In her own stride – Gail Mabalane
Text: Phila Tyekana. Pictures: Justin Dingwall. Article from the September 2013 issue of Bona Magazine.
Actress and new face of hair colour brand, Inecto Plus, Gail Mabalane (28) shares her journey of breaking into the entertainment industry, finding love and running the road to success at her own pace.
Gail Mabalane is to TV what the likes of Zahara and Khuli Chana became to music not so long ago. She brings a much welcomed fresh face and unpolished talent that has made viewers pay instant attention. In the three short years since her first acting appearance, this stunner, who has no formal training in acting, quickly moved from TV’s newbie to leading actress on one of Mzansi’s most popular TV soaps, Rockville.
When we meet her, we’re reminded of the old but not forgotten words of former boxer Muhammed Ali: “Float Like A Butterfly And Sting Like A Bee”. Like this phrase which means to be graceful yet powerful, Gail embodies this saying to the fullest as she appears poised and effortless yet has a powerful determination that’s now made her a household name. Nonetheless, as we all know, with triumph comes a story that’s begging to be told.
Seize the day
It’s not hard to imagine this star as a shy girl from Galisiwe township in Kimberly. Born as the middle child of three, this face of an international beauty brand and now Inecto was introduced to beauty pageants by her late mother at the age of five where she won Miss Tinkerbell. Later she would make it as a top five finalist in the Miss SA Teen pageant (2001) which Sally Anne Kopa won. She then won Miss Kaizer Chiefs at age 16.
“When I won Miss Kaizer Chiefs I was too young to understand the platform and opportunity the crown gave me and so I didn’t do anything with it. With Idols it was a different story, I was a girl on a mission. I wanted to win and if I didn’t win I was going to seize every moment of the competition. I started talking to the cast behind scenes, milking from them as much information about the entertainment industry as a whole. For interviews within the competition, I made sure I was prepared and would rehearse in my head the answers to questions that would probably be asked by journalists or the judges. I didn’t want to appear as somebody who was merely a contestant but something more. I needed something to come out of Idols and I knew it would. I wanted a career in entertainment and the time was now. As a result when they announced that I was voted out of the competition I was sad but somehow at peace with it as I knew it was the beginning of my career.”
And so it was, a day later the phone rang and someone asked her to be part of a local dance movie called Zion, playing a police officer. The movie’s producers had spotted her on Idols and thought she was perfect for the role. With no professional acting background behind her, she took a leap of faith and the actress Gail was born.
The next gear
Soon after Zion, auditions for a soapie that would be on M-Net were launched and again Gail was called to audition, this time for a lead role as Lelo Sedibe on The Wild. “I figured if I had a movie under my name, why not? So I went to audition and the rest is history.” It’s this brave attitude Gail has that pushes her ahead of others, well that and her willingness to work hard.
“I was extremely nervous when I joined the soapie, first I had to spruce up (polish) my English for the character. Back in Kimberly I’d only ever attended Afrikaans schools and spoke seSotho at home, even though my family is originally Pedi. My English needed work and although I’d had a little bit of acting experience in Zion, The Wild was a different ball game all together, it was a full on crash course into acting. The cast used TV language I didn’t understand and I was working with people I’d grown up admiring like Connie Ferguson – I was intimidated. Acting takes any person out of their comfort zone as it’s about doing things you wouldn’t ordinarily do. With the help of an acting coach, whom I’m still seeing today, I soldiered on.”
Gail tells us that the cast and directors helped too, they were patient and guided her. She’s grateful to co-stars Tumisho Masha, Connie and Shona Ferguson for taking her under their wing and guiding her through her scenes. It’s through The Wild that she’s now built a close relationship with Connie, with the two having a sisterlike friendship. With that said, Gail sternly reveals that her friendship with Connie isn’t the reason she ended up on Rockville (which Connie produced and created with her husband, Shona). Like everybody else, Gail auditioned for her role and was successful.
