Agbani Darego, born Ibiagbanidokibubo Asenite Darego, 22 December 1982) is a Nigerian model and beauty queen, best known as the first native African to win Miss World.
Darego’s family roots are in Abonnema, Rivers State. She was born in Lagos to a family of eight children and she was sixth out of them. At age two, her family relocated to Port Harcourt and was raised in D-line.
Darego attended Bereton Montessori Nursery and Primary School. As a teenager, Darego longed to be a model, and despite her conservative father’s wishes, she auditioned for the M-Net Face of Africa modelling competition but was not chosen as a finalist. After finishing her secondary education, she attended University of Port Harcourt where she studied Computer Science and Mathematics.
In 2001, Darego was crowned Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria. In November of the same year, she became the first native African to claim the Miss World title. Darego’s victory was widely welcomed in Nigeria, and her one-year tenure included goodwill trips and scheduled appearances on behalf of the pageant, and a national honour of MFR.
Darego has judged numerous pageants, fashion and modelling competitions including Miss World 2014, Miss England 2002, Mr. Scotland 2002, and Elite Model Look Nigeria 2012 and 2014. In 2010, she launched a style and fashion reality show Stylogenic on Nigerian television, and three years later announced her denim range, AD by Agbani Darego, which includes jeans, dresses, sunglasses and bags.
Due to her busy work schedule, Darego left the University of Port Harcourt, but after moving to New York where she was signed to Next Model Management and Ford Models she enrolled at New York University where she studied Psychology, graduating in May 2012. On the 8th of April 2017 She married her long-time love Ishaya Danjuma, son of Billionaire General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma in Marrakesh, Morocco.