Nollywood star Alexx Ekubo dies aged 40 after cancer battle

Alexx Ekubo, one of Nollywood’s most recognisable leading men, died at 40 after a battle with advanced metastatic kidney cancer, closing a career that reached far beyond Nigeria’s movie sets and into the wider African public imagination.

His family disclosed the illness that led to his death, and family sources said he died in Lagos on Monday, May 11, 2026. One report said his body was moved to Ebony Vaults in Ikoyi. The news triggered a wave of grief across the entertainment industry, with actors including Funke Akindele, Bolanle Ninalowo and Godwin Nnadiekwe paying public tribute after months of concern over his absence from public life.

Ekubo had not been seen much in recent months, and his last Instagram post was reported to have been in December 2024, adding to the unease that spread among fans before the death announcement. For many viewers, his appeal came from a familiar mix of romantic-comedy charm and dramatic range that made him a fixture in Nollywood, the Nigerian film industry that is second only to India’s in output. That scale has helped Nollywood function as a cultural force across Africa and among diaspora audiences who consume its stories as part of a shared language of identity, ambition and social mobility.

Born on April 10, 1986, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Ekubo studied at the University of Calabar before competing in the 2010 Mr. Nigeria contest and building a career as an actor, model, entertainer and humanitarian. His public profile grew alongside a string of recognitions that pushed his name beyond the screen. In 2020, he was inducted into the MIPAD/United Nations Top 100 Under 40 Hall of Fame. He also received a Certificate of Excellence from Sapio Club SDG for entertainment and humanitarian contributions, and in 2021 he was named Nigerian National Award of Excellence as Global Social Giving Actor of the Year for charity work.

His honours also included an honorary doctorate in arts and culture from ISCG University in Cotonou, a marker of the regional reach that helped define his legacy. Ekubo’s death leaves Nollywood without one of its most visible ambassadors, and it also removes a public figure whose career reflected the industry’s expanding soft power, from Port Harcourt to Cotonou and far beyond.