She was taught by the same teachers who taught an American actress and is heralded as the next Viola Davis of her time. Actress, Zamo Mlengana (22) is making her mark and is currently flying the South African flag as a student at The Julliard School, a private performing arts conservatory in New York City, after receiving a bursary.

She was 14 years old when she was spotted as a rising star. "When I first went to the US there was no bursary," Zamo tells ZiMoja. "My family made as many sacrifices as they could in order for me to have an education in the US. Nothing was ever guaranteed but it was a journey of faith and trusting God to fulfill his promises and provide for my studies," she says. "When I was accepted into Juilliard, I was awarded The Shubert Foundation Scholarship and Helen G. Palmer Scholarship to help me complete my studies." With her skills in singing (Alto), basic ballroom dancing, stage combat, multiple accents and dialects, she is billed to be the next Viola Davis. The highlights of her career include her acclaimed portrayal of Zee in "The Odyssey," directed by Lisa Petersen. "I recently wrapped up a production of The Odyssey by Lisa Peterson. It was an absolute dream to have worked with the internationally renowned writer and director," she tells ZiMoja. "It was such a blessing to have been able to take a play we had spent time developing and rehearsing and then getting to perform night after night on stage all over the United States. A truly invaluable experience that I am still thanking God for.

At the premiere of Odyssey; Sophie Zmorrod (B?a), Zamo Mlengana (Zee), Layla Khoshnoudi (Anoud), and Anya Whelan-Smith (Hana). Picture: Marin Theatre Company / Kevin Berne.

Raised in Johannesburg, with roots in the mountainous town of Tzaneen, Zamo's passion for storytelling was ignited by her grandmother's tales of resilience and triumph. At 14 years old, inspired by a YouTube video, she pursued her passion at the Walnut School for The Arts in Massachusetts, later making history at Juilliard School for Drama in New York as the youngest and first Black South African accepted into the drama division. "I started acting at a young age, probably around three or four years old, but I didn't consider it acting back then," she tells ZiMoja. "I was constantly coming up with characters to play and raiding my mom's closet to make those characters come to life. I would force all my younger brothers and my cousins to play any imagination games we could think of. When I started going to school, I would always sign up for the school plays and any other drama clubs my school had to offer. I made my acting debut at seven years old in my primary school's production of Little Bow Peep. I played Little Bow Peep," she adds.

With her dad from the Eastern Cape and my mom from Limpopo. She had the best of both worlds and got a great taste of diverse cultures which contributed to her acting skills. "I draw a lot from my environment," she says. "I have two siblings, Ayanda, my oldest sister, and Nathi, my younger brother. I spent the majority of my childhood driving up to Tzaneen, Limpopo, to visit my mom's family. I was extremely close to my mother's family. I can definitely say I was raised in a village. Everyone in our family had a hand in raising us," she adds. "I grew up in a Christian household, we prayed every morning before we left the house and we spent most nights taking communion and saying our evening prayers in my parent's bedroom. I was raised by God-fearing parents and a faith-filled community that imbued faith into everything we did. I did well in school, I loved learning new things." She fell in love with the safety acting brought to her life. "I was a bit of a shy and anxious kid growing up but all that went away when I was performing," she says. "I felt like the stage gave me the freedom and safety to express myself earnestly. It taught me to be brave and fearless, things I didn't feel in my day-to-day life. I honestly don't know when I started to fall in love with it, I just knew that it helped me feel more connected to the people around me. It became my favourite form of self-expression." She imagined herself in New York, surrounded by like-minded artists. :I just wanted to be surrounded by art. I wanted to be performing on Broadway stages night after night."