Young Nigerian actress, Gbemisola Scarlet Gomez was born Gbemisola Scarlet Shotade before meeting her husband in a music studio
She’s one young woman, who has been on the Nigerian entertainment scene for a while.
Though she’s widely known for her lead role in the Showmax Original telenovela series Wura, she got her first acting role by accident.
She spoke with GBENGA BADA on how she made her first millions at age 15 modelling and contesting at pageants.
Excerpt below….
How did the name Scarlet come about, is it just a stage name?
A lot of people think Scarlet is a stage name, but it’s not. It was mother-given. I always like to say that I think my mom was trying to show off that she read English and wanted people to know by giving me an English name. But I thank God she gave me the name because it’s cute, and I didn’t have to look for a stage name.
You started with beauty pageants, then music videos, and now film, how did that transition happen?
I wanted to be a newscaster or a presenter, but everything else was just a means to an end for me. It was me as a young Nigerian youth looking at life and thinking, “It’s just me and my brother left.” We lost our dad when I was eight, and we didn’t want the entire burden to be on my mom, seeing how she was struggling. I asked myself, “What can I bring to the table?” That was how I got into modelling, pageants, and then acting. But once I stumbled into acting, I fell in love with it.
Did your mom know you were attending those pageants?
Yes, she did. She saw the prize money I was bringing home, and it was helping us. She always knew where I was going and what I was doing. I made my first million at 15.
What did you do with your first million?
I gave everything to my mom. I kept giving her all my earnings because that was the whole point, I wanted to help. I lacked nothing as a child. If I wanted something, my mom would try her best to provide it. And if she couldn’t, we knew it was because she genuinely couldn’t afford it. We were raised with contentment. My dad always said, “If you have just two pairs of jeans and your neighbour has ten, wear yours well, and they will still envy you.” So, I grew up with that mentality. Until I was about 21 or 22, I gave everything I earned to my mom because I felt like she needed it more. If I needed anything, I knew I could always go to her.
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