(Cape Town) Passers-by remain frozen, dropping their jaws. The less shy come to their senses and invite the star to pose for a selfie : On the streets of Cape Town, local actress Kim Engelbrecht, nominated for the Emmys, is known to all.
Posted at 9:48 a.m.
This gardener from the Company’s Garden, in the center of the port and tourist town, still can’t believe it: “It’s my wife who’s going to be happy,” he says, visibly troubled, to his colleague who is taking the photo.
Kim Engelbrecht, 42, a mixed-race beauty with navy blue eyes, high cheekbones and long brown hair, distributes generous smiles, poses patiently, thanks.
“People often look at me and say ‘I’ve seen it somewhere before, it looks familiar to me.’ I find it touching,” she says simply.
“They’ve known me forever,” she told AFP. Because this slender woman in a brightly colored strapless dress began her career at a very young age, as a host on public television before playing for twelve years in a rose water series, isidingoa ” soapy as the South Africans say.
Short, daily episodes broadcast on television “after homework, before or while the families go to the table for dinner”, says the one who is selected for the International Emmy Awards, awards ceremony for television programs originally broadcast outside of the United States scheduled for New York on November 21, in the category of best actress in a drama.
During confinement, she shot two seasons of the series reyka in the Zulu region, where she plays a police profiler who tracks down a fearsome serial killer operating in the sugar cane fields of this tropical area of South Africa.
Fifth African at the Emmys
A role of quality, that of a “multifaceted and complex woman, as we all are in real life”, who must overcome a trauma, an abduction in adolescence, and use it to guide her investigation.
reyka is also up for an Emmy this year in the Outstanding Drama Series category.
Alongside a copious Hollywood career, where she notably starred in the science fiction series produced by Ridley Scott Raised by Wolves or the superhero series The FlashKim Engelbrecht appreciates being able to work in South Africa.
“It’s my roots, it’s who I am,” says the one who grew up in the working-class suburb of Belhar, east of Cape Town.
Her selection at the end of September earned the actress many contacts and scenarios. She is the fifth African to be selected for the Emmys.
reyka was her first leading role. She hopes her career can motivate young South Africans. “Your dreams can have meaning, if you work hard and you get involved, it doesn’t leave anyone indifferent”, she says.
His next project? “I would try my hand at comedy, why not”, she slips into a smile.
Walkers in the public garden stop short when they see the camera filming the interview with the star, they don’t want to disturb. With a friendly sign, the actress encourages them to pass.