Flora Onwudiwe 
Miss Anna-Maria Orlu is the current Beauty Queen representing the United Nations in Nigeria. Out of 23 contestants from different states in Nigeria held in Florida, United States of America, Miss Orlu, 29, from Ikwerre in Port Harcourt, steps down in May. She told Flora Onwudiwe that the reason she contested for the United Nations beauty pageant was because she had always wanted to work with the United Nations. Excerpts:
Are you recognised by the United Nations as their Beauty queen and also a representative in Nigeria?
Oh yes! I’m recognised as their Beauty Queen and I am representing them in Nigeria.
Do we have the same beauty queen representatives in other countries across the globe?
Yes. As I represent the United Nations in Nigeria, there’s a Miss United Nations representative in India for instance. So, every country has their own representative.
Do you have any special project that the United Nations is assisting you with that is of their own interest?
Yes, I have a non-profit organisation called “Little Blessings” Foundation (LBF) and what the UN does is to provide resources for the orphans. They supply books, shoes, clothes and other things. What the United Nations has helped me with is my new initiative called,” Dream Day Out”, where I take different orphans to different amusement parks, or kids friendly activities where they can learn, play and grow.
Why do you choose only Survivor Orphanage homes in Port Harcourt, when we have a lot of orphanage homes across the country?
I lived in a big home and I always knew that, that was where I’d start. But the reason I started in Port Harcourt, first is because my father is from Port Harcourt and the orphanage home is where I worked with and my sisters did their birthdays every year with the children. So I got connected and I did not only start in Port Harcourt, I have Compassionate Orphanage home in Lagos and Godwill Orphanage home in Ikorodu and the Orphanage home in Enugu, I still have to go and see it first and specify them.
Most Beauty queens usually have special projects during their reign, immediately they step down, the projects never resurface, will Little Blessings Foundation face a similar challenge too?
The Little Blessings Foundation was a non -profit before I became a queen and I think it is something that I am always passionate about and that is why it’s important to pick something that you have passionate about because after the crown you are still going to have that passion for it. So, for me, that is always something that is dear to my heart, so this is something that I want to hold on to even after one year reign as beauty queen.
You left Dublin in Ireland and relocated to Los Angeles in the United States of America to pursue your dream career in entertainment. Did it not affect your mental health trying to acclimatise in a new environment where you knew no one? How did you settle down to start picking up with your life?
Definitely, I left for Los Angeles leaving my family; yes it did affect my mental health. I think that’s actually, the moment I got closer to God because I felt like I had nothing else. I felt like I needed Him more than ever. I found my relationship with God and I think that was what really helped me with my mental health and it keeps pushing me forward.
What were the challenges in the new environment (Los Angeles)?
One of the challenges was that I had to get multiple jobs; at one point I had three jobs. Because Los Angeles is very very expensive, it’s one of the most expensive cities in America. And it was really important that I was able to take care of myself, as well as chase my dreams. The dream was expensive. Like acting, that was one of my biggest challenges, also meeting good people, people who would want to support me, who can even be my family, because I still face that now. It’s really hard to find that in Los Angeles, because everybody is busy with their own life, because everybody is there to chase their dream. That is a city of dreams, so I think for me those two were the biggest challenges. Even though I got a job, it didn’t take me away from my true passion in what I really want to do, so those were really my big challenges. Also, finding ways on how I am going to see my family and how I can afford to see them is another thing too. As I am navigating life, I have my Master and I want to do entertainment; how is that going to work, what are am I going to do to make it happen?
What did you study at your Master degree before you opted for Entertainment?
I did my Bachelor’s degree in Occupation Therapy and I did my Master in medical social work. Now I still work with my first degree. I work from home. I did my Master’s because I wanted to work with children and I wanted to help with mental health and things like that. But when I got into the field there was not enough money for me, it was not paying my bills, that always took me away from my craft because I was working 9-5 the whole time, was dedicated to that instead of the reason I moved to Los Angeles. So what I did was get a remote job where I work from home, so that gave me the time to really focus on my auditions, acting in different opportunities I was getting because I was working from home. So that is how I navigate it.
