Bio
Vinolia Mashego (also known by her music stage name V-Mash) was a South African actress and television presenter best known for her role as Hilda Letlalo in the SABC1 soap opera Generations and for hosting the music show Jam Alley.
She also had a starring role as Pearl in the half-hour drama series Di Wele Makgolela, which aired on the now-defunct CCV-TV channel in the early 1990s.
Vinolia co-hosted Jam Alley from 1994 (originally on CCV-TV and later on SABC1) until 2001, when she was fired by producers for increasingly erratic behaviour.
After several years in the wilderness, in which she routinely made the tabloids after falling on hard times, she re-appeared in the minor recurring role of Meme's mother on the SABC2 soap opera Muvhango, in February 2010.
She was the subject of an episode of the "I Had It All" codumentary series that aired on SABC2 in October 2013, in which she spoke of her "rise and fall" in the entertainment industry.
In January 2014 she had a return to presenting when she joined the Mzansi Magic Music show PLS Call Me as a presenter. She also filmed a cameo role for the second season of the Mzansi Magic soap opera Isibaya.
In October 2014 she began starring in the SABC1 drama series Mutual Friends.
In 2019 she played the recurring role of Khwinana on the SABC2 telenovela Giyani - Land of Blood, making her first appearance in Season 1, Episode 169 (which aired on 4 September, 2019).
Mashego died on 3 April, 2020, in her sleep. Her cause of death was not made public.