Juliet Asante • It May Be Much Work But She Enjoys Doing Them
Anyone who has come across actress Juliet Asante is likely to say that, first, she is pretty. Those who know her more closely may add that she is hardworking, creative and is determined to succeed at whatever she puts her mind to.
Strangely, it appears that this bunch of very fine qualities is what is threatening to undermine Juliet's happiness. Men seem to fly away in the face of her growing success.
Blossoming romance suddenly stalls, relationships stagger and dates become irregular and far between when the realisation hits the men...this lady is on her way up!
“The few men that I've dated are comfortable with me as long as they don't who know I am, but everything changes the moment they realise that I'm quite an ambitious person with a lot going for me.
“I've broken up with my boyfriend due to this situation and until I meet someone who would take me for who I am, then I don't need anyone. It's a funny situation but that is my observation.
She added that “men feel threatened by women they percieve as being successful. They won't even get close to know who you really are and when they do, they think you're competing with them. I meet people who are very successful and yet humble. That perception that men have on successful women should be discarded.”
On what she expects her ideal man to be, Juliet did not mince words. “He should be handsome, intelligent, have good taste and class. I won't lie to you about that.”
At age 34 Juliet is the CEO of Eagle Productions, the editor of Entertainment Today, an entertainment magazine with corresponding television programme, president of the Women in Film and Television (WIFT) chapter in Ghana, director of Save Our Women International an NGO, the executive producer of Secrets, an electrifying drama series set in a pub and owns the Eagle Drama Workshop.
She is the producer/director and host of Life & Style, an expose of the life stlyes of celebrities, Heart to Heart, a game show on blind dates and Oh Baby, a fascinating and thrilling talk show on relationships mostly shot on location.
Juliet, who is also an actress told Showbiz that, after the collapse of her marriage, she buried herself in building up her company which she started in 1999.
By dint of hardwork, she has been able to build a reputable career and formed links internationally through networking, thereby giving opportunities to aspiring Ghanaians in the entertainment industry.
As has been the norm with most careers, Juliet says her biggest challenge is finding time for herself and her daughter. “Last month, I nearly collapsed due to fatigue. There's so much to be done that I sometimes leave the office as late as 12 midnight because as you know, we're working against deadlines.”
Throughout the battle uphill, Juliet said she is happy and enjoys every bit of her work. “I've not sold my soul to get where I am and despite the stress, I like what I'm doing and I do it with passion”, she said.
One would readily imagine that with her hands full with projects here in Ghana and abroad, Juliet must be one wealthy woman but that is far from right.
“I don't consider myself a rich person. I don't have excess income and I think being rich is a matter of perception. I'm rich in friends, ideas and experience and I'm yet to get to that point. See, I still have my old BMW, the only thing I had when my marriage collapsed”, she said.
On her acting career, Juliet said she walked into the premises of Ghana Films and told the receptionist I wantd to act and was directed to Mr Abbeyquaye who adopted her as his daughter.
Since then, she has acted in movies which include Twin Lovers, Fresh Blood, Tears of Blood, Ripples, Deadly Voyage, Thread of Ananse and Tinsel which is being aired on MNet.
Juliet who is a product of the Cape Coast University and National Film and Television Institute, is the second of seven children born to Mr John Asante of Akwamufie and Madam Stella Obeng of Cape Coast.
Talking about her scariest moment in life, Juliet recalled that when she was between age nine and 12, and living in Liberia, she got paralysed without an iota of hope of ever getting out of her wheel chair.
“I was turning into a huchback until a woman healed me with herbs and I'm glad to be well and alive”, she added.
To her fans, she said they should push ahead in life and aim high by putting away fear and negativity.
Story by Hilda Owusu