The freckle-faced Quanita Adams, who turned the big 40 last week, oozes with bountiful beauty and confidence.

She's a tenacious soul who says she was created to perform. From putting on little skits as a child, to taking on theatrical stages as an adult - and now the big screen.

Adams plays the comical Lizzie in the Kyknet drama series Sara se Geheim, and describes it as "a dream role".

Adams also has a new movie coming up titled Susters, a story of three adopted sisters who go on a journey of discovery across the Karoo.

Growing up in Lotus River on the Cape Flats, Adams has always had a deep love for performance.

"Holidays were spent playing games in the road with friends, cousins and neighbourhood kids.

"Then we would entertain the adults with home-style concerts, run by, directed by, starring myself ... doing everything from singing, poetry, aerobics and modelling.

"Looking back, we should have guessed I would end up here," she laughs.

She jokes that she wanted to grow up and become a professional gift wrapper, because she cringes at the thought of an unwrapped gift.

"To this day, when I chew my lips watching sales assistants destroying gifts with their clumsy giftwrapping skills, I resuscitate my fantasy and think about hiring a barrow or stall in a big mall somewhere so I can just wrap gifts and children's school books, to make my soul smile," she says.

Adams has an Honours degree in Drama from UCT.

"Coming out of drama school set me on this path. These included doing a Boney M tribute show that got me an opportunity to go sing in Spain," she says.

During her Honours year, she performed in the For Coloured Girls production.

Adams was also invited to cast in the 2004 Afrikaans film Forgiveness.

An open book, Adams speaks about the biggest misconceptions people tend to have about her.

"It's easy to misconstrue focus and not-settling-for-nonsense as intimidating, especially as a woman.

"I'm like, if you are going to be intimidated by me requiring you to work as hard as I do, then OK go ahead, shame, I'll be intimidating... " she says cheekily.

One thing Adams has learnt about the industry is that it's harder for women.

"There is a kind of permissive attitude where men get to do and behave any way, and women are held up to impossible standards."

If not acting, this bubbly babe would have been a photographer or doing visual art - something she thoroughly enjoys.