This article discusses kidnapping, abuse, and the real-life practice of baby farming.
Ebonylife Studios’Baby Farmgained popularity on Netflix, and the cast of the Nigerian drama is almost as important as its mission to bring awareness to a real-life problem.Baby Farmis one of the bestnew shows on Netflix, and it’s partially because it has such an important goal. The series takes a realistic but fictionalized view of baby farming, an illegal practice that manipulates or outright kidnaps pregnant women, typically in African countries like Nigeria, and holds them against their will until they give birth (viaDW). The babies are then taken from their mothers and sold, often to wealthy parents in foreign countries.
WhileBaby Farmisn’t necessarily one ofNetflix’s best true-crime shows, as its characters are all fictional stand-ins for real people, it’s still a deeply moving show. As with any story about real-life tragedies,Baby Farmran the risk of being overly depressing, but its talented cast instead made it a riveting and important look at an issue that doesn’t get nearly enough attention. Baby farming in general is worth knowing more about, but the cast ofBaby Farmis also worth learning about. With any luck, some ofBaby Farm’s African actors will even start showing up in more American content in the future.
Onyinye Odokoro as Adanna
Date of Birth: Unknown
Actor: Onyinye Odokoro was born in Enugu, Nigeria.Odokoro had her breakthrough role early on in her career, in 2021’sMiss Bamadele’s Girls, where she played Ebube. Odokoro has mostly gained prominence primarily in Nigerian films and television, though her leading role inBaby Farmwill likely help her gain traction in the United States. Certain media outlets, like theCultural Custodian, have also hailed Odokoro as a shining star in Nollywood and praised her acting abilities in a media landscape that is mostly dominated by plot-driven stories rather than character-focused ones.
Domitilla: The Sequel
Ekwutosi
Character: Onyinye Odokoro plays Adanna inBaby Farm. Adanna is a young woman who gets pregnant before she is married. Adanna is then manipulated into joining a baby farm that is masquerading as a non-profit organization, and her nightmare truly begins.
Folu Storms as Joy
Date of Birth: July 01, 2025
Actor: Folu Storms was born in Lagos State, Nigeria.Storms actually had her breakthrough not as an actor, but as a radio personality when she began working for 92.3 Inspiration FM in 2012. Previously, she had worked as a lawyer, but she then became a radio host, journalist, emcee, and documentary filmmaker. As an actor, Storms has starred in a number of Nollywood movies and shows, perhaps most prominently in crime genre productions likeCrime and Justice LagosandCharge and Bail.
Crime and Justice Lagos
Charge and Bail
Aifa
Character: Folu Storms plays Joy inBaby Farm. Joy is a gossip blogger who is investigating the baby farm, though she’s doing so more for her own content and personal gain than she is to expose the crimes and help the victims.
Actor: Jenny Stead attended Stellenbosch University in South Africa, where she graduated with honors.Stead had her breakthrough role in 2017, when she played Domi inBlood Drive. While that may be her most prominent role to date, Stead has also garnered multiple awards: she’s a four-time Fleur du Cap nominee and onetime winner, and she’s also secured nominations and wins for a variety of stage plays. Stead has mostly made a name for herself in Nollywood and other African film industries, but she’s also worked with the History Channel and the BBC in the past.
Tropic Fever
Mary Kingsley
Character: Jenny Stead plays Sister Barb inBaby Farm. Alongside Dr. Evans, Barb is responsible for many of the atrocities and manipulation the baby farm uses to coerce young women into what amounts to slavery. While she’s certainly compliant in the operation, there’s more to Barb, and she’s at least partially a victim herself.
Langley Kirkwood as Doctor Evans
Date of Birth: April 14
Actor: Langley Kirkwood was born in Bromley, Kent, England, though he moved to South Africa at a young age.Kirkwood had his breakthrough role in 2008, when he starred in the HBO miniseriesGeneration Kill. Since then, Kirkwood has mainly taken on supporting roles in American movies and shows, though he has become more of a star in African film industries. Some of Kirkwood’s most iconic roles to date have been as one of thenine judges in 2012’sDreddand, most recently, in Netflix’s live-action adaptation of the hit anime seriesOne Piece.
Banshee
Colonel Douglas Stowe
Character: Langley Kirkwood plays Doctor Evans inBaby Farm. Evans is essentially the main villain of the show, and he runs the baby farm that has kidnapped Adanna and the other women. Though he runs a massive criminal conspiracy, Evans has also leveraged his charm and race to garner international acclaim and a reputation as a philanthropist.
Uzoamaka Onuoha as Comfort
Actor: Uzoamaka Onuoha was born in Lagos State, Nigeria.Onuoha had her breakthrough role with her first professional appearance, in 2018’sIf I Am President. Onuoha has had a successful career in Nollywood since then, and she even won the Africa International Film Festival award for Best Female Performance for her work on 2024’sAgemoafter being nominated in 2023. Onuoha has also had a long career performing live stage plays in addition to her work on films and in television.
Ordinary Fellows
Efya
Character: Uzoamaka Onuoha plays Comfort inBaby Farm. Comfort is another young mother at the same baby farm as Adanna, and she’s one of the few women who is kind to Adanna upon her arrival. Comfort is mostly used to show other sides of the facility from outside of Adann’s perspective.
Baby Farm Supporting Cast & Characters
Rita Dominic as Cherise: Rita Dominic plays Cherise inBaby Farm. Cherise is a wealthy woman who desperately wants to adopt a baby, and she looks the other way at the baby farm’s questionable practices. Dominic is known for movies likeLa Femme Anjola, where she played Anjola.
Joseph Benjamin as Akin: Joseph Benjamin plays Akin inBaby Farm. Akin is in a relationship with Cherise, and he also wants to adopt a child from the baby farm. Benjamin is known for playing Joseph Obi onGreenleaf.
