Uzo Aduba is never shy of talking about her Nigerian roots.
In a new Essence Magazine podcast titled ‘Hey, Girl!’, the Orange is the New Black star opened up about her family, her career and her heritage.
On why her parents named her Uzoamaka, the actress said the Igbo name their children according to spectacular circumstances or life-changing experiences the parents went through.
“Uzoamaka means the road is good,” she began. “My parents decided on Uzoamaka because my mum battled polio, had been through Biafran civil war, had unexpectedly lost her first husband, had two kids and came back to the United states and met my father and they had me.”
“And the meaning – Uzoamaka – means the journey was worth it – the sense of it, out of the ‘road was good’,” she added.
Asked why there are so many voices coming out of Nigeria like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Wizkid and many others, Uzo Aduba simply said, “Naija nor dey carry last [which] means we finish first. We do our very best to lead.
“We are very proud people, I can say that- proud of where we are from, proud of our families, proud of our lineage- very much card-carrying Nigerians you’ll never meet hiding in the shadows. We like to make ourselves known,” she continued, adding, “And I think that is an authority that comes from our parents.
“I must say without exception that my parents were strong advocates of that. They hounded us to be our best in whatever it was that we were doing. Not necessarily to be perfect, but to be our very best and to try our very best,” she said.
The actress talked more about her career, especially her breakout role as Crazy Eyes in OITNB, and her future projects.
