Abena Appiah:From Pageantry to Nollywood

From age three, Abena Appiah was inclined to conquer the world of beauty pageants. And conquer she did, winning both local and international titles, culminating in a historic victory as the first Black woman to win Miss Grand International. Now, Appiah is ready to claim a different kind of crown as she debuts in Nollywood, starring in a new film directed by Mildred Okwo, writes Vanessa Obioha.

She is like a vault, open and soaking in every bit of knowledge.”

These were the words of acclaimed Nollywood director Mildred Okwo, who recently described Abena Appiah, the multi-talented Ghanaian queen, during a chat.

Appiah takes on the lead role in Okwo’s upcoming film, ‘On Different Grounds,’ marking her Nollywood debut. While she’s no stranger to the screen, having appeared in productions like the Netflix series ‘A Taste of Sin’—where she played May, the materialistic wife of Rev. Kwesi Todd (portrayed by Majid Michel)—this role is her first leading part in Nollywood.

Appiah is a woman of many layers, each revealing something new and surprising. Beyond her beauty queen title, she is also a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, skilled in playing the ukulele, guitar, clarinet, and flute. Her talent has taken her far, even featuring in music videos for the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Gucci Mane. Yet, her first love remains beauty pageants. From the tender age of three, she was groomed to be a model and queen, driven by a passion fueled by her distinct sense of self.

“Growing up, I always had a strange feeling that I was so different,” she said from her Los Angeles home in the United States.

A part of that difference was later traced to her mother’s Filipino heritage, sparking a curiosity that led her to visit the Philippines in 2019 after winning Miss Earth Ghana. During her stay, she trained with the Kagandahang Flores camp, a Philippines-based pageant camp that trains aspiring beauty queens for local and international pageant modelling camps. There, she immersed herself in Filipino culture as part of her preparation for the Philippines-based Miss Earth pageant.

“They were just so welcoming and loving. My motto is whenever you go to any country, you need to at least learn a bit about their culture so that you can fit in and show that kind of respect. So, I literally went down with the people. I was eating street food, I was learning their culture, I was speaking the way they speak, I was dressing the way they dressed and they kinda embraced me.”

This approach wasn’t just about cultural appreciation; it was strategic, aimed at winning the Miss Earth crown.

“For them to feel comfortable to crown a girl that’s not Filipino, I need to show them that I’m willing to learn because I was learning to be a global ambassador, so why not learn their culture so that they can see that in me? That’s what pushed me to actually learn their culture and they fell in love with me. And you know what, even though I didn’t win that crown, I won the hearts of the people. And that was what was so important for me.”

But Appiah’s journey was not without challenges, particularly concerning her appearance. She faced bullying from a young age, struggling to understand why she was targeted.

“Kids laugh at people, they tease people, but then I had a problem accepting that. I didn’t understand why,” she said. “We travelled a lot between America and Europe, and when we go to America, they tease me and call me black monkey, but when I come to Ghana, they call me Kwame Nkrumah because of my forehead. I never understood why they would laugh at my forehead so much.”

Her mother’s encouragement played a crucial role in helping her build confidence and pride in herself.

“My mum always told me that I’m different; I’m a mixture of so many different things and I’m  beautiful. She used to make me say these words. I’ll stand in front of the mirror, and then I’ll have to say, ‘You’re beautiful. You’re amazing. You are who you are. I love you…’ and things like that,  to encourage and motivate myself.”

Those affirmations helped her embrace her looks and identity, ultimately inspiring her to become an anti-bullying advocate. With her mother’s guidance – enrolling her in extracurricular activities, taking her to girl camps, and introducing her to a modelling coach – Appiah found spaces where she belonged and learned to love herself. By age six, she competed in her first pageant and instantly fell in love with the experience.

“I loved it so much that we started having more training to hone my skills.”

In 2020, Appiah decided to retire from beauty pageants, but not before one last achievement: winning a top international crown for her mother. Miss Grand International, one of the world’s most prestigious pageants, became her final stage. The pressure was immense, as the victory meant more than personal success.

“I had so much pressure because I wanted to prove to the world that I can do it. It doesn’t matter if I have natural hair; it doesn’t matter the colour of my skin. All I need to do is to stand on that stage and show people who I truly am and then become that role model for other girls that look like me to know that they can do whatever they put their mind to.”

Appiah not only became the first Black woman to win Miss Grand USA but also Miss Grand International. True to her word, she stepped down in 2022, purchasing the Miss Grand franchise for her country and creating a forum to support aspiring beauty queens.

Throughout our conversation, Appiah’s deep admiration for her mother was evident, shining through whenever she mentioned the influential figures in her life.

“My mum has always been my role model since I was little. She has to give up all her dreams and every aspiration in order for me and my siblings to achieve ours. She basically put her life on hold so we could have one. She doesn’t let anything negative get to her. She has always been my number one fan and I believe everyone should have that kind of person in their corner.”

Now that she has conquered the beauty pageant stage, Appiah has her eyes set on conquering the acting world globally. Describing herself as too ambitious, Appiah said she hates taking no for an answer.

“If you tell me no that I can’t achieve something, you just deprogrammed my head because everything is going crazy and all I can hear is ‘yes, you can do it.’”

She is bringing that attitude to her acting career, taking acting classes and learning everything that will establish her as a global actress. Nollywood, in her view, is a thriving ground for making that dream a reality.

“You can thrive really fast in Nollywood if you have the right guide,” she said. “With Nollywood, there is no discrimination. They were welcoming and I was so happy when I got on set and everybody had their arms open. Nobody made me feel unwanted because I was a Ghanaian.”

On how she landed her new role, Appiah revealed that the producer Nicolette Ndigwe-Kalu was impressed by her performance in ‘Taste of Sin’ and knew instantly she was the perfect actress for her lead role. She, however, added that another attraction to her acceptance of the role was Okwo.

“She does really great movies but what’s most important is that she guides you through the acting. She doesn’t leave you to do it yourself. She moulds and guides you.”

For Okwo, Appiah’s charm and talent are reminiscent of a young Julia Roberts.

“She has a charm which reminds me a lot of how people used to describe Julia Roberts. If you have a lead character like that, particularly in a movie like this, it says a lot about the audience’s acceptance and engagement,” said Okwo. “She has that ‘it’ which we are always looking forward to in actors. A lot of people play characters just to get through the film but what I noticed about her is that she is eager to learn. She really lets herself be an instrument which would be good for her future in acting.”

Okwo hopes that within the next five years, Appiah will have garnered global recognition. With her ambition and determination, that dream seems well within reach.