Nigerian actress and musician Folake Olowofoyeku has paid tribute to Beninese music icon Angélique Kidjo after Kidjo received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, describing the moment as a full-circle experience.
Kidjo made history as one of the few African artists to be honoured with the honour. The ceremony took place on Tuesday in Los Angeles.
Olowofoyeku, who starred as Abishola in the CBS sitcom Bob Hearts Abishola, recalled first seeing Kidjo in the music video for “AGOLO” as a young girl in Nigeria.
“I had never seen an African woman quite like her — so magical, so musical, so fearless, and, to me, so beautifully Afro-futuristic,” Olowofoyeku wrote.
She described their later friendship as a series of reunions across Rome, the Grammys and live performances. “From her birthday in Rome, to watching her perform, to the Grammys, somehow life kept bringing us back into the same spaces,” she said.
Olowofoyeku added that standing at the ceremony made the journey feel significant. “To watch the world celebrate a woman who inspired me long before we ever met was incredibly moving. You are an extraordinary artist, a force of nature, a true African icon, and an even more beautiful human being,” she stated.
She closed her tribute with a note to her younger self: “Somehow, I know that little girl in Nigeria is smiling too.”
Olowofoyeku made history as the first Nigerian actress to play a leading Nigerian character on a U.S. prime-time sitcom. She voiced Amara in Mufasa: The Lion King and continues her music career alongside advocacy for endometriosis awareness.
Kidjo has not publicly responded to the tribute. The Walk of Fame ceremony drew fans and African entertainment figures from across the diaspora.
