Fikile Mthwalo is probably more famous for dating Atandwa Kani, who she is now engaged to, than she is for her acting.
But she's no trophy wife, there is more to the beautiful actress than meets the eye.
The 26-year-old with striking movie star looks is born and bred in Lesotho .
"I know it's a bit unusual to have someone from Lesotho with a surname like mine, but I was born there," she says.
"I grew up and spent the first 16 years of my life in Maseru and then came to South Africa to finish my high school in Bloemfontein, at St Michael's."
Her engineer father is Mosotho while her mother, a microbiologist, is half Kenyan and half Tanzanian.
"I come from a very scientific family. Subjects like physics, mathematics, English were not difficult for me in high school, I was an A student.
"I just didn't follow in my parents' footsteps. I've always had a passion for the arts. I was always involved in acting and performing since my school days. I always invited people to come watch me perform," she shares.
After completing her matric in 2007, she took a gap year in Amsterdam as an au pair.
"My experience there was priceless. That's where I got my taste for good food, wine and fashion, since my host mom worked for Elle magazine.
"I took care of three girls under 10 and they taught me how to grow up and be responsible. I go back there often and God willing, I will have a house there one day."
When she returned home she enrolled at the University of Cape Town to study film production "because it's something I really wanted to do".
Although supportive of her endeavours, she says her parents were slightly disappointed and rather taken aback by her career choice.
"They were shocked when they found out that I'm doing film production. My mother didn't have a problem, but my dad took time to accept it. But he's fully supportive of my career now."
She currently stars in two shows, Gold Diggers and It's Complicated which are running concurrently on e.tv and Mzansi Magic respectively.
In It's Complicated, she plays troubled girlfriend Ipeleng to Thato (Siyabonga Radebe), while on Gold Diggers she plays Hlengiwe (Ronald's wife and Ruth's daughter in law).
People see the latter as her big break but she says: "What I consider my big break was playing Zak on Isidingo last year. But being in the industry has been awesome, it's made me challenge myself.
"There are certain things I thought I couldn't do as an actress, but I've realised I can reach certain levels."
Mthwalo says she still feels normal, but gets a whiff of celebrity life when she's at red- carpet events.
"The word celebrity is derived from 'celebrate', where someone is celebrated for their work.
"I don't think I've done enough work to be celebrated. But I feel like one when I'm at an event, other than that I'm just a working artist," she says.
Her relationship with Kani, the self-declared prince of theatre, has been under scrutiny thanks to their uninhibited PDAs (public displays of affection). Surprisingly, their names have not been mashed yet to form "Fikadwa".
Their engagement brought with it criticism and prying eyes. But they are not bothered.
They see all the attention around them as "some planet orbiting our own planet".
"We really live in our own world. Sometimes people say mean things, and sometimes they say nice things.
"It's difficult because you never asked for people to follow you, they chose to follow. I get concerned about what they think. I guess you just have to remove yourself from all of that stuff.
"Both our families are absolutely supportive of our relationship and they want us to be happy. But I come from a very conservative family.
"My brother is a financial adviser. I know I act a bit goofy, but yes, I'm the oldest," she says, bursting into laughter.
She has bagged herself a full scholarship in New York, where she'll be pursuing a masters in acting. She's moving there next Wednesday.
"I want to get more education and grow as an artist," she says.
And what about Kani and their relationship?
"Our love is just too strong to be broken by those logistics. Plus it's not like I won't be seeing him. Atandwa does a lot of theatre work in New York," she says confidently."
tiwaneb@timesmedia.co.za
Trophy wife role won't fit Fikile
Fikile Mthwalo is probably more famous for dating Atandwa Kani, who she is now engaged to, than she is for her acting.
But she's no trophy wife, there is more to the beautiful actress than meets the eye.
The 26-year-old with striking movie star looks is born and bred in Lesotho .
"I know it's a bit unusual to have someone from Lesotho with a surname like mine, but I was born there," she says.
"I grew up and spent the first 16 years of my life in Maseru and then came to South Africa to finish my high school in Bloemfontein, at St Michael's."
Her engineer father is Mosotho while her mother, a microbiologist, is half Kenyan and half Tanzanian.
"I come from a very scientific family. Subjects like physics, mathematics, English were not difficult for me in high school, I was an A student.
"I just didn't follow in my parents' footsteps. I've always had a passion for the arts. I was always involved in acting and performing since my school days. I always invited people to come watch me perform," she shares.
After completing her matric in 2007, she took a gap year in Amsterdam as an au pair.
"My experience there was priceless. That's where I got my taste for good food, wine and fashion, since my host mom worked for Elle magazine.
"I took care of three girls under 10 and they taught me how to grow up and be responsible. I go back there often and God willing, I will have a house there one day."
When she returned home she enrolled at the University of Cape Town to study film production "because it's something I really wanted to do".
Although supportive of her endeavours, she says her parents were slightly disappointed and rather taken aback by her career choice.
"They were shocked when they found out that I'm doing film production. My mother didn't have a problem, but my dad took time to accept it. But he's fully supportive of my career now."
She currently stars in two shows, Gold Diggers and It's Complicated which are running concurrently on e.tv and Mzansi Magic respectively.
In It's Complicated, she plays troubled girlfriend Ipeleng to Thato (Siyabonga Radebe), while on Gold Diggers she plays Hlengiwe (Ronald's wife and Ruth's daughter in law).
People see the latter as her big break but she says: "What I consider my big break was playing Zak on Isidingo last year. But being in the industry has been awesome, it's made me challenge myself.
"There are certain things I thought I couldn't do as an actress, but I've realised I can reach certain levels."
Mthwalo says she still feels normal, but gets a whiff of celebrity life when she's at red- carpet events.
"The word celebrity is derived from 'celebrate', where someone is celebrated for their work.
"I don't think I've done enough work to be celebrated. But I feel like one when I'm at an event, other than that I'm just a working artist," she says.
Her relationship with Kani, the self-declared prince of theatre, has been under scrutiny thanks to their uninhibited PDAs (public displays of affection). Surprisingly, their names have not been mashed yet to form "Fikadwa".
Their engagement brought with it criticism and prying eyes. But they are not bothered.
They see all the attention around them as "some planet orbiting our own planet".
"We really live in our own world. Sometimes people say mean things, and sometimes they say nice things.
"It's difficult because you never asked for people to follow you, they chose to follow. I get concerned about what they think. I guess you just have to remove yourself from all of that stuff.
"Both our families are absolutely supportive of our relationship and they want us to be happy. But I come from a very conservative family.
"My brother is a financial adviser. I know I act a bit goofy, but yes, I'm the oldest," she says, bursting into laughter.
She has bagged herself a full scholarship in New York, where she'll be pursuing a masters in acting. She's moving there next Wednesday.
"I want to get more education and grow as an artist," she says.
And what about Kani and their relationship?
"Our love is just too strong to be broken by those logistics. Plus it's not like I won't be seeing him. Atandwa does a lot of theatre work in New York," she says confidently."
tiwaneb@timesmedia.co.za
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