Regina Askia-Williams

Regina Askia-Williams is a Nigerian-born, American-based family nurse practitioner (FNP), healthcare and educational activist, television producer, writer, and public speaker, who first found fame as an actress and model. In 1988, Askia-Williams was crowned Miss Unilag. That same year, she competed in the MBGN 1988 contest. In 1990, Askia-Williams represented Nigeria at Miss Charm International held in Leningrad, Russia, and came second. She also made history by becoming the first Nigerian at Miss International in Japan, where she made an impact with the most outstanding traditional costume.

Askia-Williams’s acting break came in 1993, when she played gold-digger Tokunbo Johnson in Nigerian soap "Fortunes" (later "Mega Fortunes") on NTA Network, a role which earned her critical acclaim and roles in Nollywood movies. She has received several awards for her performances – including one for “Best Actress in Nigeria” by Afro Hollywood London in 2000 – and has produced several television shows and films. Askia-Williams began a modelling career and appeared in several Nigerian print and television commercials including Kessingsheen Hair Care, boutique chain Collectibles, and most famously, Visine.

She also worked on several runway shows. In 2007, she modelled for the 2000-N-Six face cleansing range alongside her daughter, model Stephanie Hornecker. In 2005 Askia hosted a fashion show at the Nigerian Embassy in New York City to raise awareness for the plight of children and women in Nigeria, and in 2006, she hosted a charity fashion show at Lehman College in the Bronx, New York, which displayed the creations of top African designers and her own label Regine Fashions.

Askia-Williams has maintained an active interest in supporting medical outreach in Nigeria. She worked on PROJECT Renaissance Network Africa which aims to ReUnite African Americans with Africa through promotions of investments in Africa. She sits on the board of AfricanViews as Director of Health Programs where she hosts a radio program to highlight the health problems of African communities in the Diaspora. Her foundation, Regina Askia-Williams Foundation, advocates for Skills Acquisition and employment drive for young people. Her ongoing project focuses on a Campaign for Nursing Excellence in Nigeria.

A graduate of the University of Lagos with a degree in Biology, she recently became a Family Nurse Practitioner. Askia-Williams is married to American Rudolph ‘Rudy’ Williams, nephew of Ron Everette and grandson of Fess Williams; together the couple have three children – daughter Teesa Olympia and son Rudolph Junior and Stephanie Hornecker. She lives in New York city where she works as a family nurse practitioner.