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SPEAKER_05: To start off season two, this month we're talking about leading ladies, women who dazzled on and off the small and large screens with their dramatic and or comedic skills. This month is heavy on Hollywood. That makes sense given Hollywood's global cultural influence. But for today's story, we're traveling around the world to talk about a star of a different film scene. Sometimes called Nollywood, the Nigerian film industry is booming. It produces 1,500 or more films a year. That's more than are produced in Hollywood. Our Woman of the Day is a Nollywood star. She's a trained actor, journalist, television presenter and much more. Let's talk about Tiwo Ajayi-Liset. Tiwo and her twin were born on February 3, 1941 in Lagos, Nigeria to a father who worked as a civil servant in the British colonial government. The British controlled Nigeria until 1960. In a series called King Women, Tiwo credits her grandfather as the source of her acting skills. He was a minstrel performer. Growing up, Tiwo has said she was a tomboyish troublemaker who loved to play sports. When she was 15 years old, Tiwo had a child and left school before completing her education. Her father insisted that she and the father of the child get married, so they did. Shortly thereafter, Tiwo also became a teenage widow. The father of her child died in a train accident. Still, Tiwo was determined to finish her education, so she went to night school. Tiwo decided that in order to keep moving forward, she needed to leave Nigeria. With the help of some friends who were living in England, she moved to London to continue her studies. Tiwo took classes at London's Christine Shaw School of Beauty Science, where she earned her certificate in cosmetology. She also attended Herndon College of Technology, graduating with a degree in business studies. On top of that, she worked a variety of jobs, including as a waitress and at the post office, before finding a job in advertising. She had never considered getting into acting. One day in 1966, Tiwo was waiting in the lobby of the Royal Court Theatre in London for a man she was dating so they could go get coffee. William Gaskill, the director of the show being rehearsed, saw her and asked if she was an actor. When Tiwo said no, he asked if she was interested in perhaps joining the production. Tiwo was due a six-week holiday from work. Previously, she had used vacations to do different educational courses. This time, she decided to use the time to act. In December 1966, Tiwo appeared in the international debut of Wole Soyinka's The Lion and the Jewel. Her acting career was born. Tiwo took her new career seriously. She continued working alternative jobs to support herself so she could afford to keep acting. She also enrolled at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama to improve her craft. During this period, Tiwo also found happiness in her personal life. She met a Cambridge historian named Tom Lysette. Tom saw her talent and encouraged Tiwo to stop all the other stuff she was doing to focus solely on acting.
SPEAKER_00: They said that I should concentrate on acting because that's what you are. You are an actor. If it is the money you are getting from all these things you are doing, I will make an allowance into your account. Concentrate on being an actor.
SPEAKER_05: The two married and had a happy union for 25 years until Tom's death. Since she got her start in 1966, Tiwo has starred in many, many productions on stage and screen, abroad and back in Nigeria, including Conor Cruise O'Brien's Murderous Angels, Sidney Poitier's A Warm December, and the award-winning Nigerian soap opera Tinsel. One recent notable film of hers is the 2016 movie Oluo Biri, an action thriller. Tiwo has also been a TV presenter and was the first editor of Africa Woman magazine. In that role, she participated at the United Nations International Women's Year. She's received numerous honors, including a national award of Officer of the Order of the Niger. Tiwo has lived an extraordinary life, overcoming obstacle after obstacle to find great and inspiring success.
SPEAKER_00: You have a voice in your head. The day you stop listening to it, it will abandon you. I never knew what it meant then. But I knew that my mother said we should be listening to our voice. And I listened to it. So my instincts now are so perfected. I'm still working on it. But it's so accurate that if I say I'll do this show, I don't know why I'm doing it, and there may be all sorts of odds stacked against it, I'll do it.
SPEAKER_05: All month we're talking about leading ladies. Tune in tomorrow to hear the story of a woman who's practically perfect in every way. For more on why we're doing what we're doing, check out our Encyclopedia Womanica newsletter, Womanica Weekly. You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Encyclopedia Womanica. And you can follow me directly on Twitter at Jenny M. Kaplan. Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator. Talk to you tomorrow.
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