To understand Dencia’s extraordinary journey, you need to look past her glamorous lifestyle, which includes jet-setting to Paris for 24 hours just to pick up Birkin bags and attending high-profile red-carpet events. Reprudencia Sonkey has been a Hollywood “it” girl for over a decade, with connections to numerous celebrities like Chris Brown, Ludacris, 50 Cent, and the Kardashians.
Red jumpsuit, Body By Dencia. Glasses, Versace. Shoes, Le Silla.
Her story goes beyond celebrity relationships and controversial headlines that have surrounded her entrepreneurial career. To appreciate what makes Dencia one of Africa’s most successful skincare entrepreneurs in Hollywood, you need to see through the negativity.
If you think Dencia’s story sounds like a dream, you’re not wrong. Dencia’s journey to fame is captivating for her millions of followers, who find her somewhat enigmatic. When I interviewed her at her stunning Los Angeles mansion, the singer, fashion designer, and skincare mogul struck me with her down-to-earth attitude despite her success. Her opening statement in our conversation was surprising and set the tone for an intriguing story.
Suit, Vie Le Luxe. Glasses, Loewe.
Dencia’s childhood in poverty
“My grandparents raised me as their own and I had no idea that my mum was my mum. I thought my mum was my sister and my grandparents were my parents because that is what they told me,” says Dencia with her signature laugh that is both affable and innocent. She discovered the truth at 15 when her uncle called her a bastard, prompting her grandmother to reveal the family secret.
Her straightforward demeanor laid the groundwork for a compelling narrative, taking us through her childhood in Cameroon, a brief stint with homelessness, luxurious parties with Hollywood’s elite, battles with depression, and ultimately, her status as one of Africa’s most successful skincare entrepreneurs.
Dencia grew up in Yaoundé, Cameroon, and learned discipline early on, thanks to her grandfather, the first military judge in the country. When he passed away when she was eight, Dencia started her first business, selling peanuts.
Addison’s disease
She attended boarding school in northern Cameroon but had to leave due to constant illness, often misdiagnosed, later discovered to be Addison’s disease, a rare condition. The disorder affects the adrenal glands by stopping the production of the hormone cortisol which may lead to a life-threatening illness.
Her illness meant that Dencia had a lot of days off from school so when she passed both her GCE “O” level (high school diploma) and A levels (advanced placement course) examinations, it was a shock to a lot of people.
“I used to watch MTV and see Beyonce and other celebrities and say to my friends, especially Mongum, that these are my colleagues. They would laugh at me.”
Jacket, sunglasses and shoes, Versace.
Moving to the US
As fate would have it, Dencia got her Green Card to come to the United States (US) to stay with her adopted mother not long after she completed her A levels examinations. “They never wanted me to be in America before college. I left Cameroon on November 6th, 2006. I had to leave before I turned 18 because under the Child Act2000,you had to live with your parents for two years to be automatically considered an American citizen,” says Dencia.
“I applied for a spot at the prestigious New York Film Academy. I wanted to become an actress. But when I moved to the US, it was difficult because my adopted mother stopped us from going out,” says Dencia. “She said the world was dangerous. I’ll get shot and killed. She didn’t let us have any relationships with friends. We lived a pretty sheltered life that became unbearable.”
Getting a job led to being homeless
A chance advert from a hair salon gave Dencia the motivation she needed to venture out into the real world.
“I woke up early at 5 o’clock and caught the bus and the train to work. By 8 o’clock my mum called and said I need to come back home and I said no. She called the police.” And just like that, she was homeless, in the middle of winter. “I left the house with nothing, no ID, no passport,” says Dencia.
“Luckily for me, a childhood friend who had visited the US and lived in Baltimore calls me that morning. I told her my situation. 20 minutes later she called back and said Mum said I could stay with them,” recalls Dencia. Dencia continued to work at the hair shop until she saved up enough money to get an apartment of her own.
Jacket, sunglasses and shoes, Versace.
Dencia’s new life in LA
“In September 2008, I packed my bags and flew to LA with $500. My late sister (Rebecca) took me to the airport with her husband. I couldn’t even pay for my overweight bags, so my sister had to pay. I had no plan.”
Moving to LA was new. I had to find friends. With my $500, I was able to rent an apartment in brokeville which belonged to a friend’s mum. He rented me a car for like two weeks. After two weeks my sister got me a two-bed penthouse with a loft in richville (an area where the wealthy lived as per Dencia).” And with this came a new lease of life.
Hollywood dreams
Dencia was now rubbing shoulders with celebrities and basketball players. She enrolled in the Santa Monica College and with her new roommates, the seductive life of Hollywood came calling.
“They started taking me to the Hollywood places. I went to a party at billionaire Peter Nygard’s house. The party had everybody in Hollywood from musicians, producers, athletes and executives. Many of them are in jail now – like Harvey Weinstein. I was a young teenager with big curly hair, and they loved that look. Unfortunately, I don’t date old and I only date Black ,” says Dencia.
A multi-talented young girl
She continued to make a living by doing hair and supplemented her earnings with extra money from her family whiles she enjoyed being the new “it” girl in LA. In 2010 Dencia attended her first ever Grammy awards and with that access she opened up a new revenue stream as a fashion designer.
“I started designing and working with celebrities where I would create clothes and shoes which is something I have been doing as a child. I created high end designs for Nicki Minaj, Rhianna, Christina Milian, Lady Gaga. I also did music videos for people like Chris Brown, 50 Cent, Ludacris, Quincy Jones, Jeremih and Katy Perry,” says Dencia.
Then came her stint in music. After recording her second single, Beri Beri, which began to get traction, Dencia went on tour in Nigeria to promote the song, but disaster struck back home in LA.
