Awinja is the third born
in a family of five kids-three sisters and two brothers. She has three siblings
now as she lost one of her brothers. The actress grew up in Kanuku and Madiwa
areas in Eastleigh, Nairobi. She attended Heshima Road Primary School and
Kegoye High School in
Western. Unfortunately,
she also lost her dad while she was in high school. “My dad and brother are the people I wish were alive
to see my success today,” she told.
SHE USED TO PERFORM LITERATURE SET BOOKS
After completing her
secondary education, Jacky came back to Nairobi where she started acting literature
set books.“I first got
into acting professionally back in 2008 with Theatrix Arts Ensemble, a
traveling theater that re-enacted high school set books. After a stint with the
group, I joined Heartstrings Kenya and did different stage plays before joining
Theater Company in 2012.”
SHE IS A PROFESSIONAL DANCER, YOGA INSTRUCTOR
Many might not know this-the
petite screen star is a yoga instructor, and a very good dancer.
“I am a professional dancer, but I think saa hii nimerust.
I used to juggle between acting and dancing after finishing high school. I did
ballet, contemporary dance, Hip-hop, traditional;
basically all type of
dances.”
HER MUM WANTED HER TO BE AN AIR HOSTESS
In another life, Jacky
would have been an air hostess: “Mum
really wanted me to be an air
hostess. So I enrolled in
a college, but would skip classes. The hustle was real.”Afraid of disappointing her mother, Jackie went to great
lengths to hide her budding acting career from her mum. “One day, she got wind that I had joined a travelling
theatre. I told my director to call her
and tell her that it was
a side hustle. After that first semester, I forged accounts so that I could show
her the school fees receipts. However, I could not live a lie any longer and
later opened up to her.” Vike’s mother is
now very supportive of her career.
SHE’S ACTED AS A PR()#T!TUTE
Jacky has acted different
roles in various projects in her career. The one that stands out the most is her
role in the award-winning film, Nairobi Half Life. Jacky acts as a hooker who
is very cheap in the acclaimed Kenyan production. The gravity of the role hit
her when the film finally aired: “When
I was on set acting the call girl, it wasn’t a big deal. But during the launch
I was like wooo! That’s me?” She
has had to deal with criticism for playing the hooker: “For those who have watched Nairobi Half Life,
especially the elderly women, they are like: “Eh,
Awinja haki nakupenda lakini ile ‘Nairobi
Half Life’ ya kahaba…’ Often, she tries to
explain to her fans that the roles she plays are different from the person that
she is.
SHE LANDED ‘AWINJA’ ROLE
AFTER HER ACTING SKILLS
impressed ‘Papa Shirandula’ Narrating
how she ended being Awinja, Jacky said: “I
had once gone to an audition, and Charles Bukeko alias Papa Shirandula was one
of the judges. He loved my work, but unfortunately I did not land the role. A
year later the Papa Shirandula team created the Awinja character selected for
it.”Initially, Jacky was skeptical
about the role
because she had never
acted a character with an accent before.
HER HOBBIES ARE: COOKING, TRAVELING, SLEEPING AND MAKING NEW FRIENDS
Jacky would give up
everything to cook. Her favorite meal is ugali, kuku ya kienyeji and mrenda. When
she is not cooking, on set, or travelling, she’s probably catching 40 winks. Being
a good wife is not good enough for her Though Awinja did not disclose if she is
dating, she confidently disclosed she’d make the best wife. “I don’t think I’d make a good wife-I am SURE I will.
Though I haven’t been one before, I am confident about myself. And one thing;
when I love, I love for real!” So what are the attributes of an ideal wife? “For one to make a good wife,
she has to be both reserved and modern. The traditional calling is respect and
understanding and this spills over to the modern type. But I love my
independence,” opined Vike.
SHE IS SENSITIVE ABOUT FASHION
Meet Jacky on a random
day when she is off the set, and you will fail to recognise her. Why? She wouldn’t
be caught dead in the mshamba attire her character wears-Jacky is extremely
fashion conscious. Expressing her fashion versatility, she said: “When I am dressing up, I can
do vintage and modern at the same time. I also love colors, and have none as my
favorite since all are.”
SHE LOVES BIG CARS
Her tiny frame should not
deceive you she prefers small packages, Jacky loves big machines. Her dream car
being the Jeep Wrangler, she disclosed: “Even
if you happen to visit my Instagram page, most photos you’d see are the Jeep
Wrangler. That car is not so manly, it’s
an off-road, and it’s powerful!”
SHE DOESN’T MIND KENYAN MEN
Though many Kenyan women
prefer foreign men saying that they are ‘unromantic’, Jacky has a
differs. “I would date a Kenyan man
every time of day ornight. You know Kenyan women are like ‘Kenyan men are not romantic, they are players…’ but no! What they (women)
should not do is generalise – men are very different.” She added, “Just
because a lady has dated two Kenyan men consecutively and she was disappointed,
does not mean they are all bad!”
courtesy of Citizen Digital
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