The evolution of Nomzamo Mbatha

Nomzamo Mbatha rolls up in a black Porsche Macan, trailed by her vivacious assistant, Nondumiso Mkhwanazi. It’s just after 2pm, on a cold, wet day in Joburg. A day before, a tornado ripped through parts of KwaZulu-Natal, leaving the country in panic, but Mbatha is bringing serenity.  

Everyone on set is waiting in anticipation — today we get to work with a Hollywood supernova, but let’s play it cool. “She’s the most beautiful woman on Earth,” someone says. After strutting in, rocking her winter layers, she gives almost everyone a warm hug. These days, Mbatha spends most of her time in Los Angeles, and she’s flying back in a week. While her star power is undeniable, Mbatha is down to earth — with zero demands and entourage.

She doesn’t take any moment in her illustrious career (big or small) for granted. We even joke about how long her SMag cover has been in the making. We started plotting it last September in Accra when we attended the Global Citizen Festival, then touched base again in Lagos at the premiere of Gangs of Lagos in April.   

“I believe in timing, and this is the perfect time to get this kind of title [Woman of the Year in Entertainment] while celebrating 10 years in the industry,” she says. “Ten years with the companies that gave me my big break —DStv, Mzansi Magic, and Bomb Shelter. To not only be starring in the biggest prime-time television show drama (Shaka Ilembe) right now but also to be the executive producer. And then to be running a successful organisation and landing my voice on some of the biggest global stages when it comes to humanitarian and social activism work. The timing is good — I don’t feel afraid of the title, but honoured.”

When we chat, the second episode of the Mzansi Magic drama in which Mbatha stuns as Queen Nandi has just aired. This Sunday, the thrilling 12-part series will broadcast episode eight. The show has enjoyed both commercial and critical success, with viewers praising the acting, casting, writing, cinematography, and directing. At the same time, the dramatised production has come under fire from naysayers over claims of historical inaccuracies and linguistic flaws, as well as a nudity backlash. But Mbatha is not complaining.  

“I knew there would be public discourse, but I didn’t know it would be this,” Mbatha confesses before breaking into laughter. “I have been clear about it, I wanted it to divide the audience and public. Anything that is of greatness divides people — religion, politics, sports, music, and Shaka Ilembe.”  

In the past decade, Mbatha has won the hearts of many South Africans, first as one half of a modern-day Romeo and Juliet in telenovela Isibaya, portraying Thandeka Zungu opposite S’dumo Mtshali as Sibusiso Ndlovu. She built a strong relationship with production house Bomb Shelter, which has now culminated in her role as executive producer for Shaka Ilembe.  

While she knew she was ready, Mbatha admits there was fear. “The second feeling was of readiness because I’ve always had an opinion around story,” she says. “Even with Isibaya, I was always involved with the evolution of the story and character… I’ve never wanted to play into making easy stuff that doesn’t challenge the status quo. So that’s when I knew that I could be a great producer and filmmaker.”

Moving from being in front of the camera to behind it is no small achievement. But Mbatha has done it all in her career, each time pacing herself for the next move. Her first taste of the big screen was in Nigerian director Akin Omotoso’s rom-com Tell Me Sweet Something, opposite Maps Maponyane, after which she made a huge splash in local drama Umlilo. She has hosted the South Africa Music Awards, modelled for Puma and Neutrogena, and walked countless red carpets locally and internationally.  

“I will describe my career as lots of highs and lows, but with growth in every single aspect. I look at how I started as a young girl who was trying to find her voice… and being pitted against people who had done it for years,” she recalls. “Right now, I don’t feel like I’m faking it, I feel like I’m a woman who is stepping into her light, stepping into her power without being afraid and being courageous.”  

The 33-year-old actress got her big break in Hollywood with Coming 2 America in 2021, sharing the screen with Eddie Murphy, Wesley Snipes, and Tracy Morgan. She also starred opposite Bruce Willis in his final film role in Assassin, released earlier this year.  

“My time in Tinseltown has been real. Nothing is fake about it or the challenges that are there. When it’s bright, it’s bright, honey — you are at the top of the list of so many studios, everybody wants a meeting and chat about your last project,” she explains.

“You get the job, you do the PR run and all these fantastic things. Then you go into a quiet space where you are auditioning and doing screen tests. It’s back to the reality that people who have been doing it for years in Tinseltown continue to do it. It’s something I teach to a lot of my young peers here, who just feel entitled that they should get the job. Child, let me get you to LA! It’s real. But it has all made me a strong performer and person.”

For young women wanting to have a similar career as Mbatha, her advice is, “Stay true to thyself.”   

“It sounds boring and like an age-old saying, but it’s the only thing that has assisted and sustained me. Any expectation that is out there in the public is not anything that I have created, it’s the public that has done it and it’s not my responsibility to live up to it,” she says. “Having said that, I know the responsibility that comes with who I am. A lot of people are invested in this dream, look to this dream, and root for this dream to win. It makes the courage to pursue this dream even greater.”  

Through the Nomzamo Lighthouse Foundation, she is also paying it forward with programmes that help students with their debts, this month’s women's summit in honour of female entrepreneurs, and a back-to-school drive. But perhaps her proudest achievement is rebuilding The Dr JL Dube High School into a state-of-the-art institute in KwaMashu.  

A few days later we reunite at the Durban July. She looks ravishing in a red Willet Designs Couture number. We record an impromptu video clip of her describing her dreamy frock. It goes viral on TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram — ironically since Mbatha has had a love-hate relationship with social media. After all, her biggest regret in these past 10 years has been not shutting up and making the mistake of clapping back at trolls.