Before becoming a popular actress, Nelson used to be a beauty pageant queen. She started participating in beauty contests when she was in high school.
After a few long years of mastering her talents and getting ready, she got a chance to take part in the Aggrey Memorial High School beauty pageant, and she succeeded in winning the Miss Aggrey title.
Afterwards, she decided to aim for bigger chances and became a participant of Miss Ghana beauty pageant in 2005. She did not win, but she got a special recognition award- Best Talent - because she performed the best original rap song, which touched on the topic of HIV/AIDS. The actress also managed to win the Miss Photogenic title as well as a few other awards.
After she received the much-needed exposure from the Miss Ghana beauty pageant, she quickly started gaining popularity. She even won a two-year-contract with Maxim Cosmetics.
However, the most valuable prize she got for participating in the Ghanaian beauty pageant was a role in the TV series called Fortune Island. This was the TV production that brought Nelson to the limelight and earned her the initial fame she needed to kick off her acting career.
Even though Fortune Island did not last long, the series became the actress' stepping stone into mainstream acting and exposed her natural talent to big movie producers.
Her real fame began when she began her work with Venus Films. This production house is one of the best known in West Africa, and it has worked with many celebrities.
In order to pursue her career and follow her dreams, Yvonne even decided to drop out of the university.
The first major production that Yvonne took part in was called The Return of Beyonce, where she starred alongside such Ghanaian movie giants as Nadia Buari, Van Vicker, and Jackie Appiah.
According to Yvonne, she was not even going to audition for big movie productions. She got her first big role completely accidentally, without even planning it. As she remembered, she went to have lunch at her favourite place, and the audition for the movie was going on there at the same time.
The young beauty was spotted by the producer of the movie, who asked her if she was there to audition for the role. Yvonne said that she did not want to audition, but the producer asked her if she was certain.
Even though Yvonne rejected the proposition, the producer later got her number and gave her a call, asking her to come. The actress thought that it would not hurt if she went, and once she got the role, she never had any regrets about it.
Her first lead role was in Princess Tyra in 2007. This movie brought her to the public eye and made film producers realize that she is a talented actress. Her next great production was called Playboy, and it came out in 2008.
As she appeared in many new movies, she became a more recognizable name in Ghana. But she did not stop on Ghallywood – she thought that she had to expand her horizons to become a superstar.
She became the first actress from Ghana to act in Ivory Coast movies. This happened when the Ghanaian movie industry collaborated with Nigeria and Ivory Coast.
Later, she also moved to Nollywood, where she appeared in her first production with the famous actress Genevieve Nnaji.
Yvonne Nelson movies
The actress has been featured in many movie productions. Some of the most popular movies which include her appearance are:
- Deadly Passion
- Desperate to Live
- The Queen’s Pride
- Yvonne’s Tears
- Blood is Thick
- One Night in Vegas
- The Mistresses
- Deadly Plot, and many, many others.
For all of her movies, she has won plenty of Best Actress, Favourite Actress, and Hottest Actress awards, as well as Best Picture awards at various Nigerian and Ghanaian award ceremonies. Her outstanding talent has been recognized and acknowledged by the academy and the fans.
The actress usually plays the role of the bad girl in movies – she is really great at portraying negative characters. However, in real life, she is very far from this archetype.
The actress has admitted that she does not smoke or drink, and in general, she is nothing like her characters in movies. She has said that people have to understand that she is an actress, which means that she receives scripts and acts them on screen in a certain way.
The actress considers herself a professional and says that she does not turn down scripts just because in real life people put unrealistic expectations on her. She also enjoys doing all the romantic scenes that movies require but notes that she would not go any further than kissing.
Producing movies
Apart from being an actress, she is also a successful movie producer. She first decided to try her hand at producing films in 2011.
The first movie she produced was called The Price, and it was released in 2011. Afterwards, she produced such movies as Single and Married (2012) and House of Gold (2013).
Businesses
Apart from acting and producing, the star is a well-known and hardworking businesswoman. She opened a fashion store named YN’s Closet, where all the most fashionable designer clothes are shipped from all over the world. She also has a production company, YN Productions.
Philanthropy and activism
The actress is very big on charity and fighting for human rights. In 2010, she launched a foundation called Yvonne Nelson Glaucoma Foundation, the purpose of which was educating people on the eye ailment and its harmful effects. The main inspiration for this was her family member’s death from glaucoma.
Nelson is very aware of how this disease can affect people and knows that it is hereditary, which means that everyone can inherit it from their family members. Unfortunately, Yvonne Nelson Glaucoma Foundation was quickly forced to shut down, because it met unexpected financial challenges.
Besides that, she was also one of the celebrities who protested against the energy crisis in Ghana. She took part in the peaceful protest, which took place on May 16th, 2015. The official hashtag of this protest was #DumsorMustStop, which was used to describe the concerns of Ghanaian people about the energy crisis in the country. Nelson and a few other celebrities decided to drive more attention to this problem and challenge the government for the quickest solution.
Nelson is one of the it-girls of the Ghanaian movie industry, being a popular actress and the idol of many people. Even though she has taken breaks from acting, she has never stopped being incredibly popular
Many people are not only watching her movies and admiring her on-screen but also discussing her private life. And there is really a lot to discuss. Now, that you have learned everything about her career, checkout what she's like off-screen.
