Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Chimamanda Adichie Basic Information

Stage Name:	Chimamanda Adichie
Real Name:	Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Occupation:	Novelist, Short Story Writer, Nonfiction Writer
Date Of Birth/Age:	15 September 1977 (46) Years Old
Place of Birth:	Enugu, Enugu State, Nigeria
Gender:	Female
Nationality:	Nigerian
Marital Status:	Married
Education:	The University of Nigeria Secondary School, Nsukka University of Nigeria, Nsukka Eastern Connecticut State University Princeton University Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Johns Hopkins University Yale University
Height:	1.68 m
Net Worth:	$5M

Chimamanda Adichie Biography

Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, born September 15, 1977, has written novels, short stories, and nonfiction. She was referred to in The Times Literary Supplement as “the most prominent” of a “procession of critically acclaimed young anglophone authors which is succeeding in attracting a new generation of readers to African literature,”, particularly in her second country, the United States.

She was given a MacArthur Genius Grant in 2008. 2018’s PEN Pinter Prize went to her. Her short story “You in America” was included on the Caine Prize for African Writing shortlist in 2002, and “That Harmattan Morning” was chosen as a joint winner of the 2002 BBC World Service Short Tale Awards. In addition, she received the 2002–2003 David T. Wong International Short Story Prize (PEN Center Award) 2003.

Family

Chimamanda Adichie’s family’s accomplishments span academics, medicine, and literature, showcasing a strong foundation of education and professional success.

Parents

Chimamanda Adichie’s father, Prof. James Nwoye Adichie, was Nigeria’s first professor of statistics. Born in 1932, he studied mathematics and earned a Ph.D. in statistics from the University of California, Berkeley. Chimamanda’s mother, Grace Ifeoma Chikaodili Adichie, was born in Umunnachi in 1942. Chimamanda has five siblings: Ijeoma, Uche, Chuks, Okechukwu, and Kenechukwu. She has a daughter with her husband, Ivara Esege, a Nigerian-born doctor and clinical assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Father

The father of Chimamanda Adichie is Professor James Nwoye Adichie. In 1932, he was born in Abba. He studied mathematics at the University College in Ibadan. Before relocating to the US, where he earned a Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of California, Berkley in 1966, he worked at the Central Bank of Nigeria and the recently founded Nigerian College of Arts, Science, and Technology in Enugu (now University of Nigeria, Nsukka). He held several roles at the University of Nigeria after his return to Nigeria, progressively moving up the ladder until he was appointed the country’s first professor of statistics in 1976.

Mother

On November 29, 1942, in Umunnachi, Dunukofia LGA, Grace Ifeoma Chikaodili Adichie (née Odigwe) was born. She was Regina Nwabuodu Odigwe and Felix Aro-Nweke’s first child. Her father ran a business in Widikum, Cameroon, where she spent her formative years.

Siblings

The names of Chimamanda Adichie’s siblings are Ijeoma Adichie, Uche Adichie, Chuks Adichie, Okechukwu Adichie, and Kenechukwu Adichie. But unfortunately, not much is known about them.

Children

With her husband Ivara, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has a daughter. She casually broke the news during a recent interview with London’s Financial Times. However, she withholds information about her daughter. Thus there are no further details available.

Husband

Ivara Esege is a Nigerian-born doctor who has also adopted the nationalities of two other nations. He began his medical journey at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN). He had moved to the United States for his doctoral studies after spending a short time at the university’s teaching hospital.

At the University of Maryland and Medical Center, he finished his postgraduate studies, and shortly after, he began teaching there. At the University of Maryland School of Medicine, he advanced to become a family and community medicine clinical assistant professor.

Lifestyle

Net Worth

The renowned novelist is estimated to be worth five million dollars. She makes the most of her earnings from her writing career and worldwide educational engagements.

Books

Along with the short story collection The Thing Around Your Neck (2009) and the book-length essay We Should All Be Feminists (2014), Adichie is also the author of the novels Purple Hibiscus (2003), Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), and Americanah (2013). Her most recent works include Notes on Grief (2019), Zikora (2020), and Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions (2017).

Education

Adichie finished her secondary schooling at the University of Nigeria Secondary School in Nsukka, where she won several academic honors. Then, she spent one and a half years studying medicine and pharmacy at the University of Nigeria. Adichie moved from Nigeria to the United States at 19 to pursue a political science and communication degree at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

She changed schools to Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU) to be close to her sister Uche, who worked as a doctor in Coventry, Connecticut. Summa cum laude graduated with a bachelor’s degree from ECSU in 2001. At Johns Hopkins University, Adichie earned a master’s degree in creative writing in 2003. During 2005–2006, Adichie attended Princeton University as a Hodder fellow. She graduated from Yale University with a Master of Arts in African Studies in 2008.

State of Origin & Tribe

Adichie is a native of Enugu, the state capital of Nigeria’s Enugu State. It is situated in Nigeria’s southeast. The two Igbo terms “Énú Úgwú,” which translates to “hilltop” and indicates the city’s mountainous topography, are the source of the name Enugu.

Chimamanda is an Igbo from Nigeria. Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo are home to most Igbo people. In addition, Delta and Rivers States also have a substantial Igbo population.