Nollywood has been plunged into mourning following the death of award-winning actor Alexx Ekubo, who passed away on Monday, May 11, 2026, after a prolonged battle with kidney cancer. He was 40 years old, having celebrated his birthday just a month ago on April 10.

The news of his passing broke on Tuesday and sent shockwaves across Nigeria’s entertainment industry and beyond. According to sources close to the family, Ekubo was rushed to hospital on Monday before spending several hours on life support, ultimately losing the fight on Tuesday afternoon.

Reports indicate that concerns about his health had been quietly circulating since May 2025, following months of conspicuous silence on social media. His last known public post dated back to December 2024, a disappearance from public life that had unsettled fans and colleagues who sensed something was gravely wrong.

Born Alexx Ikenna Ekubo-Okwaraeke on April 10, 1986, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, he was the second of four children born to Mazi Alex Ekubo, a petroleum marketer, and Mrs Jane Ekubo, a fashion designer and businesswoman.

He grew up across several Nigerian cities owing to his father’s work, and went on to attend Federal Government College Daura in Katsina State before graduating with a Law degree from the University of Calabar in 2008. He would later add a Diploma in Mass Communication from Calabar Polytechnic to his academic credentials.

His path to the screen began as a model, a career he pursued for five years before entering the 2010 Mr Nigeria pageant, where he emerged as the first runner-up. That platform launched his mainstream Nollywood career, and Ekubo quickly established himself as one of the most versatile and bankable talents of his generation. His film debut had actually come much earlier, with a minor role in Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen’s Sinners in the House in 2003, but it was his role in the blockbuster Weekend Getaway that announced him to mass audiences. Over a career spanning more than two decades, he accumulated over 116 film credits, appearing in titles including The Bling Lagosians, Devil in Agbada, Almajiri, Omo Ghetto: The Saga, Zero Hour and The First Lady. His role in Áfàméfùnà: An Nwa Boi Story in 2023 earned him a nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards in 2024.

Beyond his screen work, Ekubo was widely recognised for his humanitarian contributions and his towering physical presence standing at 6 feet 2 inches, he was equally celebrated for his fashion sense and frequently appeared on best-dressed lists across the continent. In 2020, the United Nations named him among the Most Influential People of African Descent under 40 for his contributions to entertainment and social development. He was also named Rotary Youth Ambassador of the Year in 2023 under Rotary International District 9142. He gained an additional layer of popular cultural fame as the face of Yemi Alade’s globally viral music video for Johnny, a song that surpassed 90 million views on YouTube and became the most watched music video out of Africa at the time.

His personal life had also attracted public attention in recent years, most notably following the dissolution of his engagement to American-Nigerian model Fancy Acholonu in 2021. He never married and left no children behind.

Family, friends and colleagues have been left devastated by a loss that has arrived with a particular cruelty quietly, after months of uncertainty, and just weeks after he turned 40. Tributes have poured in from across Nollywood, with many describing Ekubo as not only a remarkable talent but a genuinely warm and generous human being whose light reached far beyond the screen. More details surrounding his illness and final days are expected to emerge in the coming hours as the industry begins to come to terms with his passing.

He is survived by his parents and three siblings.