Yetunde Barnabas (born August 30, 1994; Age: 29 years old) is a Nigerian actress, model, beauty queen, and film producer best known for her role as Miss Pepeiye on Nigeria’s long-running sitcom, Papa Ajasco and Company. Yetunde is happily married to Peter Olayinka.
Yetunde’s popularity is no doubt linked to her beauty for which she has received awards and recommendations from notable companies in Nigeria. However, the popularity of her role in Papa Ajasco and Company, has drawn much more deserving attention to her personality, with many hoping to know more about her life behind the big screen. Here are detail to know about the Nigerian beauty queen, Yetunde Barnabas.
Summary of Yetunde Barnabas’s Biography
- Full name: Yetunde Barnabas Olayinka
- Nickname: Miss Pepeiye
- Gender: Female
- Date of birth: August 30, 1994
- Yetunde Barnabas’s Age: 29 years old
- Ethnicity: Yoruba
- State of Origin: Kogi state
- Nationality: Nigerian
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
- Religion: Christianity
- Marital Status: Married
- Yetunde Barnabas’s Husband: Peter Olayinka
- Yetunde Barnabas’s Children: Gemma Olayinka
- Yetunde Barnabas’s Height in Inches: 5’7”
- Yetunde Barnabas’s Height in Centimetres: 170 cm
- Yetunde Barnabas’s Weight: 73kg
- Yetunde Barnabas’s Net worth: $600,000
- Famous for: Papa Ajasco and Company
- Yetunde Barnabas’s Instagram: @yetundebarnabas
- Twitter: @YetundeBarnabas
- Facebook: Yetunde Barnabas
29-Years-Old Yetunde Barnabas is From Kogi State
Yetunde was born on August 30, 1994, in Ilorin, Kwara state, but she is originally from Kogi State in the North Central region of Nigeria. Not much is known about her biological family but she is said to be the first of three daughters in her family. Her father passed away in 2007, leaving them in the care of their mother.
Barnabas grew up in the city of Abuja where she attended and graduated from Kings of Kings Secondary School. She did not attend any tertiary institution but as one with so much passion for acting, she enrolled at Seriki Olopolo Production and Royal Arts Academy in order to develop her acting abilities.
While her family still resides in Abuja, Yetunde left the national capital for Lagos to further her education and possibly pursue her modeling career. While in Lagos state, she reportedly studied public administration at the Distance Learning Institute of the university of Lagos State.
She Began Her Career in Showbiz as a Model
29-year-old Yetunde has always loved the big screen since childhood and had always admired the likes of Agbani Darego and Beyonce for their beauty and talents. While growing up, many of her friends encouraged her to join a beauty contest basically because of her slim and well-chiseled body stature as well as her strong cat-walking skills.
After much conviction, she began attending beauty pageant auditions and eventually landed herself in a contest for Queen of Aso, in Abuja. This was, of course, the very first official beauty competition she participated in and although she did not win the competition, she made the top fifteen.
Yetunde’s first win as a beauty queen was in 2013 when she won Gani Adam’s “Miss Olokun” beauty contest. The following year, she joined the Miss Live Your Dream contest. However, her participation in the Most Beautiful Girl in Abuja pageant particularly earned her a well-deserved popularity.
Leveraging her fame, Yetunde registered yet again for the 2017 Most Beautiful Girl in Abuja competition, which she won. As a result, she signed one of her biggest national endorsement deals with Multichoice/DSTV. Winning the contest also earned her an endorsement deal with an Abuja-based estate management firm.
Yetunde Started Acting in 2012
Making huge achievements as a model encouraged young and beautiful Yetunde Barnabas to further achieve her years-long dream of becoming an actress. With the approval of her mother who urged her to focus more on her academics, Yetunde auditioned for the role of ‘Miss Pepeye’ in the famous Nigerian family television sitcom, Papa Ajasco and Company.
