Dr. Mensa Otabil, the renowned Man of God, once said, “if your dreams do not scare you then your dreams are not big enough."

And it was if those challenging but inspiring words were meant for Ella Mensah, a rising star in the movie industry.

Sure, Ella has a dream; she sees herself in Hollywood in the next five years acting alongside the likes of Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Denzel Washington, among others.

And whichever way one looks at it, that’s a big, big dream – no two ways about that.

Known in showbiz as Ella Mendoza, the Ghanaian actress is also aware of the herculean task before her, and she says she is working really hard to make her dream a reality.

She is taking a lot of inspiration from the adage that ‘Heaven helps those who help themselves’ and she knows with God on her side, everything was possible

Born into a family of seven, she started life as a journalist with Metro TV after completing Trans African College but as destiny will have it, her passion and talent swept her into Africa's biggest movie market, Nollywood.

In a period of two years, Ella has risen from playing supporting roles into playing major roles in movies. She has featured in several movies and still counting.

Even though, she has become a known face in the industry; Ella remains humble. She told the Weekend Finder that she could not allow her fame to get into her head since she was still learning in the industry.

Commenting on how she copes in the very challenging industry, Ella said she has been able to develop a thick skin to all obstacles that comes her way, adding that she mostly concentrates on her love and passion for her career.

She has gradually won the heart of many Nigerian movie producers who seem to love to star her in their movies.

Not surprising, Ella has swept several awards in the industry including the Gbedu Award as the Most Talented Supporting Actress in 2013; Nollyfans Achievement Award 2014 as Best Actress; Fashion 1000 Award as the Most Fashionable Ghanaian Actress in Nollywood 2013; Club Vegas Award as the sexiest Ghanaian Diva in Nollywood 2014; and City People Entertainment Award as the Hottest Ghanaian Actress in Nollywood.

Aside being an actress, Ella is also into other businesses, and she is currently the Chief Executive Officer of House of Ella, a contemporary native wear for men.

The fashion house, which is situated in Ikeja, Lagos, seeks to bring fashionable and trendy clothes to men. She will soon open a branch in Ghana.

The mother of one, Ella says her son is her motivation in life: “Seeing him makes me want to work harder to achieve my goals and take good care of him and the less-privileged in society."

Ella will officially launch her charity project in Ghana towards the end of this year to help put at least, one thousand kids back to school on scholarship.

To her, that is a way of giving back to society since education was key to the development of a child.

Head of Ella’s management team, Mrs Abigail Semaha, was full of praise of the budding talent and highly optimistic that all their plans will come to fruition.

“Our faith in God is solid. There have been challenges, but we know He who has called her into showbiz will never fail. That is our motivation. That is our drive,” she indicated.