commemoration of World Vitiligo Day, we revisit our inspiring 2018 interview with legendary actress Leleti Khumalo , who opened up about living with vitiligo and how she learned to love herself.
Johannesburg – She’s one of the most familiar faces on Mzansi’s celebrity landscape, gracing magazine covers and appearing in hit films. But even fans who’ve followed her stellar career for years will see her now as never before. This time there’s no warpaint covering her gorgeous skin. Instead Leleti Khumalo (48) is showing every white patch on her body in new e.tv drama series Imbewu: The Seed.n commemoration of World Vitiligo Day, we revisit our inspiring 2018 interview with legendary actress Leleti Khumalo , who opened up about living with vitiligo and how she learned to love herself.
Johannesburg – She’s one of the most familiar faces on Mzansi’s celebrity landscape, gracing magazine covers and appearing in hit films. But even fans who’ve followed her stellar career for years will see her now as never before. This time there’s no warpaint covering her gorgeous skin. Instead Leleti Khumalo (48) is showing every white patch on her body in new e.tv drama series Imbewu: The Seed.“I used to cover my white patches with make-up but for Imbewu I did not be cover it. People get to see me without the make-up,” she says. “I had a long discussion with the creators of Imbewu and they actually allowed me to do it. My plan is to educate people about vitiligo but I also don’t want to do a half job. I’ll be doing educational talks on vitiligo and I’d obviously want the talks to have an impact.”
Leleti, who has openly spoken about her condition, started developing vitiligo at the age of 19 but as a young woman growing up in the township of KwaMashu, KwaZulu-Natal, she didn’t know what it was. “It was pure ignorance on my part,” she says. “In fact, I didn’t even know what it was until I became pregnant.”
She takes a deep breath then continues. “It’s deeper than what people see as it affects every aspect of your life – although it’s not painful, it is incurable. “My doctor warned me it’s going to be worse after giving birth, but at that point it didn’t bother me as I was too excited about the babies,” the mom of four-year-old twins Yamukelani and Ulwenzile says.