GETTING TO KNOW THE RIVER ACTRESS JESSICA SITHOLE (NYAKALLO)

Viewers of The River on One Magic have been enjoying a drama-fuelled storyline that has been keeping them at the edge of their seats. The award-winning show, which has close to 1-mIllion viewers, is now in its 4th season and fans have been enjoying it, as it trending daily.

Currently, Zweli Dikana (played by Hlomla Dandala) and Nyakallo are on everyone’s lips after he did the unthinkable. Avid viewers of the show know that Zweli and Lindiwe (played by Sindi Dlathu) are a power couple and nothing can come between them (well, almost) but nobody expected that another woman would cause so much havoc in their marriage.

Nyakallo came to the fold as the sweetest character we had ever come across on the telenovela. In her first few performances, some would say that she was sweeter than Sis Flora, who is her aunt. However, that perception we had of her – as an innocent young woman from Lesotho who came to Johannesburg to create a better life for her siblings and became a helper at the Dikana household — has vanished.

Zweli fell for her sweet charm and eneded up marrying her. To be fair, even fans of the show fell for her. This led to Zweli marrying Nyakallo, and their wedding was what many would call “wedding of the year”.

But who is Nyakallo? Here are 7 facts about the rising star whose real name is Jessica Sithole.

1. The actress is from Bloemfontein in the Free State Province and she is only 22-years old.

2. She is a model and to prove it, in 2017 she won Miss Glamorous Free State. Her journey with pageantry started from coming up in the top 10 in pageants as a toddler after her mother signed her up. She never looked back after that.
   

3. She is a graduate at the University of Free State where she studied a degree in Drama and Theatre Arts.

4. Her main reason for studying drama and theatre arts was that she wanted to know more and understand an actor’s preparation process in bringing a believable character to the screen. This would explain why she embodies the character of Nyakallo so well and why viewers are so engrossed in her acting

5. Her favourite actress is Taraji P. Henson and she is inspired by her.

6. Her audition on The River was her very first acting audition and she was up against more than 50 other actresses. Although she studied drama and theatre, she never thought that acting was a strong point for her. However, almost three weeks after her audition, she was informed by Paddy Mazibuko, casting director, that she had been selected as a finalist for the role of Nyakallo.

7. She is a Christian, and every time she has doubts, she looks back at how faithful God has been in her life, how far she has come and trusts that He will further pave the way for her.