Actress and activist Sihle Gcilitshana is the daughter of award-winning actress Sibulele Gcilitshana. They both play the same role of Gog'Fungingozi where Sibulele plays the older version and Sihle, as a young girl on the new TV show Queendom, alongside Linda Mtoba, Sindi Dlathu, Hamilton Dlamini, Mduduzi Mabaso, Pallance Dladla, Dawn Thandeka King, and Sjava to name a few. Sihle shares how working with her mom is an honour that she does not take for granted. 

AN HONOUR

Speaking at the premiere of the new show, Sihle says she had to work hard to be able to work alongside her mom and that the role was not just handed to her. "I had to prove myself and I am truly honoured,' she says. "I am privileged to be even sitting and acting amongst such great actors and performers, like my mom.'

She started the year 2024 on a high. "I will not lie, being on set with my mother was the highlight of 2024. We can shut it down, we can close the year,' she says. "I have looked up to my mom for years and she has always told me that If I want to be in the performing arts, I have to do it in my own time. She said, 'I'm not paying for you to go and study this'. To then find ourselves on the same set was just so serendipitous," she says. She adds, " Sibulele is such an amazing person. If you know her, she is a depiction of emotion and sunshine. So, walking on set knowing that I have to detach and remind myself that I am a person outside of her but truly there will be no bigger highlight, literally.'

AUTHENTICITY

Sihle says acting is not easy and requires one to be true to the character. "My mother and I even had sessions where we prayed together. I had to tap into that myself and find the role and as difficult as it was, the challenges mirror our reality,' she says. "The most difficult thing about portraying any character is being true to what the story is, and coming in with as much authenticity.'