Bio & History
Iyabode Ololade Remilekun Odusoga, better known as Lola Odusoga, was born in June 1977 in Turku, Finland. Lola’s father is from Nigeria and mother is from Finland. Lola lived her childhood with her mother and two half brothers from her mothers side.
When Lola was a child, there were not many people in Finland with different ethnical backgrounds. Lola was constantly asked about her skin color, where was she adopted from, and why she did’t have a father. She got used to the questions and bullying, and the fact that she would never fit in. Little by little she started to turn being different into a strength.
Lola started modeling in 1989 and for the first time her being different was considered as a positive thing. As she entered the beauty pageant world, people began to question. She was different, wrong colour, and for some people not white enough to represent Finland. The racism and hate were every day life for her. It continued until she came home with the title of Miss Universe second runner up. That´s when it changed.
Living in Finland in the 1990´s, it was impossible to miss the “Lola hype”. She was everywhere all the time. Lola became a public figure, and she has stayed in the public eye ever since using her strong platform for important matters.
Professionally Lola has always been busy doing many projects at the same time. She has always been interested to learn more and try new things. She has worked mostly in beauty, fashion, sports and entertainment industry, and nowadays she also writes children`s books.
She is determined to improve her skills in different areas. She has worked with the best known Finnish companies and many international companies. She has travelled around the world working and is still highly respected of her achievements.
Lola has been an ambassador in Finnish events in England and USA, and has been invited to both President`s residence and President`s Palace and has been listed as one of the top 100 most significant Finnish people.
The achievement she is most proud of, is the way she has been changing the attitudes and opening doors to diversity in her country. She is an icon as she was the first half black person that the media and people really got to know. Her work in that area still continues.
Lola is best known not only by her beauty, but also her work motivation and authenticity. She is known about her positive energy and her strong character. She is one who is not afraid to speak her mind.
Lola thinks that setting a good example in everything she does is very important. As a mother of two and as a public figure she understands the responsibility of her public role. She believes that by always setting a good example in your own life, everyone has a chance of making a difference in the world.
(Photo by Bo Stranden)