Interestingly, the popularity of the comedy series as well as her role as a materialistic young lady in the series earned her a further break into the limelight in the Nigerian film industry.
“Miss Pepeye” has since then featured in leading roles in several Nollywood Yoruba movie productions, including Dagogo, Erin Folami and, of course, the 2019 film Elegbenla, which also featured Nollywood stars like Niyi Johnson and Akin Olaiya. In 2018, Barnabas produced a movie titled Omo Iya Osun.
The movie featured the beauty queen alongside other actors like Segun Ogungbe, Mide FM Abiodun, Afeez Abiodun, Bolaji Amusan and Lateef Adedimeji. Her vast acting experience has also seen her work with notable actors, including the likes of Akin Lewis, Afeez Owo, Biola Adebayo, Bolanle Ninalowo, and so on
Yetunde Barnabas’ Movies and TV Shows
- Papa Ajasco & Company
- Alaya Imarun
- Ede Meji
- Lisa
- Queen Mi
- Omo Iya Osun
- Oka ori ebe
- Imule Aje
- Lori Titi
- Olode
- Omije Afoju
- Knockout
- Dagogo
- Aiye
- Elegbenla
- Bayonle
- Erin Fola
While Yetunde Barnabas is yet to win any awards for her acting, she has notably won several awards as a model. 2019 seems to be her most successful year as she did not only landed several movie roles, but she also received notable awards recognitions.
She was nominated for Model of the Year at the Scream Awards 2019 as well as Beauty Queen of the Year at the Africa Choice Awards. The same year, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), selected her alongside other African models as part of a new beauty campaign tagged Ewatomi.
Who is Yetunde Barnabas’ Husband?
Beautiful actress and model Yetunde Barnabas got married to her long-time boyfriend Peter Olayinka -a Czech-based Nigerian athlete known for playing left wing or forward for Slavia Prague and the Nigeria national team.
While it is not clear how Yetunde’s love story with the famous footballer began, it is public knowledge that the two got engaged in 2020. Sharing the news of their engagement, the model showed off her ring on her Instagram page and wrote:
“I am aforesaid YES…. to the Love of my Life, King of my Heart, my Sunshine, and my dead All. I really like you until the tip great way to finish until.”
Their marriage officially happened on June 11, 2021. The screen diva announced it herself on her verified Instagram page, sharing several pictures and videos she took with her husband and several family members at the Ikoyi registry. The pair welcomed their first child, a baby girl, on Tuesday, July 26th 2022, in Prague, Czech Republic, and they christened her Gemma Olayinka.
Is the Actress Related to Mide Martins?
Yetunde Barnabas has long been rumoured to be related to the Famous Yoruba actress, Mide Martins. Some sites have gone on to describe her as Mide’s adopted daughter. Meanwhile, Yetunde Barnabas is not the biological daughter of Mide Martins and there are also no official reports to prove that the Yoruba movie veteran adopted the young diva but they are quite close.
The speculation about Mide Martins and Yetunde’s close relationship follows the young diva’s description of the actress as “grandma” in a post she made after her childbirth in July 2022.
Nollywood actress Mide Martins Abiodun took to her verified social media page to congratulate Yetunde with an exciting caption and in reply, Yetunde Barnabas declared Mide Martins as a grandmother, saying “Eti di GrandMa oo. Thank You, Mama Love You.” Mide who is married to Afeez Owo hails from Oyo state and she has two children namely Anuoluwapo and Iyin.
Yetunde Barnabas’s Social Media Handles and Followers
In addition to the massive rewards she has gained from her roles in the movie and modeling industry, Yetunde Barnabas has also gained so much fame on social media. As a strong social media influencer, you will find her active on just about any social media platform. Below is a detailed breakdown of her handles and followers.
- Instagram – @yetundebarnabas – 409k followers
- Twitter – @YetundeBarnabas– 17 Followers
- Facebook – Yetunde Barnabas – 25k Subscribers