Ngozi Onwurah was born in Nigeria to a Nigerian father and a white British mother, Madge. Ngozi has one sibling, Simon Onwurah. While still children, they fled to England with their mother Madge in order to escape the civil war in Nigeria. Ngozi and Simon spent the majority of their childhood in England. During their youth, they suffered much racial discrimination, which has influenced many of Onwurah’s films.