| Ngo Okafor | |
| Birth Name: | Ngoli Onyeka Okafor |
| Birth Date: | 30 December 1974 |
| Birth Place: | Framingham, Massachusetts, United States |
| Nationality: | Nigerian |
| Alma Mater: | University of Connecticut |
| Years Active: | 2004 - present |
| Organization: | Champion Spirit Foundation |
| Credits: | , which produces label "Notable credit(s)"; or by |
| Works: | , which produces label "Works" --> |
| Height: | 1.96m |
| Spouse: | Kindra Hanson (2013 - present) |
Ngoli Onyeka Okafor (born December 30, 1974) is an American-born Nigerian actor, former boxer and model who is arguably the internet's most downloaded black male model. Okafor is currently living in New York, New York.[1] [2]
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.[3] 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. After completing his basic and secondary school education in Enugu, Nigeria, he proceeded to the University of Connecticut in 1994 where he studied Computer Science.
After graduation, Okafor worked for the Connecticut Department of Transportation, and as a model and actor.[4] He was featured on the covers of Fortune, Vogue, W, ESPN Magazine and The Source.[5] In 2005, at the age of 31, Okafor began boxing at Kingsway Boxing. He won two back-to-back Golden Gloves Championships in 2008 and 2009.[6] In 2010, Okafor founded Iconoclast Fitness, a training gym in the Flatiron District of Manhattan.