‘I slept in toilets’ Durban Gen actress ‘Dr Mbali’ Nelisiwe Sibiya opens up about living in poverty.
Nelisiwe Sibiya has proved that she did not have the great life she currently has all her life. This is not new, as some celebrities have opened up about coming from humble backgrounds where they struggled to make ends meet before they were famous.
The Durban Gen actress shared how she struggled to put herself through college with her followers in an Instagram post. After finishing, Matric Nelisiwe took on a job as a promoter in the streets to raise university fees. The actress narrated the struggles that came with the job she found.
A young Nelisiwe had to catch several taxis at 4 am to get to her place of work in the streets or at malls. Her mother would accompany her because it would still be dark at those hours. Sometimes she would arrive early to work and sleep in the toilets waiting for her shift to start.
Her mother could not afford to send her to school as she was only a street vendor. The Durban Gen lead actress says they had to eat leftover fat cakes sometimes from their mother’s stash after a day at the market. After her father was shot and died when she was only eight years old, Nelisiwe and her sister moved in with their uncle and aunt. However, they moved back with their mother after they were sexually abused.
Nelisiwe Sibiya talks about her poor life before the fame
After raising enough money for college, Nelisiwe took on a Degree in Musical Studies. Her sister helped her start a music career. Nelisiwe’s first significant deal came when she made the theme song for the drama series Lockdown. In 2020 she got her breakthrough in acting with a lead role in Durban Gen as Dr Mbali, and for that role, she won the Best Actress Award at Zikomo Awards.
Looking at her life in the spotlight, Nelisiwe says she cries because that was the life she always wanted with her family. She motivates those in similar situations to keep moving without worrying about what people say.
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