Tuesday, May 13, 2008




My friend, Kate Henshaw is a great woman.

Kate who just played a major part in the V Monologues-The Nigerian Story directed by laspapi, won the prestigious Actress of the Year title at the 2008 edition of the African Movie Academy Awards in Abuja, Nigeria.

She was presented the award on the 27th of April 2008.

Kate was nominated alongside Jackie Apea, Genevie Nnaji, Stella Damasus- Aboderin and Rekiya Attah.

Nkem Owoh a.k.a Osofia won Best Actor of the Year.

See laspapi's March 30 2007 interview with Kate, below

The Bold, The Cool & The Beautiful

I cornered Kate Henshaw, Actor and TV presenter, at a rehearsal for my last stage presentation. Kate, always full of life and a personal favourite of mine, sat to answer a few questions.

laspapi: What's your middle name, Kate?
Kate: Offiong

laspapi: Whas tha' mean?
Kate: It means the moon, usually used for first-born children

laspapi: You were born in July, your zodiac sign's Cancer, governed by the moon. Was the moon-name deliberate?
Kate: Nah! It's co-incidental.

laspapi: Which state are you from?
Kate: (with a disdainful look) Cross River. Where'd you think?

laspapi: It could've been Akwa Ibom
Kate: Please.

laspapi: Where in Cross River?
Kate: Henshaw Town. The name came from slave masters.

(laspapi- I think we should go give london and philadelphia our own names)

laspapi: Who do you look up to?
Kate: (Strongly) My mother. She's forgiving, prayerful, supportive and humble.

laspapi: You look like an extrovert...
Kate: EXTROVERT with capital letters. (If you're out with Kate, you'll understand. She's like a live wire, humming, vibrating all the time. One can see Kate is glad to be alive and its beautiful to watch)

laspapi: Your kind of Man?
Kate: I like outgoing types. He must be generous and caring, and a sense of humour is essential.

laspapi: What is love, Kate?
Kate: (pauses) Love is gentle, selfless. It's a warm, warm feeling that should be reciprocal. Love should give more than it receives.

laspapi: perfume?
Kate: I have no favourites. I mix Gucci, Armani, Channel... (I know Kate loves perfumes. She never fails to remark on them when I'm with her)

laspapi: If you had only 5 minutes to make a great escape, what would you take?
Kate: My phones and my bag containing money. I can use money to buy whatever I leave behind.

laspapi: Clothes designer?
Kate: I'm not a designer freak but my Jeans are always from NEXT

laspapi: Shoes?
Kate: Good ones.

(laspapi and Kate freestyled with Words and Associations. Stella Damasus had warned Kate about my 'Free Association')

laspapi: love
Kate: (With a beautiful smile) Nice!

laspapi: Marriage
Kate: Good

laspapi: Money
Kate: Fantastic!

laspapi: Sex
Kate: Fun! Fun! Fun! Fun!

laspapi: Nigeria
Kate: Stressful

laspapi: America
Kate: Wow!

laspapi: Nollywood
Kate: Teething

laspapi: Hollywood
Kate: (long pause) The world standard (Kate is the P.R.O. of Nollywood's actors' guild which might account for her pondering how long it'll take us to reach the Hollywood heights)

laspapi: A word for people who want to become like you
Kate: Make sure you finish school. Don't come into it looking for fame or money. You must have a love of the craft because there will be dry seasons.

laspapi: (my favourite question) Can you see your unborn children in my eyes?
Kate: (startled) What? Are you serious, Wole? That can't be part of the questions. It is? No, you're joking. I can't see them there. No, no, no. You're not well.

laspapi: (reluctantly moving on) A word for posterity?
Kate: I want to be remembered as someone who smiled, who made people very happy. It takes more muscles to frown than to smile. I'll be smiling all the way.

This interview was first published on this blog on the 30th of March last year and then in the Sunday Guardian Newspaper.

13 comments:

Cheetarah said...

oi papi, totally unrelated..but what happened to the bloggers book? How u doin mr.playwrite?I saw u in TLWA again

QMoney said...

kate,kate ,kate!!lady after my heart,i Love stella as well,where's Liz benson???those are people i really really love!!!!
nice words and "free associtaion"
u arent serious,ur kids bawo???LOL

twentyseven twentyfive said...

I've run into her a couple times in VI (at the hair place, at the salon, at Roberts Cafe).
Couldn't believe how bubbly she was.

How are you?

Updated, by the way.

Anonymous said...

i like kate..i actually saw her at some hotel in V.I a while ago in 9ja and i was starstruck!she was friednly and all that but got angry when one guy was forcefully try to take a picture with her!!

Anonymous said...

i meant trying..lol

Sherri said...

congrats to kate.

that's some interview sha!

Afrobabe said...

Did she say sex was fun fun fun????

I love her already...and the black dress she had on????


FANTASTIC....

Just saw a Christian song she had with Stella and some other chic in different languages...brought tears to my eyes...truly talented....

ShadeCrown said...

i love her, she rawks!!

Flourishing Florida said...

well, kate being ur friend & all, am going to reserve my personal opinion of her - particularly since i don't know her & may have based my tots of wrong impressions.

laspapi said...

@ cheetarah- the book's fine. The publishers are still waiting on me. Haven't finished sorting yet. Still...

@ qmoney- glad you love her. Stella's mah girl as well. Don't know Ms Benson personally.

@ 27 25- That's the word for Kate-Bubbly.

@ pink satin- She's probably one of the most friendly celebrities I know, and I've met a number.

@ sherri- gotta interview you too, babe. I've missed you.

@ afrobabe- that's what she said o. The babe can sing. She has another song she did with Alariwo.

@ sha- Word!!!

@ florida- ah, you wrote it yourself- you don't know her.

Chris Ogunlowo said...

What if she said Yes to the question on unborn children? ;)

LMAO @ Afrobabe

Babawilly said...

Kate Henshaw is really blessed with an infectious smile. Seen her only on the TV screen but she always bubbles over with positive energy. Laspapi, na yu dey meet all the nice people dem

Eyin'ju Oluwa said...

Lmao@the unborn kids question.