South Africa may know her as the girl who keeps viewers talking on Skeem Saam, but there is much more to Lethabo than Ntswaki’s controversial decisions. From a childhood dream of becoming a doctor to navigating rejection, fame, money and the emotional demands of acting, the young star is learning that success is not just about being seen. It is about knowing who you are when the cameras stop rolling.
For many South Africans, the name Lethabo immediately brings to mind Ntswaki, the character on Skeem Saam who has a remarkable ability to get people talking. Whether viewers are defending her, criticising her or questioning her decisions, one thing is certain: she has become a character people cannot easily ignore. But beyond the television screen is a young woman whose journey is far more layered than the drama audiences see each evening.
Long before the public became familiar with her face, Lethabo was a young girl from North West trying to figure out what she wanted to become. Acting was not always the plan. At one point, she imagined herself becoming a doctor, following a completely different path from the one that would eventually place her in front of television cameras. Yet, as life often does, things began to change in ways she could not have predicted.
Her interest in acting developed while she was still at school. By Grade 7, she had joined an agency, taking her first steps into an industry that demands patience, discipline and resilience, particularly from someone so young. What began as an interest gradually became something she was willing to pursue seriously.
“I wasn’t treating acting like a hobby. I was willing to work, learn and take responsibility for the opportunities I was given.”
That attitude would become important when the journey took an unexpected turn. Lethabo experienced disappointment after losing a scholarship, an opportunity that could have changed the direction of her life. It was the kind of setback that could easily leave a young person questioning their abilities or wondering whether they had chosen the wrong path. Instead, another door opened when she landed a role on Skeem Saam.
Looking back, she does not pretend that the disappointment never mattered. Some opportunities leave a mark, especially when you are young and still trying to understand what your future might look like. But she has learnt that one missed opportunity does not have to define the rest of your story.
“Do I still wonder about that door? Of course. I’m human. But I don’t live in regret.”
It is a perspective that feels particularly relevant in an industry where rejection is part of the job. Auditions do not always lead to roles, plans can change overnight, and talent alone does not guarantee that things will fall into place. For Lethabo, the experience has helped her understand that sometimes the opportunity you did not get can make room for something you never expected.
Her breakthrough, however, came with a challenge of its own. Playing Ntswaki means being part of conversations that can become intense, especially when viewers develop strong opinions about a character’s actions. In the age of social media, those opinions do not always remain on television screens. They follow actors into comment sections, direct messages and everyday life.
For a young actress, learning to separate criticism of a character from criticism of the person portraying her is essential. Lethabo has had to develop that understanding while growing up in the public eye.
“I’ve had to learn very early that people’s feelings towards a character are not necessarily feelings towards me.”
It is an important distinction, although not always an easy one to maintain. When audiences invest emotionally in a storyline, their reactions can be immediate and unforgiving. A character’s choices may frustrate viewers, but the actor behind those choices is doing a job that requires them to bring the character to life convincingly.
Lethabo understands that not everyone will like Ntswaki. In many ways, that is part of what makes a character memorable. The real challenge is refusing to let public opinion dictate who she becomes outside the role.
“If I depended on everyone liking me, I would constantly be changing who I am.”
There is also an emotional side to acting that audiences do not always consider. A powerful scene might last only a few minutes on television, but preparing for it can demand a great deal from the person performing it. When a storyline deals with painful experiences, difficult relationships or emotional turmoil, the work can become particularly demanding.
For Lethabo, some of those moments have required her to sit with emotions that are not always easy to leave behind once filming is finished.
“That storyline was difficult because there is a difference between performing an emotional scene and carrying the emotional weight of what you’re portraying.”
The distinction matters. Actors are expected to make fictional experiences feel real, often returning to emotionally demanding scenes repeatedly until the director is satisfied. The audience sees the finished product, but rarely the preparation, the retakes or the effort involved in reaching that final moment.
“Sometimes the work doesn’t completely end when the director says cut.”
Her experience has also made her more conscious of the importance of wellbeing in the entertainment industry. Conversations about mental health should not begin only when someone reaches a breaking point. For young performers in particular, having the right support, boundaries and people around them can make a meaningful difference.
“I don’t think wellbeing should only become a conversation after someone has already reached breaking point.”
For all the pressure that comes with being recognised, Lethabo has also experienced the rewarding side of her work. Recognition at the Royalty Soapie Awards gave her a moment to appreciate how far she had travelled and the significance of the opportunities that had come her way.
Awards can be exciting, particularly for a young performer still finding her footing. They offer recognition, but they also bring expectations. The challenge is to appreciate the achievement without becoming so focused on the next accolade that the actual work loses its meaning.
“I’d rather have longevity than simply have a very impressive beginning.”
That outlook suggests an understanding that a career cannot be built on a single role, one award or a brief period of public attention. The entertainment industry can be unpredictable, and the people who remain relevant are often those willing to keep learning, adapting and developing their craft long after their first breakthrough.
Away from acting, Lethabo has also explored opportunities that allow her to connect with people in different ways. Her Miss Teen RGP title gave her another platform, one that carried expectations beyond appearance and recognition. For her, the value of such a title comes down to what a person chooses to do with it.
“A title doesn’t automatically mean you’ve changed people’s lives. Impact has to be demonstrated through consistency, not photographs.”
It is a fair point in a world where public figures can easily be judged by what they post online. A crown, a title or a platform may attract attention, but meaningful influence requires effort beyond the moment of recognition.
