Jemima Osunde: How I combined acting with medical school

Jemima Osunde, the Nigerian actress, has opened up on how she was able to combine acting while studying for her degree in physiotherapy.

Osunde, who is now a doctor of physiotherapy, spoke during the latest episode of ‘Rubbin’ Minds’ with Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, the show host.

The film star said juggling both professions was a difficult task that requires one to make various sacrifices.

“I was in my first year when I started acting and to be honest this might be the first time I am actually admitting it, I thought acting was going to be a ‘while in university thing,’ just to pass time, have some extra change to what daddy was giving me, but here we are,” the Nollywood star said.

“I have always wanted to do something medically inclined, so even when I started acting and it was going well, it wasn’t a thing of I would leave college of medicine for acting, it was a thing of ‘let me see how I can combine both’. I made my debut probably in 2014, I was in my first year.”

On how her parents reacted to her choice of dual occupations, the actress said: “My parents were very supportive then but my dad’s only concern was if you say you want to do both, I won’t stop you but you just have to prove to me that one won’t suffer for the other and the one he was talking about is obviously school.

“So it was really hard but I had a lot of help, my roommate Folakemi was my go-to guy to give me updates on what I missed when I was out there acting and people were in class. you know she would write her note and I would photocopy them and read them while I am on set filming.

“To be honest, it was harder than it looked, I think because I am always smiling and I am always cheerful people forget that or they fail to see.”

Jemima graduated from the University of Lagos (UNILAG) medical school in 2019. She is currently undergoing the mandatory National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) programme.