The wound is the place where the light enters you. ~ Rumi
In 2024, after a chaotic period in her life, Nomvelo Makhanya finds herself valuing two things right now: time and connections.
Time, something her long-standing career never has truly afforded her, and connections—the one thing that saved her life during her depressive times.
So moving into spaces and pursuing a career that allowed for these two elements space to manifest was crucial for the 28-year-old. DJ’ing, born from her love of music and her talent for singing, became a no-brainer.
Nomvelo was introduced to us at the tender age of 16 as the young, bubbly Lindiwe Ngema on Etv’s Scandal. Blue-eyed and all, acting became the only job that she ever knew, but as the years passed by, she knew she wanted more.
That feeling couldn’t have come at a worse or better time, depending on how you look at it. That work environment, the only thing she’s ever known, started becoming toxic.
“At that time, I was fulfilled, but in the way that my now-grown-up self desired. It felt like there were other things I would like to tap into but didn’t have the time to do so,” she said, reminiscing.
Acting came while the younger was still enrolled at the creative school, AFDA, and she admits that she wasn’t really keen on the audition and was sort of pushed by friends to try it out “for the experience”.
“So when I got the call back and ultimately the job, it was wild. I don’t think anyone expected me to get the job. Growing up in high school, I was very isolated. I got bullied a lot, and that experience made me understand that I was a very special child.
“So even when the job was announced to the class very randomly, I remember only three people congratulating me. So I got used to being sidelined a lot and always aspired to make myself proud,” she said.
The firstborn child of xxxx, the child star describes those 10 years of being confusing. Juggling her new-found career while confronting the inevitable changes of life while also coming into her own created a pool of emotions that had a tendency to flood her all at once.
“There was just always pressure while growing up because, as much as I knew who I was and what I wanted, I’d always feel that there were expectations of making people happy and of who you should be,” she said.
As the years progressed, the ugly head of the industry reared its head and, with each passing day, left a bitter taste in Nomvelo’s mouth. She struggled to love the only love she’d known, sometimes wishing to stay in bed rather than facing another day on set. A hard turn of events.
“And because I loved this acting thing, I would show up—as difficult as it was. I got to a point of thinking, ‘maybe I should raise these concerns with someone and a solution can be brought about’. Those cries would fall on deaf ears, and the environment just became worse.
“Directors and the crew would come in to work drunk, some days hungover in yesterday’s clothes. Reporting that specific incident, I guess, spelt the end of it. My character was written off, and man, I was so gutted,” she explained.
“But because I had been praying for more than two years to leave, it came as a realisation that God was answering my prayer. Such a painful time but also an opportunity to start afresh.”
Leaving that home that she knew for 10 years brought with a lot of emotions, but healing was paramount. The two years that followed called for her to heal—a healing journey that involved a lot of reading, praying, crying and acceptance.
Little did she know that her ending on set was opening up a new chapter that explores her growing creative repertoire.
“That period taught me to remember who the hell I am because, in as much as I wanted to start doing music, it didn’t start immediately. I had to go through the intense healing so I could emerge as the best version of myself. Those little moments in between traveling, living with my aunt on the mountain, and extremely being isolated to heal.
“And when I emerged, I felt so empowered, and I believe in myself so much that I know that no one can take my power away anymore. I am bolder in who I am.
“Even with the pushback that I experienced at the beginning of my musical journey, it never moved me. I’ve already been bullied, even while on screen, at school, so this bullying is like water off a duck’s back. I know who I am, and I understand the vision of what I am doing. And that is the most powerful position anyone can ever find themselves in,” she said.