Winnie Ntshaba may look so beautiful and rich now but the truth remains that life did not start up that way for her. The actress who was born on the 1st of September 1975 grew up in a community where everyone was poor and as a result, she didn’t even know that they were poor and struggling since everyone was in a similar situation.
As a result of how poor they were, Ntshaba would rub cooking oil on her skin as her body lotion. This may seem far-fetched, especially when you see how beautiful and glowing her skin looks. Winnie also acknowledges the fact that despite their poverty, her mother did everything in her power to ensure that she and her siblings got the best life she could offer.
Though there is currently no information on the name of the primary and high school she attended, Winnie was determined to be educated and drew inspiration from the only two graduates in her community, one of which is her older sister.
Winnie took up the challenge by furthering her education at the University of Natal where she earned a BA Drama Honors degree and became the third graduate in her community. Her academic pursuit has definitely helped her in her acting career today.
Upon moving to Johannesburg in 2000, Winnie Ntshaba took part in AREPP Shoe String Productions’ educational and industrial theater shows. Four years later, she was featured in the television drama, Jozi Streets. That year, she landed one of her major breakthroughs through her role in the award-winning movie, Yesterday. Despite acting as a supporting actress, Ntshaba received a lot of positive reviews for the role.
Playing a role in Yesterday was obviously a launchpad to stardom for the actress. In 2004, she landed her first lead acting role in the film drama Shreds and Dreams, directed by Claire Stopford. The year continued to be a big year for Winnie’s career as she played supporting roles in three other productions.
All of these roles she played in one year must have required a lot of effort and commitment on her part and being someone who knew where she was headed, she took up the challenge, and every time she appears on our screen, she always serves it hot.
In 2005, Ntshaba auditioned to play the role of Khehiwe Buthelezi in the then-popular South African soapie, Generations which airs on SABC1. On joining the series, Winnie Ntshaba became a major key player and gained the heart of a lot of viewers for her character and top-notch performances. After a decade of being a member of the cast of the series, Ntshaba, alongside 15 other actors in the soapie, took part in a strike to demand contract extensions and royalties for episodes that were being rebroadcast.
Instead of receiving their demands, all 16 actors were relieved from the production for their actions. After two years of being fired from Generations, she opened up about the way she felt about the experience, saying after rethinking, she believes that they may have overreacted at the time. While she was still a member of the cast of Generations, in 2013, Winnie launched her own soapie award ceremony called Royalty Soapie Awards and on the 2nd of November 2013, the first award event took place at Durban International Convention Centre.
After leaving Generations in 2015, the actress appeared on The Road and MTV’s Shuga in 2017 but she took a break from taking major acting roles because she wanted to get rid of being seen from the perspective of her role in Generations. However, she has been unable to do that because to date, she is still known for her character (Khethiwe Buthelezi) in the soapie. In 2018, when Winnie Ntshaba made her big return, she graced our screens by playing a lead role in Mzansi Magic hit drama, The Herd as Mam’Ngadi.
The veteran actress has indeed experienced the upside and downside of an acting career and she has been able to figure out how to stay relevant in the industry. Her career has seen Winnie Ntshaba make appearances in some of the most prominent South African soapies which include:
- The River
- Generations
- Isibaya
- The Road
- Broken Vows
- Isithembiso
- The Herd
- House of Zwide
As a young girl, Winnie Ntshaba was so focused that she made up her mind not to get into a relationship with anyone until she has completed her university education, but as you know, sometimes love takes us off guard when we least expect it. In her 3rd year in the university, she got into her first relationship at 21 years old.
In 2005, when she started working at SABC as a member of the cast of Generations, she met Thabo Modise, a cameraman who also works at SABC. One thing led to another and in 2006, the two got married. Three years after, on the 9th of July 2009 to be precise, they had their first and only child, Phenyo Modise, and things just seemed to be working so well for the family.
However, to the surprise of everyone, in 2013, news about their divorce broke out and it was rumored that infidelity or physical abuse may have been the cause of their separation, but she was quick to debunk the rumor, stating that the person who carried that rumor may have been drunk because she never said or implied that, rather she said she has to be careful about raising a male child so she does not reject his makoti.
As of the time of this writing, Winnie Ntshaba is not known to be in a relationship with anyone, neither has she been linked to another man since she divorced her ex-husband. What makes her divorce a bit different from the regular celebrity divorce is the fact that she tried as much as possible to avoid a scandal and she has been able to maintain a good relationship with her ex, so much so that people even think they are back together.