HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRL!

I so love this girl and the woman she has become...hehe! that so passionate coming from a fan and admirer.

But Gosh!
I love her and this isnt because of her looks which is actually stunning but her works and the sweet success story she has made for herself through her works which are incredibly beautiful especially her descriptive skills which is exceptional!


Well... I am celebrating this beauty and icon because she was born today 37 years ago. Meenhh, she doesnt look it ooo.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born September 15, 1977 in Enugu, Nigeria. She was raised in Nsukka near the University of Nigeria. Her father, James Nwoye Adichie, was a professor of statistics and later became the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University. Her mother, Ifeoma Aidichie, became the first female registrar at the University. Adichie is the fifth child in a family of six children. She is of Igbo descent and her ancestral home is in Abba.

 

Adichie was an A student who often butted heads with her teachers. Despite her reputation, she received several academic awards. Adichie enrolled in medical school at the behest of her father. She soon dropped out to pursue her dream of becoming a writer. When she was 19, she left Nigeria on a scholarship to Drexel University in Philadelphia. She studied communication at Drexel and earned a degree in communication and political science at Eastern Connecticut State University. She graduated summa cum laude in 2001.

 Later that year, she began MFA courses in literature at Johns Hopkins University.

Adichie credits Chinua Achebe, Igbo author of Nigerian masterwork Things Fall Apart, with her literary success. She once lived in Achebe’s house and believes his halo surrounded her. After reading his book at 10 years old, she realized that people who looked like her could exist in books. Her desire to write was sparked by his work.

In 2003, Purple Hibiscus was published to wide acclaim. It was shortlisted for the Orange Prize and awarded the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book. She was awarded with the Orange Prize in 2007 for her second novel, Half of a Yellow Sun, about the Biafran War. In 2008, she received a MacArthur Fellowship. A collection of short stories, The Thing Around Your Neck, was published in 2009.

In 2013, she added the book Americanah to her list of award winning literary works.

And yes she is happily married to Ivara Esege, a Medical Doctor  whom she often describes as Nigerian, American and British.

Chimmanda and Ivara

Happy Birthday to you Chimmanda!