The actress who can now afford to act
She was at the peak of her acting career, enjoying spectacular roles on stage and TV including co-hosting the Zama Zama game show that preceded the National Lottery, when her world suddenly crumbled.
Seasoned actress Nomsa Nene and her co-presenter of the Zama Zama show, Jay Phungo, were told by their producers in 2000 that their show would be replaced by the lottery draw and that they were not part of the new plan.
Such an abrupt axing would have depressed many a person with bills to pay, but not Nene. The actress dived into a new career as an estate agent and performed so well over the past 16 years that she almost forgot that she once had another successful career.
Nomsa Nene Properties is today one of the three largest operating in Killarney in Johannesburg and she has been nicknamed the Queen of Killarney.
She also sells properties in Saxonwold, Houghton, Parktown and Parkview.
“I do not regret having gone into the real estate business after losing my job on TV, leaving me with no acting job,” she says. “I had to learn fast from Wendy Machanik while I worked for her from 2000 until 2011 when I went on my own after my employer lost her business under controversial circumstances.
“I have learned so much from her and hence my company is a significant player in the property market in the area. They now call me the Queen of Killarney. I am the first black person to own an estate agency operating in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg,” she says.
“It was not easy, though, especially at the beginning. When I got hired by Wendy to be trained as an estate agent, I was so broke that I was in arrears for my Killarney apartment and the sheriff of the court took away my furniture.
“Desperate, I went to Wendy to ask for a loan. In response she said something that I will never forget. She sat me down and told me that I had not sold anything and therefore she would not give me an advance.
“She told me I was selfemployed and had to earn my salary through commission as that is how the estate agent business operated. I had to look for money elsewhere while I worked hard to earn my salary.”
Within a year, Nene became one of the star estate agents at the company. She sold 52 properties and won an award as a top estate agent. Other companies came knocking at her door to recruit her.
Her success, built on her career as an actor, taught her that a person can do several things in life, she says.
“Having been a face on TV helped me, as clients knew who they were dealing with. Many were at first surprised that the person they knew as an actress was also an estate agent,” Nene says. “That worked in my favour. They were comfortable with me, inviting me into their homes for tea while discussing business.”
She has turned full circle, going back into acting after landing one of the lead roles in a new e.tv daily Broken Vows, which launched this week.
It also features veteran actresses Thembi Mtshali-Jones and Shaleen Surtie-Richards. It screens at 8pm, in direct competition with the new SA’s first and oldest TV soapie, Generations, on SABC1.
“Now I am ready to do what I have always loved doing. It is so unbelievable that I am back into acting, especially after turning down so many acting jobs since I went into the real estate business,” Nene says.
“When our producers told us in 2000 that suddenly we had lost our jobs, the future looked bleak, especially because we were only informed seven days before our careers ended on the show. I had to make a plan, and fast. I was introduced to Wendy by a friend of a producer I knew. I went to an interview for a job as an estate agent, something I had not done before, simply because I had no option,” she says.
Nene says that she was approached for the role of Lydia in Broken Vows by the producers of the show, Clive Morris Productions.
They persuaded her to give acting another shot, even though she does not need that kind of work to pay her bills.
“Another reason I accepted the offer is that my business is now on a solid footing and I have trained other people to run it, giving me an opportunity to pursue other passions, such as acting, again,” she says.
“I have missed acting over the past 16 years. I miss the life of being an actress, especially going to festivals such as the Grahamstown National Arts Festival, where I would mingle with fellow artists and perform in as many as five shows in 10 days.
“Now I am back again doing what I have always loved.”
Nene’s character Lydia is a depressed businesswoman whose husband was a freedom fighter who did not return from exile in the early 1990s. Lydia is not sure whether he is still in exile, dead or in the arms of another woman.
“She is depressed to the extent that she is dysfunctional and ends up losing the ability to run her catering company and hands over its management to her friend,” she says.
“She cannot even look after her own child and surrenders her parental responsibilities to her friend. Such is life and sometimes it can be tough and choices have to be made.”
Her experience as an estate agent has helped her understand the problems and difficult choices that Lydia has to make, Nene says.
“The property market is driven by five Ds. People will sell their properties because they are divorcing, depressed, departing to another country, are in debt or because of the death of a partner,” she says.
I AM THE FIRST BLACK PERSON TO OWN AN ESTATE AGENCY OPERATING IN THE NORTHERN SUBURBS OF JOHANNESBURG