years old then. Later on, they went their separate ways but got reconnected, thanks to social media.
At this time, Eniola was working in Manchester, United Kingdom. He picked up from where he left off years back and started to woo her again. Still, she gave him a little hard time, until 2011 when she finally decided to start dating him. During one of her visits to Canada, where he stayed, they had dinner together, and she was about to board a flight back to the UK when he got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. Her response led to the elaborate wedding, which was graced by many other Celebrities.
Nichole Onome Mofe-Damijo
- Year of birth: 1987
- Age: 37 years old
- Occupation: Uknown
Nichole is the second child and first daughter of the celebrity. She was born by the same mother as Kome in 1987. Nichole also appears to be doing great in her career. However, there are no details as to what she does exactly. Her father once shared photos of her at the Obama Foundation summit, where the former US president chose her for a ten-minute chat about her life and work.
Although successful, the 37-year-old lady is not yet married. On her 30th birthday, her father had displayed his “typical Nigerian father attribute” by adding that he was waiting for her to bring the special someone home in the beautiful message he wrote to her. However, he added that there was no pressure on her to do so.
Oghenetega Mofe-Damijo
- Year of birth: 8th July 2001
- Age: 22 years old
- Occupation: Student
The third son of the veteran actor and first biological son of Jumobi was born on the 8th of July 2001. Tega completed high school in the US and graduated on the 31st of May 2018. Currently a student, the 22-year-old young man furthered his studies in a University in the US. Tega was once featured in a TV soap opera, Mr. X Family Show. He is the most active on social media of all his siblings.
Efemena Titilayomi Mofe-Damijo
- Year of birth: 2002
- Age: 21 years old
- Occupation: Uknown
The last child of the family was born on the 8th of November 2002. She schooled in the United States, and in May 2019, she graduated from high school. One can tell that the protective father does not joke with his 21-year-old daughter, especially after the message he wrote for her on her sixteenth birthday. He went on and on about the things he didn’t allow her to do and ended by saying that things won’t change even when she turns 25. He refers to himself as a typical father; he is indeed an amazing one at that.
Overview of Richard Mofe-Damijo’s Acting Career
Born on July 6, 1961, in the Aladja community of Udu Kingdom, Delta State, the living legend grew up in his hometown and attended Midwest College in Warri. He then finished at Anglican Grammar School, where he was a member of the Drama Club. After secondary school, RMD gained admission into the University of Benin to study Theatre Arts. He decided to pursue a degree in Law at the University of Lagos in 1997 and later graduated in 2004.
His experience in the drama club during his secondary school days and his course of study in the university contributed greatly to his success as an actor because those days laid the foundation for the multi-talented person he is today. It is safe to say that the well-aged man was intentional about his career from the start; his participation in secondary school drama and studying theater art reveals his interest in acting even at a young age.
RMD Joggled Between His Studies and Acting
RMD was joggling between his studies and acting career. While he pursued a degree in Law from 1997 to 1999, he featured as one of the lead actors in films like Hostages, Scores to Settle, Diamond Ring, Freedom, and Out of Bounds – the first film he wrote and produced.
Meanwhile, he appeared in a television soap opera, Ripples, in the late ’80s and had a stint with Metro Magazines and Concord Newspapers as a reporter. He played major roles in thirteen movies in 2003 alone, including Romantic Attraction, alongside co-stars Chioma Chukwuka, Stella Damasus-Aboderin, and Zack Orji.
The following year saw Richard Mofe-Damijo featuring as a lead actor in 18 movies, including I Want Your Wife, Deadly Desire, and Critical Assignment – a pan-African action film. In the 2005 maiden edition of the African Movie Academy Awards, Richard Mofe-Damijo was awarded the Best Actor in a Leading Role. He took home the Special Recognition Award at 2012 Best of Nollywood Awards and earned a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 12th Africa Movie Academy Awards in 2016.
