Richard Mofe-Damijo has been in Nigerian public life long enough to have played almost every role available to a man of his generation. Journalist. Politician — serving as Delta State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism. Nollywood leading man, whose smile became one of the most recognisable faces in the industry through the 1990s and 2000s. Through all of it, he has maintained a presence that makes younger generations engage with him as though he just arrived, which is a particular kind of cultural durability.
Known universally as RMD, he was born on 6 July 1961 in Warri, Delta State, and grew up in a Niger Delta context that has shaped both his professional interests and his political ambitions. He studied Theatre Arts at the University of Lagos before entering journalism, and later served as Delta State’s Commissioner for Culture and Tourism between 2009 and 2015, bringing him a broader public profile than most actors attain through entertainment alone.
His personal life attracted sustained attention in the 1990s when his first wife, journalist May Ellen-Ezekiel, died of breast cancer in 1996. He has since remarried and maintained a stable family life, while his career has continued at full pace through his sixties. As of 2026, he is one of the most frequently cast actors in prestige Nollywood productions and streaming platform original films.
Quick facts
Full name
Richard Eyimofe Mofe-Damijo
Stage name
RMD
Date of birth
6 July 1961
Birthplace
Warri, Delta State
Nationality
Nigerian
Education
University of Lagos (Theatre Arts)
Spouse
May Ellen-Ezekiel (deceased 1996); Jumobi Adegbenro-Mofe-Damijo (married 1997)
Children
4
Political career
Delta State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism (2009 to 2015)
Active
1991 to present
Net worth estimate (2026)
~$5m to $8m (multiple entertainment sources; estimate, not verified)
Early life and education
Richard Eyimofe Mofe-Damijo was born on 6 July 1961 in Warri, Delta State, where his family was part of the Isoko-speaking Urhobo community. Warri in the 1960s and 1970s was an oil economy boomtown, shaped by the competing cultures of the Niger Delta and the influx of workers from across Nigeria attracted by the petroleum industry. That environment of cultural mixing and economic intensity left a mark on RMD’s worldview that surfaces repeatedly in his interview conversations.
He pursued his interest in the performing arts at the University of Lagos, where he studied Theatre Arts. The department at UNILAG in that era produced several of Nigeria’s most enduring film and stage performers, and RMD was part of a cohort that brought serious theatrical training to the then-emerging video film industry.
Before acting became his primary focus, he worked as a journalist and entertainment writer in Lagos. His journalism experience gave him an outsider’s critical perspective on the entertainment industry he was at the same time trying to enter, and colleagues from his journalism years have described him as unusually analytical about the craft of performance even before he had established himself as a leading actor.
Acting career
RMD’s acting career began in earnest with Ripples, the NTA television series of the early 1990s that remains one of the most fondly remembered Nigerian television productions. His role in Ripples introduced him to a national audience and established the combination of physical presence and dramatic intelligence that would define his screen persona. When Nollywood’s video film industry expanded rapidly through the mid-1990s, RMD was well-positioned to transition into film work.
His film career across the 1990s and 2000s produced dozens of notable performances. Domitilla (1996), Dangerous Twins, and The Governor are among the titles most frequently cited in retrospectives of his body of work. He developed a reputation for playing complex authority figures: wealthy businessmen, politicians, and fathers navigating moral ambiguity, roles that matched both his physical presence and his capacity for nuanced performance.
In more recent years, his career has extended into the streaming era. He appeared in Chief Daddy (2018) and its sequel, Living in Bondage: Breaking Free (2019), and the Netflix productions Blood Sisters and Shanty Town, all of which reached audiences far beyond Nigeria’s borders and introduced him to a generation of younger viewers encountering Nollywood through streaming platforms for the first time.
Political career
In 2009, Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan appointed Richard Mofe-Damijo as Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, a position he held until 2015. The appointment was significant: it placed one of Nigeria’s most prominent entertainers in a government role with direct oversight of cultural policy in one of Nigeria’s wealthiest states. RMD used the platform to advocate for the formal recognition of Niger Delta cultural traditions and to push for infrastructure that would support the creative industries in Delta State.
