Chimamanda Adichie’s first novel, Purple Hibiscus remains one of the most successful debut novel by an author while her 2nd project, Half of a Yellow Sun which chronicles the Biafran story was a massive success. The novel was also adapted into a movie which stared Hollywood actors, Thandie Newton and Chiwetel Ejiofor. In 2013, she released her 3rd novel, Americanah which is also set for a screen adaptation. Americanah was also listed by New York Times as one of the Best Selling Books of 2013.
Chimamanda has over the years engaged in the campaign for gender equality and has continually revealed that she is comfortable with being referred to as a feminist. In 2012, she was a guest speaker on TedX where she spoke on being a feminist. The speech titled ‘we all should be feminist’ was sampled by multiple award winning singer, Beyonce on the single Flawless which went on to be nominated at the 2015 Grammys.
Also listed on Time’s 100 most influential people of 2015 alongside Hilary Clinton and some world leaders, Chimamanda has become a global figure who is an inspiration not just to African girls, but young people all over the world who are inspired to make a difference in their chosen fields.
Happy birthday Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
