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If the nameNomzamo Mbathaisn’t one you’ve heard, we suggest you get acquainted.
Rowan Daly
“I’m staying open to it, I’m doing the work.
For the very longest time, I’ve never been one to celebrate anything in my life.
“I’m excited for this new chapter, I’m excited for what I have to offer.
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And now I get to introduce myself on such a big stage.
The film means so much to so many people.”
And she’s right Coming to Americais an important Black film for a lot of people.
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The film is so beloved,Real Housewives of Atlanta’sKandi Burrusshad aComing to America-themed wedding.
I remember the first few days I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m dying.
What’s going on?’
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And then I’d be like, ‘yo, okay, relax.
These are your colleagues.'”
Of course, a gig like this one draws up all kinds of feelings.
How dare something so grand and so beautiful happen to me?’
There was a lot of learning and unlearning that I went through as I was shooting."
“She said, ‘this is your moment.
I’ve been where you are, and I wanted to shy away.
I want you to know that I don’t want that for you, don’t you dare.
Show up for this moment.’
And I was like, gotcha.
When Shari Headley tells me to do something, you do it.”
“She’s there to make people look good and feel proud about their look.”
One peek at Mbatha’s Instagram shows that she loves to experiment with her hair.
“With every hairstyle, I look like a different woman.
I change my hair all the time every single day is a different hairstyle.”
When Chaka Khan said “I’m every woman,” she was talking about Mbatha.
I’m very particular about that."
Mbatha employs a go-with-the-flow approach when she’s deciding how to style her hair.
Mbatha is enjoying the freedom she has these days to express herself with her hair.
“[Sometimes it feels like] our hair never belonged to us.
[It] belonged to our mothers, It was a huge debate.
So there’s always been some kind of political agenda around our hair.
We, as Black women, have given each other permission.
For Mbatha, self-care manifests itself both internally and externally and the results are magic.
The glow comes deep, deep, deep inside.”
But, of course, the external work has to be done, too.
Mbatha is about to be a superstar, no doubt Coming 2 Americais just the beginning for her.
“My name is going to be on clothing.
It’s huge for Puma to make that leap of faith.”
“I think my life is a dream realized.
It’s a tangible dream realized and I always just want to be that.”
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