Dress, Koy & Victoria Inc.. Glasses, Louis Vuitton. Shoes, Tom Ford. Earrings, Chanel.
Disaster brought new ideas
“Whiles I was there my house got robbed and I lost everything. I came back to LA and was clinically depressed. In my therapy sessions, we started talking about things like my health and my Addison disease which started giving me skin discoloration and vitiligo. My therapist asked me what is it that I love to do? So, I said I loved business, and my therapist advised me to create something that would keep me preoccupied,” says Dencia.
So, with going through depression and staying on her sister’s couch, Dencia decided to go into the skin care business.
Where there is difficulty, there is creativity
“I looked like a cow because of my vitiligo and my Addison disease. I came up with the name Whitenicious and started using the products to fix my skin. At this point, I said I was going to create a brand that helped people with hyper pigmentation and dark spots,” says Dencia.
She created the website herself, used her friend as a graphic designer to create her brand. Without any physical products, Whitenicious was launched December 25th 2013 with two products and Dencia went back to being depressed on her sister’s couch.
Dress, Koy & Victoria Inc.. Glasses, Louis Vuitton. Shoes, Tom Ford. Earrings, Chanel.
Success and negativity
“On the 4th of January 2014, I am living on my sister’s couch as a brokevillian and Media Takeout writes a story about me and the world goes crazy. We opened the online store and all these orders came in. Before 12 noon, we made like $1 million,” says Dencia. “The post was very negative but, on that day, we made like $3 million. I was a multimillionaire before I turned 21. This was still unrealistic and as this is happening, they are dragging me on social media in Africa, Europe, Asia and America.” “I didn’t understand why,” she adds.
The controversy arose from a ‘before and after’ picture of Dencia, showing her with a darker complexion before using her Whitenicious product and a lighter complexion afterward. As criticism of her product grew louder, sales of Whitenicious soared in tandem.
“I contacted the person making the products that was helping with my skin condition and asked him to produce the products for sale. So, this was in January 2014 and we told customers that they would have to wait for their orders to get to them. We didn’t start shipping until six weeks’ time and things just started getting bigger and bigger,” says Dencia.
Dress, Dolce & Gabana. Boots, Alexander McQueen. Glasses, Balenciega.
The biggest negative comment
“When Lupita Nyongo starred in 12 Years A Slave and won the Oscar, she made a negative speech about me. After her speech, sales went up even more. Every time anyone made a negative speech about me, sales kept soaring. I responded to Lupita because we realised that every time, I responded, it would boost sales,” says Dencia.
A few years later, I was in a relationship with an athlete & that negativity kinda came to bite me in the ass. I was very much in love. The media negativity didn’t just affect me emotionally, it affected me physically too. My Addison’s couldn’t take the stress of it all. I almost lost my life, but I was able to bounce back.
“Everybody was angry and till today I didn’t understand why. I never understood the outrage about the fact that you can change skin tones. How about people changing their whole identities from men to women or vice versa?”
Black & white jumpsuit, Balmain. Glasses, Miu Miu.
Her brands kept expanding
Whitenicious started with two products and today, we have over 40 products.
She then created Darklicious cosmetics which didn’t make people mad. She has also launched Whitenicious Kids and before you gasp, it’s not what you think it is. “It is not bleaching products for kids but a clothing fashion line & nourishing skincare products.”
She has by far worked with over 20 plus celebrity brands.
Furthermore, through the Dencia Foundation for Hope, she travels the world giving aid to impoverished children and orphans.
Black shorts, Hermes ensemble. Sunglasses, Louis Vuitton.
A time of hopelessness
In 2021 a life changing moment happened when her sister Rebecca, who had been an anchor for Dencia through her entrepreneurial journey, passed away after battling brain cancer.
“She fought for 3 years since 2018, and I had to watch her fight and that was difficult & traumatic. During her last months on earth, I was not there to take care of her when she needed me because I was sick myself. I blame myself for that,” says Dencia.
Then she also lost of her dog of 13 years. To add salt to injury, Dencia has recently undergone multiple surgeries for a spine injury to enable her to have the use of her legs again.
Sunglasses, Versace.
Dencia’s perseverance and determination
But through it all, Dencia has shown that with sheer determination and an unflinching focus to succeed, persistence will always beats resistance. No matter what life throws at her, she will always make a stance, on her own terms.
Dencia enrolled in Harvard business school in Boston in 2017 where she continues taking classes yearly. Dencia believes in continuous learning and educating yourself. As an entrepreneur who wants to expand her brands and create more, Dencia has plans to release her autobiography in 2024. “A documentary and many more skincare brands,” she laughs and says “5 children are also on the cards” for her. Dencia believes in big families as she comes from one.
Sunglasses, Versace.
Photography & Creative Director: Reinhardt Kenneth @reinhardtkenneth.
Photographer: Jorge Duva @jorgeduva.
Talent: Dencia @iamdencia.
Executive Producer: Pursia Brassen @pursiaofficial.
Executive Producer: Raymani Zaloumis @raymani.
Makeup: Chris Amore @chrisamore_.
Hair: Jesus Camacho @hair_by_jay1.
Hair: Mirlande Alexandre @mimihairstylists.
Manicurist: Cynthia Gutierrez @harmonienails.
Stylist: S Sonkey and Mongum.
Stylist assistant: Joey Escarzaga @joey.eskarzaga.
Creative Director: @timessquareevents.
Set assistant : Margarita Guevera.
Digital tech: German Aristizabal.
Photographer Assistant: Cory Hackbarth.
Digitech: Suimay Lee @suimaylee.
Lighting Director: Hugo Arvizu @arvizu_arts.
Retoucher: Lara Gilles.
Writer: Peace Hyde @peac_hy.
Harper’s Bazaar Vietnam
