Americanah
Characters in Americanah
10 characters, main characters first.Main characters
Ifemelu
A sharp, outspoken Nigerian woman who leaves Lagos for university in America and becomes known there for a blunt blog about race.
Obinze
Ifemelu's high school sweetheart in Lagos, who is denied a US visa after 9/11, works undocumented in London instead, and later returns to Nigeria as a successful property developer.
Supporting characters
Aunty Uju
Ifemelu's aunt, a trained doctor whose comfortable life as a Nigerian general's mistress collapses when he dies, forcing her to rebuild her medical career alone in America.
Dike (Americanah)
Aunty Uju's American-raised son, a bright and funny child who grows into a teenager caught between how his peers see him as Black and how his mother insists he isn't.
Curt
A wealthy, easygoing white American who becomes Ifemelu's boyfriend; his effortless good fortune contrasts with the racism she otherwise encounters.
Blaine (Americanah)
A principled Yale professor Ifemelu dates after Curt; an African American academic who writes about race and campaigns for Barack Obama.
Ranyinudo
Ifemelu's loyal friend from Lagos who never leaves Nigeria and helps her readjust to life there when she returns.
Kimberly (Americanah)
Ifemelu's first American employer, a wealthy and well-meaning white woman whose charitable instincts carry their own blind spots about race.
Minor characters
Ginika (Americanah)
A gentle school friend of Ifemelu's from Lagos who moves to America first and eases her own adjustment there.
Kayode
The most popular boy in Obinze and Ifemelu's secondary school circle in Lagos.