He returned to full-time acting after leaving the government position, but the six-year public service period added a dimension to his public profile that few Nigerian actors have, namely experience navigating the bureaucratic and political challenges of managing a government portfolio while retaining the trust of an entertainment industry fan base.
Personal life
RMD’s first wife was May Ellen-Ezekiel, a prominent Nigerian journalist who passed away in 1996 after a battle with breast cancer. Her death was widely mourned in Nigerian media circles, where she had been a well-regarded figure. The loss was public and painful, and RMD has spoken about it in interviews over the years as one of the most significant experiences of his life.
He married Jumobi Adegbenro the following year, in 1997, and the couple have four children. Jumobi Mofe-Damijo has maintained a lower public profile than her husband, and RMD has been consistent in his efforts to keep his children’s lives out of the media.
Awards and recognition
Richard Mofe-Damijo has won Africa Movie Academy Awards, City People Movie Awards, and AMVCA awards across his career. He received the Best Actor award at the Africa Movie Academy Awards on multiple occasions and has been recognised by Nigerian national institutions for his contribution to culture and the arts. He received a national honour from the federal government in recognition of his combined contribution to entertainment and public service.
He has been named among the top five most influential actors in Nollywood history by multiple industry surveys and retrospectives published in Nigerian media. His longevity in the industry, spanning from the early television era through the streaming age, gives him a perspective on Nollywood’s evolution that is rare among working actors.
Net worth
RMD’s 2026 net worth is estimated at between $5 million and $8 million by multiple Nigerian entertainment sources. That figure reflects decades of film and television income, his six years of government service, endorsement and brand ambassador deals with Nigerian corporate brands, and real estate holdings. He has been a brand ambassador for multiple companies in the financial services and consumer goods sectors.
His consistent casting in high-profile streaming productions, including Netflix originals, represents a newer income stream that has supplemented his long-standing film income. Production fees for major streaming platform productions significantly exceed standard Nollywood rates, and his regular appearances in that space have contributed to an upward revision in his overall financial position relative to earlier estimates.
FAQ
What is RMD’s full name?
RMD’s full name is Richard Eyimofe Mofe-Damijo. He was born on 6 July 1961 in Warri, Delta State, and studied Theatre Arts at the University of Lagos before beginning his career as a journalist and then transitioning into acting in the early 1990s.
What political role did RMD hold?
He served as Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Delta State from 2009 to 2015 under Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan. The role gave him direct oversight of cultural policy in the state and involved advocacy for Niger Delta cultural traditions and creative industry development.
What happened to RMD’s first wife?
His first wife, May Ellen-Ezekiel, was a prominent Nigerian journalist who died in 1996 after a battle with breast cancer. Her death was widely mourned in Nigerian media circles. RMD has spoken about the loss in multiple interviews over the years, describing it as one of the most defining experiences of his life.
What are RMD’s most well-known films?
His most cited works include Ripples (the television series), Domitilla, Chief Daddy, and the streaming productions Living in Bondage: Breaking Free, Blood Sisters, and Shanty Town on Netflix. He is one of the most frequently cast actors in prestige Nollywood and streaming platform productions as of 2026.
What is RMD’s net worth in 2026?
Multiple Nigerian entertainment sources estimate his net worth at between $5 million and $8 million as of 2026, reflecting decades of film and television income, government service, major brand endorsements, real estate holdings, and newer streaming platform production fees.
Sources
Information in this profile draws on reporting and data from Africa Movie Academy Awards, AMVCA, City People Movie Awards, Forbes Africa, The Pulse Nigeria, Vanguard, This Day, and Delta State government public records from the 2009 to 2015 period.
Max Adeyemi is a Lagos-based writer covering Nigerian and African entertainment, sport, business, and culture. He has spent over a decade tracking the careers, controversies, and quiet achievements of the people who move the culture. He writes all profiles on Nolly.
