Getting to know Wandile from Generations: The Legacy – Zimbabwean born actress Chiedza Mhende captured the hearts of many South Africans for her male role as Wandile Radebe in the South African soapie opera, Generations: The Legacy.
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Many South Africans didn’t know that Chiedza Mhende (full name Charlene Chiedza Kudzai Mhende) is a woman in real life. Chiedza executed her male role character Wandile brilliantly. The actress revealed that she was using the role as a mouthpiece for the LGBTI community.
Things you didn’t know about Chiedza Mhende aka Wandile from Generations:
- Chi Mhende was born and raised in Zimbabwe
- She attended an all girls catholic school
- When she was seven years old, Mhende was part of the drama school club
- In 2006, moved to Cape Town, South Africa, to study AFDA, the South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance
- In 2010 Artscape production of “Romeo and Juliet” she played a role as Lady Capulet
- She also played in number of theatre productions which includes A Midsummer Night’s Dream as Titania and many more
- Other theatre credits include K. Sello Duiker’s “The Quiet Violence of Dreams”, JM Coetzee’s “Waiting for the Barbarians”, “Taming of the Shrew”, “The Comedy of Errors”, and “Richard III”
- She is the first woman to play a male character on Generations
Besides acting, the talented actress is also a voice-over artist. She is the voice of ‘Siyaya’ and Al Jazeera’s global health series ‘Lifelines’.
Mhende also appeared in various films and television which include Evil in Our Midst, The Tunnel, Stokvel 6, Mad Dogs 3, and Love the One You Love, which made its debut at the 2014 Durban International Film Festival.
Chiedza has also won awards for ‘Wallbridge Award Best Shakespearean Item – National Allied Arts, Harare 2003 & 2004’, Best Actress – AFDA 2008 and Best Actress – Durban International Film Festival 2014. She was also a Promising Young Artist nominee – African Movie Academy Awards 2015.
Watch Chi Mhende – first woman to play a male role on Generations The Legacy below:
Image Courtesy: instagram.com/chi_mhende