RMD acted as Kimberley’s father alongside renowned comedian AY Makun and veteran actor Ramsey Nouah in 30 Days in Atlanta. The movie premiered on October 31, 2014, and became the highest-grossing film of all time in Nigerian cinema in 2015. He also played the groom’s father, Chief Felix Onwuka, in the 2017 romantic comedy-drama film titled The Wedding Party 1&2.
Over the years, he continued to feature in several movies, and he executed every role he was given perfectly well. Despite the long years he has spent in the industry, the actor revealed in an interview that he has not featured in up to a hundred movies in his over three decades in the industry. According to him, he is selective about his roles and does not jump into any movie like some of his colleagues.
Although getting older, the actor still has great plans for his career. He made a bucket list which he said included playing god in a movie. He said that he had played the devil in a movie but would love to play god as well. RMD added that he had the opportunity to play god once, but he missed it.
Richard Mofe-Damijo’s Filmography
- Out of Bounds (1997)
- Hostages (1997)
- Scores to Settle (1998)
- Diamond Ring (1998)
- Freedom (1999)
- When God Says Yes (2003)
- Love (2003)
- Keeping Faith: Is That Love (2003)
- Romantic Attraction (2003)
- The Intruder (2003)
- I Will Die For You (2003)
- Emotional Pain (2003)
- The Mayors (2004)
- True Romance (2004)
- The Legend (2004)
- I want Your Wife (2004)
- Indecent Act (2004)
- Danger Signal (2004)
- King’s Pride (2004)
- Engagement Night (2004)
- Critical Decision (2004)
- Burning Desire (2004)
- Critical Assignment (2004)
- The Bridesmaid (2005)
- Darkest Night (2005)
- Behind Closed Doors (2005)
- Welcome to Nollywood (2007)
- 30 Days in Atlanta (2014)
- Oloibiri (2015)
- Okafor’s Law (2016)
- Three Wise Men (2016)
- Dinner (2016)
- The Wedding Party (2016)
- The Grudge (2016)
- The Wedding Party (2016)
- I Love My Wife Even After Death (2017)
- 10 days in Sun City (2017)
- The Wedding Party 2 (2017)
- Boxing Day: A Day After Christmas (2017)
- Merry Men: The Real Yoruba Demons (2018)
- Cross Roads (2018)
- Chief Daddy (2018)
- God Calling (2018)
- Blood And Oil (2019)
- The Hour (2019)
- Namaste Wahala (2020)
- The Wait (2021)
- Fine Wine (2021)
His Career Awards and Recognition
With a long list of highly successful films and TV shows, he has acted in also comes a long list of notable deserving awards he has won.
- Best Actor in a Leading Role, Africa Movie Academy Awards, 2005
- Special Recognition Award, Best of Nollywood Awards, 2012
- Lifetime Achievement Award, Africa Movie Academy Awards, 2016
- Overall Best Actor in a Leading Role, in the movie Cross Road, Africa Movie Academy Awards, 2018
Some awards were not given to him in person. Instead, they went to the movies in which he featured. They include;
- “State of The Heart” was awarded the Best Film in Nigeria in the 5th Africa Movie Academy Awards, 2009
- “30 Days in Atlanta” was awarded the Best Supporting Actor at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, 2015
- “Oloibiri” was awarded the Best Actor in Leading Role by Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, and Africa Movie Academy Awards, 2017
- “Oloibiri” was also awarded the Best Supporting Actor by Nigeria Entertainment Awards, 2017
Other Interesting Facts About RMD
- RMD took a break from Nollywood from 2007 to 2013 to concentrate on politics. This was after he was appointed the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Delta State.
- Even though the total value of his wealth remains unknown, there is no doubt about him being super-rich; he is currently regarded as one of the richest Nollywood actors.
- Besides his earnings from movies, TV shows, politics, and brand endorsement deals, RMD is an entrepreneur and currently manages his own movie production company.
- He teaches Sunday School. He was a Sunday School teacher for about thirteen to fifteen years, and he still does that when he has the chance.