“If a crown is only producing Instagram content, then it’s fair to ask what purpose it serves.”
That same thinking extends to her life as a content creator. Social media has become an important part of building a public profile, particularly for young entertainers who want to reach audiences beyond traditional television. It can open doors, create opportunities and help people understand the person behind a familiar face. At the same time, it can create pressure to share more than one is comfortable revealing.
Lethabo is learning where to draw that line. She recognises that an online presence does not have to become a complete account of her private life, and that being known by the public does not mean surrendering every part of herself.
“Just because something performs well online doesn’t mean it represents who I want to be.”
She adds, “I don’t think being accessible means being completely available.”
It is a lesson that many young people in the public eye have to learn, often through experience. The desire to connect with supporters is understandable, but privacy remains important. There is a difference between sharing parts of your journey and feeling obligated to make every personal experience available for public consumption.
Growing up in the entertainment industry has also taught Lethabo to pay closer attention to the people around her. Success can attract genuine support, but it can also bring relationships that are shaped by opportunity, access and expectation. Learning to recognise the difference is part of growing up.
“I’ve also learnt that not everyone who says yes to you necessarily wants what’s best for you, and not everyone who tells you no is against you.”
It is a lesson that extends far beyond the entertainment industry. Sometimes protection comes in the form of a boundary, and sometimes rejection forces a person to reconsider a direction that was never right for them in the first place.
Perhaps one of the clearest signs of Lethabo’s determination is the fact that she bought her first car in cash at just 18. For a young person entering adulthood while balancing work, public attention and personal ambitions, the achievement represents more than the purchase itself. It speaks to the importance of making decisions about money while opportunities are available.
Financial success can be difficult to navigate at any age, but it can be particularly complicated when it arrives early. Recognition may create the impression that everything is easy, yet maintaining stability requires planning, discipline and an understanding that income and opportunities can change.
Lethabo’s journey has taught her that not every milestone needs to be announced and not every achievement has to become a performance for an audience. Some wins are valuable precisely because of what they mean to the person who worked for them.
Her interest in mental health also forms part of a broader understanding of success. The entertainment industry often celebrates visible achievements, from awards and television appearances to growing social media numbers. Yet behind those milestones are individuals who must still manage pressure, uncertainty and the ordinary challenges of life.
“Talent is not sustainable when the person behind it is struggling.”
For Lethabo, protecting her wellbeing is not separate from building her career. It is part of making sure she can continue doing the work she loves without losing sight of herself in the process. She also recognises the value of mentorship and having people who can offer guidance as she navigates an industry that can be difficult to understand from the outside.
Her ambitions reach beyond acting, too. While audiences may associate her most strongly with television, she has been pursuing her studies in psychology and is interested in exploring producing and directing. These interests reflect a desire to understand people and stories from different perspectives, rather than remaining within the boundaries of the role that first introduced her to the public.
“I don’t see acting as the destination. I see it as one of the doors that has opened for me.”
That distinction could prove important as her career develops. Acting allows her to interpret stories through a character, while producing and directing would give her greater involvement in shaping how those stories are told. Her interest in psychology adds another dimension, offering a way to explore human behaviour and the experiences that influence how people see themselves and the world around them.
“There are stories about young African people, women, families, identity and mental health that I would love to explore in a much deeper way.”
It is an ambition that speaks to the kind of career she hopes to build: one that is not limited to being recognised on screen, but also creates opportunities to contribute to the stories audiences encounter. For a young performer, that means being willing to learn, take risks and accept that the next chapter may look very different from the one that brought her into the spotlight.
Of course, growing up publicly comes with its own complications. While other young people may make mistakes, change their minds or go through difficult periods without strangers watching, young entertainers often experience those moments under a public lens. Their growth can become a topic of discussion, and their past can follow them even as they try to move forward.
“Growing up publicly has meant that some of my experiences happened with an audience watching.”
There is a certain vulnerability in that reality. The public may feel that it knows someone because it has watched them on television or followed their journey online. But visibility is not the same as understanding. Viewers see selected parts of a person’s life, shaped by storylines, interviews and the moments they choose to share.
Lethabo wants room to become more than the character that made her recognisable. She wants to learn, make decisions, explore new interests and grow into a person whose identity is not permanently tied to one stage of her life.
“I want to be allowed to evolve. I don’t want people to only remember me as the teenager who became an actress.”
It is a reasonable request, especially for someone whose career began while she was still young. The person audiences first encountered will continue to change, and the roles she takes on in the future may reveal sides of her that viewers have not yet seen.
For now, Ntswaki remains a significant part of her story. The character has brought attention, challenged her emotionally and introduced her to audiences who may not otherwise have known her name. But the role is not the whole story, and Lethabo appears determined to make sure there is much more to come.
“I want my success to mean more than being famous. I want it to mean that I used the opportunities I was given well.”
Perhaps that is the most telling part of her journey so far. She is not simply chasing the next moment in the spotlight. She is thinking about what she can build from the opportunities she has received, what she can learn from the setbacks she has faced and how she can remain grounded while her world continues to expand.
There is still much ahead of her, and no one can predict exactly where her journey will lead. What is clear, however, is that she is already thinking beyond the immediate rewards of recognition. She wants a career with substance, a life with boundaries and the freedom to explore possibilities that extend beyond the character audiences have come to know.
The character may be the reason audiences are watching, but the woman behind it is the reason her story deserves to be heard.
