Minah Bird
Also recorded as Minah Ogbenyealu Bird
Minah Bird
- Born
- 1950 · Aba.
- Died
- 1995
- Nationality
- Nigeria
- Occupation
- actress · model
- Languages
- English
In this article
Key facts
• Name — Minah Bird • Birth Name — Minah Ogbenyealu Bird • Born — 1950 03 11 • Birthplace — Nigeria • Died — July 1995 • Other Names — Minah Uko Minah Ogbenyealu Bird (also known as Mynah Bird and Minah Uko) (11 March 1950 – July 1995) was a Nigerian model and actress active in the United Kingdom in the 1970s.
Early life
Bird was born in from Aba in Nigeria and was educated in Nigeria and Finland. She appeared in several UK films of the 1970s. Described as the "only major black starlet in British sex films", she vanished from public view from the late 1970s and was found dead in her Londonflat in Belgravia, London SW1; a few weeks after suffering an apparent heart attack in 1995.
Career
Bird was listed as one of the "top black fashion models who paved the way for black women in fashion" alongside Iman and Grace Jones. She appeared on the cover of Oz magazine in November 1970. She is credited with a series in the Sunday Mirror in the mid-1970s that birthed the trend of Kiss N Tell stories in newspapers.
Filmography
• Year — Film — Role • 1971 — Up Pompeii — Girl Bather (uncredited) • 1972 — The Love Box (aka Lovebox) — Black Girl ("New Colours" segment) • Four Dimensions of Greta — Cynthia • Layout for 5 Models — Maria • 1974 — Percy's Progress — Miss America • Vampira aka Old Dracula — Rose • It's Not the Size That Counts — Maria • 1976 — Alfie Darling — Gloria • 1978 — The Stud — Molly • Play For Today (BBC TV) S9.E2: "Victims of Apartheid" — Clara • 1979 — The London Connection — Narcotics Agent • A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square — Mavis (final film role)
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Minah Bird, revision 1362380962 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.National Portrait Gallery - Person - Minah Ogbenyealu Bird.
- 2.Minah Bird. BFI.
- 3.Jennings, Michael-John. This month in the Times photographic archive: October 2020. The Times. 0140-0460.
- 4.African Drum Publications. Drum: A Magazine of Africa for Africa. 1971.
- 5.Bourne, Stephen. Black in the British Frame: The Black Experience in British Film and Television Second Edition. A&C Black. 2001-11-30. 978-0-8264-5539-0.
- 6.Gutowski, Gene. With Balls and Chutzpah. iUniverse. 2011-08-04. 9781462002740.
- 7.Laud, Derek. The Problem With Immigrants. Biteback Publishing. 2015-01-27. 978-1-84954-877-9.
- 8.Zartosht, Shahin. MODELING by Shahin Zartosht: A guide to becoming a Model. Shahin Zartosht. 2021-01-27. 979-8-7012-4573-8.
- 9.Hippie Hippie Shake by Richard Neville.
- 10.Have super-injunctions killed the kiss'n'tell?. the Guardian. 2011-04-20.
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 05 September 2026.
Elsewhere in Film memorabilia
36,309 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Mina ŌbaPerson
- Mina ShumPerson
- Mina SundwallPerson
- Mina TanderPerson
- Minako HondaPerson
- Minako KotobukiPerson
- Minami HamabePerson
- Mindy CohnPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Minah Bird?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.