Actress Nyalleng Thibedi plays gangster Nkunzi’s stepdaughter Zekhethelo on SABC1 soapie Uzalo.
Image: Instagram
Portraying Zekhethelo on SABC1 soapie Uzalo has affected actress Nyalleng Thibedi personally, forcing her to deal with her painful past.

Born in Rockville, Soweto, Thibedi plays one of the most complicated roles on TV.

In the soapie, Zekhethelo is the stepdaughter of KwaMashu’s number one tsotsi Nkunzebovu Mhlongo (played by Masoja Msiza).

Her character has been through an emotional roller coaster – from discovering that Nkunzi was not her biological father to being homeless and becoming a drug addict.

In a bizarre twist, when the new season began in January, Zekhethelo shocked viewers as she returned as a police officer. The new role left social media gobsmacked.

Thibedi defines Zekhethelo as a young woman who grew up with a silver spoon in her mouth, who always strives to be independent from how she was brought up.In the past few days, viewers have watched as Zekhethelo was abducted by Nkunzi’s enemies. Thibedi admits the scenes that she has been shooting have been asking a lot from her emotionally.

“The past weeks’ scenes really affected me because if I am to look real for people watching, I have to go through my own pain.

It leaves me feeling different. Some of Zekhethelo’s scenes affected me personally because I went through something painful in my life,” she said without revealing much.

Thibedi refuses to reveal her age and says she has been using yoga to deal with emotional and traumatic scenes. “It helps me to get out of it. Sometimes I get thrown off a little.

Yoga is good because it is mostly meditation, it takes you to a space where you are the real you away from the world. It forces you to look at yourself.