Nollywood actress and entrepreneur Lilian Esoro is grieving the sudden death of her father, Ferdinand Collins Esoro, an event that has plunged the actress-turned-businesswoman into what she describes as an unfamiliar and disorienting kind of sorrow.
Esoro broke the news in an emotional Instagram post on Sunday, accompanying her message with a photograph of her late father. According to her account, he passed away suddenly a few weeks prior, a loss made more painful by its proximity to the death of a close friend she was still mourning.
“A man who was an integral part of my life, the man who led me to Christ, my only living parent, my Dad passed away suddenly,” she wrote, describing herself as having been “stopped in my tracks by the cold, wild wind of grief” for a second time in quick succession.
The elder Esoro’s death carries added poignancy given how publicly his daughter had celebrated him in the past. Less than a year ago, in September, Lilian marked her father’s 80th birthday with a glowing tribute on the same platform, thanking him for teaching her the Bible, showing her how to pray, and, in her words, leading her to Christ.
His death now makes him the second parent Esoro has lost in recent years; her mother died in 2021, a loss the actress also mourned publicly at the time.
In Sunday’s post, Esoro admitted that she had leaned on distraction social engagements, work commitments, and event planning in an attempt to outrun her grief but conceded that the strategy had only gone so far. “Nothing feels quite the same,” she wrote, describing an emotional unpredictability that has come to define her days since her father’s passing.
“This kind of grief is different. It is heart-wrenching and almost impossible to explain,” she continued. “Some days, I am genuinely happy. Other days, a wave of sadness hits me so suddenly and so deeply that I almost don’t know what to do with it or how to react.”
Despite the turbulence, Esoro struck a note of spiritual resolve, invoking the language of faith that has run through much of her recent public reflections.
“It is well with my soul,” she wrote. “God is still God! With him there is no controversy.” She closed her post with gratitude to family and friends who have rallied around her with love, prayers, and support during what she described as a difficult season.
The post quickly drew an outpouring of sympathy from within the Nigerian entertainment industry. Actress Nancy Isime offered words of comfort, writing, “Sending you lots of love as you navigate through this difficult time, Lili.”
Veteran actress Shaffy Bello, who had also joined well-wishers at the elder Esoro’s 80th birthday celebration last year, sent her condolences, as did Chioma Akpotha and Uzor Arukwe, who described the loss as one he was “deeply” sorry for.
Esoro, known for her role as Nurse Abigail in the television series “Clinic Matters” and for her work as CEO of skincare brand Lioca, has not indicated funeral or memorial arrangements.
She has, however, signalled that she intends to continue processing her grief publicly, in keeping with the openness that has characterised her recent posts about family, loss, and faith.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Nollywood actress Lilian Esoro is mourning the sudden death of her father, Ferdinand Collins Esoro, the man she credits with leading her to Christ and her last surviving parent, following her mother’s death in 2021.
Coming weeks after the loss of a close friend, this second blow has left her navigating an unpredictable grief, yet she remains anchored by her faith, declaring, “It is well with my soul.”
Even amid public visibility and support from colleagues like Nancy Isime and Shaffy Bello, grief remains deeply personal and non-linear, a reminder that healing isn’t about “moving on,” but learning to carry loss while still showing up for life.
