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Nnegest Likké ( born February 19, 1970) is an American filmmaker, songwriter and producer. She is one of the few women in the world who has won an African Academy Award for directing Ben and Ara. Her first feature film Phat Girlz starred Academy Award Winner Mo'Nique.

Early life and education
Nnegest Likké was born February 19, 1970 in Oakland, California. She was raised by her two Civil-Activist Parents.She grew up in San Fransisco.

During her childhood, Likké had the opportunity of travelling to Europe, East, West and Islamic North in Africa, where she experience various ways of life.

Likké attended Skyline High school. She then continued her education at Clarke Atlanta University where she studied Mass Communications and earned her B.a. While studying at Clarke Atlanta University, she was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

Career
In 1993, Likké moved to Los Angeles to pursue screenwriting. One of the first gigs that Likké received was being a writer and producer on the reality TV show Blind Date. .While in the process of creating, Likké spent years, teaching Drama, History and English at a high school in Los Angeles. One of her first successes in the industry was co-producing and co-hosting her own talk show 'The Trace and Nnegest Show." Inspired by her love of giving advice, this show aired in Los Angeles for 3 years. It was later sold to the Lifetime Network.

Films
Phat Girlz (2006) was Likké first feature film starring Academy Award Winner, Mo’Nique. This film was about two large women who meet a man of their dreams in an unexpected way. This film went on to earn close to $6.5 million. Her next film was Ben and Era (2016) which was an independent film about an African Muslim woman who falls in love with an agnostic man. Her most recent film Everything But a Man (2019 ).Likké wrote, directed and produced Everything But a Man, about a single, successful, strong black women who despite her success in her career, has found it difficult to find love. Recently, Likké is working on an international adoption thriller for Sixth Sense Productions.

Awards, nominations, honours

 * In 2015, Likké received an honorary mention for Best Feature Film at the All Lights India International Film Festival.
 * In 2016, Likké received the Best Female Protagonist award for her film Ben and Ara at the Nevada Women's Film Festival.
 * In 2016, Ben and Ara won the award for Best Diaspora film by the African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA).