SCANDAL actress, Marjorie Langa’s TV breakthrough did not come easy and almost cost her her relationship with her mother. The 38-year-old got a taste of fame with television commercials, which opened doors for her and helped to boost her acting career.
NO FATHERLY LOVE
She says she is grateful that she was surrounded by strong women when she was growing up. Marjorie was raised by her aunt alongside her cousins. Although her mother was there, she preferred to live with her aunt and visited her mother during the school holidays. “I was raised by the women in my family while my father was nowhere to be found. I was told he wanted nothing to do with me as a child and I do not resent him for not being there for me. I recently tried looking for him, but did not get joy as he gave me the cold shoulder,” she says. Majorie says though she is disappointed with the way her father reacted to seeing her, she still loves him. “Even though he rejected me, I still love him because he is my father. But I have made the decision not to bother him anymore as he clearly does not want to have a relationship with me,” she says sadly. She further explains that her stepfather played a significant role in her life. “My stepfather raised me to be the person I am today and I am grateful that he was also involved in my life."
CAREER AND LIFE CHANGES
The single and divorced mother of a six-year-old boy, who studied medical technology, says it was her former colleagues who pushed her to get into the entertainment industry, something that did not sit well with her. “My mother disowned me for years because I left the profession that she took me to school to study for. She did not speak to me for a while and didn’t want to see me, saying she would not talk to me until I came to my senses and returned to my old job. This pushed me to carry on looking for acting opportunities. I wanted to prove her wrong and I also wanted to get her to accept that acting was my calling. I got to be on television and that’s when my mother accepted that this is what I really wanted to do,” the actress explains. She says she and her mother are now on the same page and her mother is her biggest fan.
ON TOP OF HER GAME
Marjorie says she worked her way up in the industry wanting to prove her mother wrong. "It was hard sometimes because I needed something solid that would sustain me and bring some sort of income. In 2012, I finally got my big break when I got a job on a television drama called Streets of Mangaung. From there onwards I was cast in several shows such as Generations, Die Leefe, Isidingo, and now Scandal,” she says. Marjorie says she likes playing Gloria on Scandal, even though she is sometimes difficult to portray. “We are both bubbly and outspoken. We want what’s best for our children and that is out of love. Nonetheless, when it comes to choosing who our children should marry, we are way too different. But I love the character."
