Anyone that takes Toluwalope Mary Ogbomoh-Oladele‘s soft-spoken and calm demeanor as a sign of weakness will be in for a fight. As one of the aspiring models with eyes fixated on Broadway and runway, she’s smart, intelligent, and friendly but she takes no prisoners. Often conservative in talking about her dreams, and achievements, but the facts on the ground show she’s gradually climbing up the ladder heading for her goal of becoming a recognized actor and a commercial “Fashion” and “TV advertorial” model.

Words by Sesan Adeniji

Tolu did not fall in love with the idea of modeling and acting for the glamour. “I have always wanted to be a beauty queen, as well as become an actor. Because of those desires, I found myself around creative people who appreciate my beauty and started calling me for makeup jobs and photo-shoots. I saw this as a good start to achieve being a beauty queen before long a thing of “play” became more serious. By working with more inventive minds, the dream began to look like reality”.

With her primary school (Perfecter Group of Schools) and high school (Ikorodu Senior High School) out of the way, she resumed at the University Of Benin studying International Studies and Diplomacy in 2015. That provided her the opportunity to meet like-minds and more opportunity came by. “That year, I began to work on myself, and in 2017, I started modeling professionally”. Although she alludes to the fact things have not been all rosy, she says, it’s productive. “There are times I don’t get paid for jobs done, sometimes I have to source for collaborations because I’m a freelance model while other times I’m met with disappointments because planned shoot end up not happening. But all in all, I have made progress”.

With deep humility, Tolu is always proud to talk about all the works she has done. According to her, “Over time I’ve worked with a couple of renowned makeup, artists and photographers and I can say I’m proud of how far I have come. One of my goals now is to model for major brands and also someday get movie roles. I’m strongly working towards all of it. I see myself as a piece of art and because of this, I am working on being part of projects that pass messages to people and are relatable. My inspiration as a model is first the fact that I see modeling as a path to achieve some of my life goals like being an icon in the movie and entertainment industry”.

In talking about her support structure, she says, “I strongly believe modeling goes a long way in publicizing me of which it is already. My friends and family are also a major source of inspiration. It gives me the joy to see them repost works I’m featured on, use my pictures as their wallpapers and tell the next person about me at the slightest opportunity”. Whenever asked what makes her stand out, she replies with, ” I tend to search myself and the only thing I find and understand is that being “me” is what makes me stand out. Everyone is special in their way, accepting that reality is key to success and happiness. I am 5’8ft tall, with other statistics that read 33-30-36. I love being “me”. I hope you love “you” as well? “.

Socials

Instagram – @tholumai