From Science to Entertainment?
As a child, I always loved entertainment. I was always in dance classes, drama, so I knew from a very young age that entertainment was where I was going. Also, my siblings, my family, you need to go to school as a Nigerian family, you have to get your education, entertainment is not guaranteed, what if it doesn’t work out. So, I went to school to please my family, not what I really wanted to do.
You said your favourite book is The Alchemist by Paul Coelho. Why?
The Alchemist is basically making something out of nothing, like having absolutely nothing and figuring out a way to make something, and I feel like for me that is what a lot of my life has been about. When my family moved to Ireland, you know what I mean, which is why I had to live in a big home, so that we could get our people. So all these things I had to think about leaving them and moving to America. I didn’t have anything, I didn’t have anyone. So it is all about having that faith, that little faith that something is going to work out for you and really pursuing it and making out something. So, that book really just gives you a lot of hope, also it has a little bit about religion and God related things as well, because the main person had a lot of faith in his dreams and what he wanted to do.
You grew up in Athens with your parents; did they not add value to your life that is helping in shaping your future?
I lived with my mum in Athens, she was ill, she wasn’t well, so that is why we all moved to Ireland, so she couldn’t take care of us like she wanted to. I think one thing I learnt from my mother, she is very hard working and she will make it happen because a lot of my friends would say, ‘wow you just make things happen’, they don’t know how it happens. Also, another thing, my mother does not like to dwell on the past and that is something I got from her too. If something doesn’t work out I will pray about it and the next day we have to move on.
An award-winning short film titled “Mache,” in which you played the lead role, what is it all about?
In that movie, the director is telling us a story about Haiti and I don’t know about Haiti, so I did my research, it is a Caribbean country, I did not know anything about the people of Haiti. So I had to do research on their culture, then I acted the character because it’s going to add to the character of the person that I am playing and another thing is like it was my first time on the set where I was kissing, so it’s something like psychologically, where I have to get over as well, I have never done it before. Also, I think I tapped into a new skill in that movie and I think that is why it was like a winning movie for me because there were a lot of things that I did for the first time in that movie and it was shot in Los Angeles. I was the lead actress, it was written and directed by Wendy Seme Orleans, a Haitian; he knew about the Haiti Culture and I learnt a lot from him too.
How many of you were from Nigeria that contested for Miss United Nations?
We were 23 that came from different states in Nigeria that contested in 2023 for Miss Nigeria United Nations and it was held in Florida, United States of America.
What gave you that boldness to contest?
Five months before that, I contested for another pageant called Mister Diaspora in Nigeria that was held in Chicago and I came 5th. And I felt that If I contested for Miss Nigeria United Nations, I did not know that I would win but I felt that I would do well, at least top 5 position again, because it is not so long that I left the pageant world and I saw what the winner had and what the top three had. I saw the competition, and now I was going to take what I had learnt and was going for another pageant and I knew that I could do better. So I already had that confidence that I could do the top 5, but also try to win.
How did you feel when the crown was given to you?
It took me like a minute that it was a dream, because when it was top 2 and in my mind I felt that I had done well because my goal was to do pass 5. In my mind I said that I was going to do better, so when I was top 2, I said the other girl was equally good and we were friends because we went through the whole process and I knew she was good. I was happy with her winning, because I knew from the start that she was going to be a challenge for me.
You emerged as the best actress in the film Mache, have you tried Nollywood in Nigeria?
I have been doing theatre all my life on stage even as an adult, when I moved to Los Angeles I moved to film, I knew I wanted to go for Television. Television is more money, more visibility, that wasn’t my first movie but Mache is the first movie that I won. I have a lot of movies and television shows as well. While I am here I want to do a lot of Nollywood.
I have been cast for a role in the Nollywood and I am going to Enugu at the end of this month to shoot, so that would be my first movie in Nigeria and I am hoping to work with more people. I also want to come out with my own YouTube series.
When are you stepping down as a queen?
I have till May this year as Beauty queen. So in May they would start choosing the next queen. By August, there should be somebody else.
