Martha Ankomah has been described by a section of the Ghanaian populace as one of the
Born in Accra, she has been seen in a number of movies and has played explicit roles which got people talking.
EARLY LIFE
The dark skinned lady schooled at Adabraka Presbyterian Junior High before continuing her education at Labone Senior High School. She proceeded to Jayee University College to read Marketing.
According to Martha Ankomah, the most difficult moment in her life was growing up with a single mother who struggled to take care of them. The first born had to help her mother sell to support the family. She strived for success and did not give in to any form of pressure from her peers. She considered the situation as an opportunity for her to learn though a challenge.
HOW SHE GOT INTO ACTING
Martha Ankomah was introduced to acting by her cousin, Harry Amonoo in 1994. Amonoo took her to the National Theatre where she joined the Harrisco Drama Group. She then started stage dramas in Funworld and Kiddafest.
During her days at Labone Senior High School, Martha Ankomah joined the Theatre Programme for Schools (TPS), and participated in a number of stage drama.
She subsequently started acting in television series. These included Suncity, St. James Hotel, All that glitters and Where is your Mobile?
Her interest in acting developed to the extent that she participated in a number of auditions for movie roles.
COMPETITION
Martha Ankomah placed third at the 2007 edition of the Next Movie Star. After several evictions, she was left in the competition with five others: Lydia Forson, Uti Nwachukwu, Enoch Hammond, Ameh Lucy Franscesca and Oshinuga Olufemi.
This was decided via votes from the public, views of professionals about the housemates as well as an in-house judges' assessment.
She was noted for her versatility and good acting skills which included audibility, gesticulation, projection and mimicking.
Martha Ankomah believes being in a competition is not enough. In an interview with mygong.net, the actress said coming out of a reality show does not make one a star.
“Next Movie Star didn’t do much for me but you get to meet different kinds of people and also learn from the directors who came to train us. When you come from Next Movie Star, it does not make you a star. You still have to go for auditions. That’s what people don’t realize. Do not think that because you have been on TV for 30 days you are there, forget it! It’s just the grace of God,” she stated.
MOVIES STARRED IN
Martha Ankomah has featured in Power of the gods, Shakira, Sin of the Soul, Heart of Men, Somewhere In Africa, Sugar Town, A Trip To Hell and several others.
AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS
In 2010, Martha Ankomah was nominated for Most Promising Actress at the Africa Movie Academy Award for her role in Sin of the Soul while her role in Somewhere in Africa earned her a Best Young Actor nomination at the 2012 Africa Movie Academy Award.
In 2013, she was honoured by the University of Education, Winneba as part of activities marking the 20th anniversary of the University’s Student Representative Council (SRC). The honour was to recognise her contribution to Ghana’s showbiz industry.
“We honour you this day as one of the big six celebrities on the occasion of the 20th anniversary UEW SRC Week Celebration dubbed, UEW SRC Honours Night. Your contribution to the showbiz industry in Ghana, the immense discipline you have exhibited over the years, in and outside your profession has been highly recognized and appreciated. Your unwavering moral standards and influence has won the admiration of all Ghanaians especially we the students of the University of Education, Winneba. It is refreshing to know that Ghana can still boast of stars whose underlying responsibility of social role modelling is not tanned by the pressure of spotlights and splendor of red carpets. We hope that you are motivated enough to continue and improve your efforts in uplifting the name of Ghana,” a citation presented to her read.
OTHER VENTURES
The actress owns an ultra-modern beauty salon called ‘Martha’s Place’. The salon, located at Tesano, Maa Bee Plaza, a storey building adjacent Karldorlf was officially opened in 2013. It specialises in bridal makeup, pedicure, manicure, facial treatment, acrylic, waxing, barbering, cosmetics, among others.
BRAND AMBASSADOR
Martha Ankomah was made Face of Vita Milk’s Viora in 2014. She shot a commercial for the product early 2014 in Thailand.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES
The actress has a charitable organisation called The Martha Ankomah Foundation. In 2016, the Foundation joined the Autism Ambassadors of Ghana to celebrate the World Autism Awareness Day at the Efua-Sutherland Children’s park in Accra.
THE NEW MARTHA ANKOMAH
Martha Ankomah has decided to shoot good Christian movies only. She stated in an interview with Hitz FM that she has been selective when it comes to scripts as some do not have positive impact on people’s lives.
“Some of us can take a bold step and say this is not good and so we are not going to do it. And so, I’ve tried by the grace of God to reject a lot of these scripts and I see most of my colleagues doing that so we can actually put good movies out there. All the witchcraft, juju, whatever movies don’t help our nation, don’t help our society, don’t help people and so if scripts like that come and I’m not showing up, people are like ‘Martha is something’” she said.