This weekend, celebrities across Africa will be vying for a new award at the MTV African Music Awards, the prestigius title of African Personality of the Year. The scope of the nominees stretch across literature to sports in an effort to reward the best personality on the continent.
Here are the 5 nominees:
Chimamanda Adiche (Nigeria)
Novelist turned celeb writer, Chimamanda, is the fresh new face of Nigerian writing. A talk on feminism at a TED event in London saw the writer sampled by Queen Bey Beyoncé in her song Flawless.
Her latest novel, Americanah, has already shot up several best seller list and her prior work has been made into films.
Omotola Jalade Ekeinde (Nigeria)
Nigerian actress Omotola is a special kind of movie pioneer. Since making her Nollywood debut in 1995 she has gone on to appear in over 300 movies, selling millions of copies.
Named one of Times most influential people in the world last year, Omotola has also appeared on the US VH1 television show Hit The Floor.
Trevor Noah (South Africa)
Our very own Trevor Noah is one funny guy and it seems like the whole continent agrees. As one of South Africa’s most successful comedy exports, Trevor has been lighting up the world with his jokes, including a tour to the US to do shows with Jay Leno and David Letterman.
Noah then landed a deal to star in his own TV show to be aired on the US Fox network. It’s reported it’ll be co-produced with comedian Caleeb Pinkett, Jada Pinkett Smith’s brother.
Lupita Nyong’o (Kenya)
Since winning an Oscar for best supporting actress for 12 Years a Slave, the Kenyan actress has captured the worlds attention and intrigue. Her cute smile and even sweeter personality have seen her win admirers across the world and lined up several more big movie roles.
Yaya Toure (Cote d’Ivoire)
Easily one of the most talented footballers on the planet, Ivorian Yaya Toure, represents African sport in a way very few other sportsman have ever done before.
One of the sport’s highest-earning young athletes, with an estimated net worth of R600 million, Yaya won the 2013 Confederation of African Football African player of the year and 2013 BBC African footballer of the year awards.
We can't wait to see who will be crowned the biggest celeb in Africa!