‘My mum always encouraged me’ – Yvonne Okoro on pursuing acting against dad’s wishes

Ghanaian actress Yvonne Okoro has opened up about how her parents had different expectations for her career, revealing that while her mother encouraged her passion for acting, her father hoped she would become either a doctor or a lawyer.

Speaking about her childhood, the actress said her interest in performing began at an early age, when she would stage plays for guests who visited her father’s home.

She recalled that she would sometimes pretend to be a newscaster and organise performances, entertaining her father’s guests, including expatriates.

“I used to sit, I used to stand behind, so I’ll be reading it. And then, like, I’m a newscaster. And then I would come up with plays where my father brings his guests, you know, these expatriates and stuff like that. And I’ll come up with plays and then we’ll perform for them every time,” she said.

Okoro said her mother consistently encouraged her to pursue her passion, often urging her to keep going, even as her father had a different career path in mind.

According to her, her father initially wanted her to study medicine. However, after she was taken to a science class while in France, she quickly realised that the field was not for her.

She said she often found herself sleeping during the lessons, which convinced her that science was not where her interests lay. She subsequently pursued general arts, but her father then hoped she would become a lawyer.

The actress joked that although she did not follow either of her father’s preferred career paths, she might still fulfil one of his dreams someday.

Okoro’s account highlights the early passion for performance that eventually shaped her career in the film industry, as well as the encouragement she received from her mother while navigating her father’s expectations.