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Ten years after her passing, Nollywood actress Henrietta Kosoko’s family has paused to remember a woman they describe as a pillar of love, grace, and strength.
Her husband, Prince Jide Kosoko, and daughter, Temilade Kosoko, paid emotional tributes in separate Facebook posts on Saturday, which marked the 10th anniversary of her demise.
Henrietta Kosoko died on June 6, 2016, after slumping at her Lagos home.
She was rushed to hospital but was confirmed dead on arrival. She was 53.
Her husband, veteran actor and former President of Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (ANTP), Prince Jide Kosoko described her as a pillar of love and strength whose family missed sorely.
He wrote, “Today marks 10 years since my beloved wife, Henrietta Emumejiapkor Kosoko, returned to her Creators.
“She was love, grace, and strength to me and our children.
“Her children are doing great, and I know she’s smiling from above.
“May God grant her peace yonder. We miss you, Rita omo Odudukudu. Continue to rest in peace iya ibeji.”
The couple’s daughter, Temilade Kosoko, also shared an emotional tribute reflecting on a decade of life milestones her mother did not live to witness.
She wrote, “10 whole years of my life without you Iya Ibeji!!!! Goddd, where do I start from.
“Your daughter is a grown woman now. I went to the university and studied theatre arts, graduated with a second class upper.
“Some days I really want to just give up but the thought of you keeps me going.
“Sometimes I wish you were still here, I know how hard you would have fought for my career. I miss you every single day!! I breathe you, I smell you and that way, I know you are always with us. Happy 10 years in heaven — the angels have been so lucky to have you around.
“Keep resting mummy, I will make you proud, I PROMISE!!”
Born in 1963, Henrietta Kosoko trained as a caterer before transitioning into acting, a career her husband encouraged her to pursue full time.
She rose to prominence in 1995 after playing the lead role in the Yoruba film Omolade and also starred in Onome, cementing her place in the Nollywood landscape of that era.
In the year before her death, she had survived a serious road accident along the Sagamu–Abeokuta expressway.
Friends and family later revealed she had also been managing diabetes in her final years, with fluctuating sugar levels in the period leading up to her death.
She was buried on June 10, 2016, four days after her death.
She is survived by her husband and their children.