Success from the hair down
Success seems to come in floods for Gail. Not so long ago she was announced as the ambassador for a locally produced international skincare range, joining the likes of Hollywood actress, Thandi Newton as the product’s representative. Last month she was also announced as the face of long standing hair colour brand, Inecto, she’s now the face of its Inecto Plus range.
“I love Inecto because it’s a proudly South African brand and a product I grew up with. My mom used it for her Afro. I’m so blessed and grateful this brand saw something in me that linked me to them. I think what they saw in me was the girl next door seeking success and that’s why I accepted when the brand reached out to me. The Inecto user is one I can relate to, they’re very much aspirational like me” says Gail of her new deal.
“With all the colours the brand has, I’ll probably use all of them,” she says laughing. For our cover shoot she’s showing off the Inecto Plus black velvet colour. “I like my hair short as it’s low maintenance this way. This is my natural hair by the way,” she says laughing, “People often come up to me and without greeting will grab it just to check if it’s real. It’s real! I grew up sleeping with rollers in my hair which was extremely painful, so I mastered the art of tactful (skilled) sleeping. With all that practice, I’m a careful sleeper. Even in my sleep I don’t turn my head fast but rather do it gently so my hair isn’t messed up,” she shares light heartedly when we ask how she manages to keep it looking so perfect.
Tragedy strikes
During the interview, Gail talks a lot about her family – her father a former De Beers miner, her late mother a nurse, her late older brother and younger sister provided her with love and a happy home. She says it’s these individuals who know her by her other name, Tsholofelo, and watched her grow. But tragedy has been too familiar to this family: In 2006 Gail lost both her brother and mother. “My brother passed away in June, he was on a project (working as an electrician) in Cape Town and was electrocuted to death. We spoke on the phone that morning and ended the conversation with him telling me he was going to call me in an hour; he was going to help me find car insurance. When he didn’t, I knew something was wrong and kept calling him again and again. When we eventually got his phone, there were 68 recorded missed calls from me. I guess I knew something was wrong and my endless calls were proof of that. He’d died at noon but since he was in Cape Town, we were contacted around four in the afternoon.”
That December, two days before Gail’s 21st birthday and a day before Christmas her mother died of Lupus (a disease where the body’s immune system becomes hyperactive and attacks normal, healthy tissue). A month after her 23-year-old brother had passed, her aunt had also died and now her mother – this would be too much for anyone to handle. “Growing up my mother had told us of the disease but didn’t really explain what it was, so we never took it seriously. She didn’t really become ill and we thought nothing of it. But when my brother passed away, the grief and disease started to take a toll on her body; she became frail and weak. When her sister also died I guess she couldn’t take it anymore and her illness took a turn for the worse. Words can’t explain how painful it is to lose someone. My mother had lost her son and sister, my heart went out to her. Fate had other plans and she too passed away. It was all too much I’d never had to mourn anyone before and now I’d lost three people who were very close to me, my life suddenly became dark and lonely. I was angry at God, angry at the world and angry at myself mostly. I wished I’d shown them more how much I loved them. God knows how my dad was, he’d lost his wife and son,” recalls Gail.
At the time, Gail was running an events company which hired out chairs, tables and portable toilets at events and she travelled between Kimberly and Durban for this. After the passing of her mother and brother, she moved back home as it was her responsibility to take over from her mom; she had to look after the house and take care of her father who’d been retrenched, her younger sister was studying in Pretoria.
“As much as that was a dark time in my life, I’m also grateful for it. It made me wise up very quickly and shaped me into the calm and mature person I am today. Going to church helped me heal a lot, I’d lost three people, and either I was going to die with them or choose to live my life. I chose survival, it’s in that time I developed a special relationship with God. I miss them a lot and with every achievement I wish they were here to share my joy. I was only 21 when they passed, however they helped shape the woman I am today. I dream of my mother a lot though and I talk to her in my dreams.”
Becoming Mrs Mabalane
An event we’re sure her mother would’ve loved to have seen was her eldest daughter getting married. This month sees Gail and kwaito star and pastor, Kabelo Mabalane celebrating seven months as a married couple. Before the couple’s public wedding in February, Gail had been secretive about her relationship with Kabelo and often tip toed gracefully around rumours about their relationship. Today she lets us in and gives us a glimpse into the relationship with her pantsula for life.
They met while she was on The Wild. Her co-star, Tumisho Masha played cupid and introduced them. Kabelo at the time was hosting weekly church home cell groups where he preached amongst a group of friends. Tumisho, who attended these regularly, eventually dragged Gail to one. It’s here that she started talking to Kabe and their friendship soon became something more. After their two year relationship, they tied the knot.
“Kabelo and I are each other’s biggest cheerleaders. I was at the Comrades Marathon this year where he ran and I tagged along, in the car. Every 10kms I’d stop and cheer him on, drive to the next stop and do the same thing. I was driving alone so I must have looked pretty silly, I didn’t care though, and I’ll do the same thing again next year. Kabelo’s my best friend and I’m so grateful for him. I can’t pinpoint anything in particular that I love about him, it’s him entirely. I married my buddy and marriage with him feels right,” she confesses. “I hadn’t had any interactions with Kabelo before home cell and didn’t think anything of him before, so it’s not like I’d had a helpless crush on him, things just happened on their own and before we knew it, it was serious. I’m grateful he’s so rooted in Christ which is what I’m about.” And Children? we ask, “Six children or more will do me right. I love the drama that comes with big families,” she laughs.
How does he feel about his wife playing a prostitute on Rockville? “We both have a lot of respect for each other’s crafts, not to say we do things without talking to each other first. When I got the script for Rockville, I sat down with him and we read it together. The odd thing about my character, Vicky, is although I play a prostitute and everyone thinks she’s a racy character, I never actually kiss anyone in the entire series. I would never do anything to put my marriage in jeopardy and although I have a lot of respect for my work, family comes first for me. Funny enough, my dad who watches Rockville, is okay with Vicky and only complains about the character’s smoking habits,” the actress tells us.
Gail’s advice to other lovebirds or single girls out there is that love is simple, you know when someone is right for you and you know when they’re not.
Earlier, after we caught her singing beautifully along to Beyoncé at the cover shoot, we asked if she’ll ever collaborate with her musician hubby.
Since making it as a Top 10 finalist on Idols in 2010, Gail tells us she’s been on a journey to find her own voice and sound. She idolises artists likes Lauryn Hill, Emily Sunday and Beyonce and assures us that although she can’t pin-point her sound yet, it’ll most probably be a mix-masala of hip-hop, soul and pop. Will she do any rapping? “No”, she shrugs but as far as singing with Kabelo she says, “When the opportunity avails itself, definitely we will. He’s been in the industry for many years now, and I have a lot of respect for his work and knowledge, so definitely,” the Rockville star reveals. She also tells us she’s already recorded nine songs that will become part of an entire album. When the album or single will be released, she doesn’t say but instead promises us when the time is right, she’ll tell us. She’s passionate when she speaks of her music, and she’s even seeing a voice coach and working with SA’s best producers to make it a success.
Good girls finish first
Gail’s dream which took off at the age of 25 on the Idols stage seems to be changing into reality quite nicely. She now wears many hats; juggling being an actress, brand queen and soon to be songstress. “It’s an amazing feeling to be on a show that’s trends on Twitter every time it’s on. Of course I’m not on Rockville for Twitter and fame; I loved the script and Vicky’s storyline as it’s so different from Lelo. I watch every single episode to critique (review) myself, analysing where I should improve and where I did my best. I’m still relatively new in the game and often score my acting skills from 10/10 to 1/10 at times.”
This 28-year-old, who’s also studying Business Administration at The Joseph Business School to ensure all her savvy deals are made as an educated decision, takes herself and her career very seriously. Without a doubt, she has the ingredients it takes to take brand-Gail to its highest heights.
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