{{Short description|Nigerian actor, boxer, model, fitness trainer and owner of Iconoclast Fitness}} {{Infobox person | name = Ngo Okafor | image = <!-- filename only, i.e. without "File:" (or "Image:") prefix or enclosing brackets --> | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Ngoli Onyeka Okafor | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1974|12|30}} | birth_place = Framingham, Massachusetts, United States | death_date = <!-- {{death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}}(death date then birth date) --> | death_place = | other_names = | alma_mater = University of Connecticut | occupation ={{flatlist| *Model *Actor}} | years_active = 2004{{mdash}}present | organization = Champion Spirit Foundation | known_for = | notable_works = <!-- produces label "Notable work"; may be overridden by |credits=, which produces label "Notable credit(s)"; or by |works=, which produces label "Works" --> | height = 1.96m | spouse = Kindra Hanson (2013&ndash;present) | children = | parents = | relatives = | callsign = | awards = | website = {{URL|ngookafor.com}} | module = | module2 = | signature = | signature_size = | signature_alt = | footnotes = }}

'''Ngoli Onyeka Okafor''' {{IPAc-en||audio=Ig-Ngoli Onyeka Okafor.ogg}}(born December 30, 1974) is an American-born Nigerian actor, former boxer and model who is the internet's most downloaded black male model.<ref name="okafor">{{cite news|url=http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/12/boxing-was-a-way-for-me-to-live-my-childhood-dream/|location=Lagos, Nigeria|title=Boxing was a way for me to live my childhood dream|last=Nkoju|first=Benjamin|date=9 December 2011|accessdate=16 December 2015|newspaper=Vanguard}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalexcellenceonline.com/2013/04/nigerias-top-10-sexiest-men/|title=Nigeria's Top 10 Sexiest Men|publisher=Global Excellence|date=26 April 2013|accessdate=16 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222075619/http://globalexcellenceonline.com/2013/04/nigerias-top-10-sexiest-men/|archive-date=22 December 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Early life and education== Okafor was born in Framingham, Massachusetts while his father was completing his PhD at Harvard University. His family returned to Nigeria shortly before Okafor's second birthday. Okafor grew up in Enugu State.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=lincolnvillagesun |date=2024-03-04 |title=Ngo Okafor: Always punching above his weight |url=https://thevillagesun.com/ngo-okafor-always-punching-above-his-weight |access-date=2024-03-07 |website=The Village Sun |language=en-US}}</ref> He suffered from respiratory illnesses, such as asthma and pneumonia, and read Charles Dickens to pass the time while convalescing at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital.<ref name=":0" /> After completing his secondary school education in Enugu, he proceeded to the University of Connecticut in 1994, where he studied Computer Science.<ref name=":0" />

== Career == Upon graduation, Okafor worked for the Connecticut Department of Transportation, and as a model and actor.<ref name="ngo">{{cite news |last=Edozien |first=Glory |date=6 January 2012 |title=Meet Ngoli "NGO" Okafor: Two Time Golden Glove Winner and the Most Downloaded African American Black Male Model- Exclusive Pictures and Interview |url=http://www.bellanaija.com/2012/01/06/meet-ngoli-okafor-two-time-golden-glove-winner-and-the-most-downloaded-african-american-black-male-model-exclusive-pictures-and-interview/ |accessdate=16 December 2015 |work=BellaNaija}}</ref> He was featured on the covers of ''Fortune'', ''Vogue'', ''W'', ''ESPN Magazine'' and ''The Source''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sheinbaum |first=Hilary |date=30 April 2015 |title=Meet Ngo Okafor: Model, Actor, Boxer, Trainer, & Fitness Star |url=https://www.yahoo.com/beauty/meet-ngo-okafor-model-actor-boxer-trainer-117681314923.html |accessdate=16 December 2015 |work=Yahoo Beauty}}</ref> In 2005, at the age of 31, Okafor began boxing at Kingsway Boxing.<ref name=":0" /> He won two back-to-back Golden Gloves Championships in 2008 and 2009.<ref>{{cite news |last=Brume |first=Suzanne |date=12 December 2010 |title=Interview with Ngo Okafor: "I can be Anything I Want to Be" |url=http://www.eightsandweights.com/2010/12/interview-with-ngo-okafor-i-can-be.html?m=1 |accessdate=16 December 2015 |work=Eights and Weights}}</ref> In 2010, Okafor founded Iconoclast Fitness, a training gym in the Flatiron District of Manhattan.<ref name=":0" />

==Filmography== ===Films=== * ''Phat Girlz'' (2006) as Gentleman in Club * ''Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life'' (2011) as Sebastian * ''A Dog Named Gary'' (2012) as Rob * ''True Story'' (2015) as Ibrahim * ''Oxford Gardens'' (2015)

===TV series=== * ''One Life to Live'' (2006) as Coby Cates * ''Six Degrees'' (2007) as Greg * ''Kings'' (2009) as Prison Guard * ''CollegeHumor Originals'' (2011) * ''The Six'' (2011) as Chuck * ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (2012–2019) as Trainer Wyatt

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [https://www.ngookafor.com/ Official website] * {{IMDb name|nm2200575|Ngo Okafor}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Okafor, Ngo}} Category:1974 births Category:Living people Category:Male actors from Massachusetts Category:Nigerian male film actors Category:University of Connecticut alumni Category:American people of Nigerian descent Category:Boxers from Massachusetts Category:American male boxers Category:Male models from Massachusetts Category:Sportspeople from Framingham, Massachusetts Category:American people of Igbo descent Category:Nigerian male models Category:Nigerian media personalities Category:Igbo male models Category:Igbo male actors Category:20th-century American sportsmen

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