Kuli, the
fashionista and style guru as well as Hlubi, the
model and actress gave Nicki Greenwell and team access to their lives in last night's episode of Behind the Name.
This was the first episode I thoroughly enjoyed and this was all because of Kuli and her comments---shew, by the end of the programme I wanted to be Kuli's friend!
This is a summary of what happened last night, for those of you that missed it:
Their parents talked about how they wanted the best future for themselves and family and couldn't get the kind of education that would ensure that this happened in South Africa and so they took the decision to study overseas (in Washington). It was a tough decision to take as they had kids and couldn't take them along because of the uncertainty that lay ahead and they decided to leave their kids behind. For Hlubi, the separation was traumatic and she dealt badly with it and later her parents sent for her leaving Kuli to be raised by her grandmother (who was an astute businesswoman and owned a number of supermarkets around the cape).
Hlubi was enrolled in a primary school in Washington where she was the only black child in the school or her class,
that wasn't made too clear. Mr Mboya got involved in politics and became an activist mobilising support for the fight against the end of apartheid. 5 years later, armed with degrees and 2 more kids, the Mboyas returned to South Africa ignoring all discouragement and doubts shed on their return by the US peers/friends. The re-union at the airport was described as emotional.
Kuli who was 12 yrs then said that she discovered then that Hlubi was her sister as she had grown up without her and had been raised by her grandmother who she came to regard as her mom. Hlubi remembered giving Kuli a bear hug and she mentioned that she was glad that she would now have someone much older than her who would be the older sister as she had gotten used to looking after her siblings. She described Hlubi as
"the best thing that happened to me".
The Mboyas moved to Gugulethu and a tug-of war between Kuli's mom and Kuli's grandmom over Kuli ensued because Kuli's grandmother couldn't part with her and she was eventually enrolled at a boarding school
(the middle ground I suppose). Hlubi described her re-orientation to SA schooling and how her classmates couldn't understand how she managed to speak such good English.
Kuli told us how good she was with picking up accents and did a coloured accent impersonation which was really funny.
Kuli then went to study at UCT and she mentioned that she ended up working for the ANC by demanding that they give her work there. There was mention of some confrontation with Tony Yengeni with Kuli asking how dare Tony question her when he had a conolial name or smthng like that.
I seriously don't recall what the confrontation was about.
Kuli and Hlubi described how they enjoyed each other's company and would go to parties and clubs together. This happened while Kuli was at UCT and Hlubi was still at school and despite the fact that Hlubi was underage, they clubbed together because Hlubi was too mature for her age, said Kuli.
Kuli described her relationship and subsequent marriage to Beyers Roberts. She mentioned how they got married during their lunch break and kept this a secret from her parents. She took us through her employment at Drum and at Pace then mentioned that when Pace "went under", her life as she knew it went with it i.e she was divorcing, was out of a job, had recently experienced an ectopic pregnancy
(thanks Jordan!) and wasn't in a sound headspace.
i suppose this is when she was at Pace mag!Her parents talked about the first time Kuli told them she was in love with a Jewish man and how she went to Germany to follow her heart. Then when Hlubi introduced her white boyfriend to her parents, her father looked at her mom and exclaimed, "Not her too!"
She was later head-hunted to co-present What Not to Wear and became known as the style guru. When asked about Hlubi's sense of style, she responded
"Her fashion sense is dodgy sometimes" and they cut to a scene where Hlubi demonstrated how dodgy her fashion sense was----fugly boots with a baby-blue dress.
Hlubi in the mean time, enrolled at UCT for a law and politics degree but ditched it for the lights of Johannesburg.
At one point in the programme they mentioned that she had completed her degree so I'm not entirely certain she did or didn't. Anyway she got involved in modelling and acting. She's been with Isidingo for 7 years even though the part was originally going to be a 3-month appointment.
"I'm living the dream!" she excalimed.
Bad Boy T-
their cousin- described these ladies as the shyest most humble people away from the limelight.
When asked what they thought the reason was that most people don't know that they are sisters:
Kuli: We don't flaunt that we are sisters by mentioning it each time we go out together.
Hlubi: It could be the surname
Kuli: People are jealous at the fact that two HOT babes could be sisters! It's unbelievable--how can they be sisters and be so HOT? They can't possibly be sisters!!
It was a 30 minute programme but there was so much information in it and the two sisters gave me what I wanted to hear and Kuli's fast paced speech was punctuated with so much commentary that has given the title BITCH, I suppose. Unlike Mandoza's interview, a lot of time was spent talking to the ladies and their parents so this really was an in depth, up close and personal look at their lives!