Lerato Marabe Reflects on 15 Years Playing Pretty on Skeem Saam
- Lerato Marabe opened up about growing up alongside her character Pretty Seakamela, on Skeem Saam since the age of 11
- The actress described Pretty's ab*rtion storyline as one of the most emotionally demanding experiences of her career
- Marabe revealed what she would tell her younger self after 15 years on the beloved SABC1 soapie
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Fifteen years is a long time to live inside someone else's skin, but for Lerato Marabe, playing Pretty Seakamela on Skeem Saam has felt less like a performance and more like a parallel life. The SABC1 actress joined the beloved soapie at just 11 years old and has grown up entirely within the world of the show, with South African viewers watching every stage of that journey unfold.
Marabe describes her bond with Pretty as something close to twinhood. The two are the same age and have navigated many of life's highs and lows at roughly the same time, which has made the role deeply personal. She says her own maturity has consistently shaped how she understands the character, and there were even moments when the show's storylines felt eerily in tune with what she was experiencing in her private life.
Pretty's ab*rtion storyline changed everything
Among the many chapters Pretty has lived through, one stands out as a genuine turning point for Marabe as a performer: the character's ab*rtion storyline. She describes it as the most demanding creative challenge of her career, one that pushed her into unfamiliar emotional territory and forced her to dig deeper than she ever had before.
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Rather than breaking her, the experience built her. Marabe says it proved to her that she could handle material of real emotional weight, and that realisation reshaped her confidence as an actress.
From schoolgirl to married woman
Pretty began the series as a teenage schoolgirl and has since stepped into adulthood and marriage, a transformation that required Marabe to completely rethink her approach. She says she researched the role by speaking to married friends and gathering different perspectives on what life inside a marriage actually looks like, because she could no longer rely on the instincts of the younger version of Pretty she had spent years inhabiting.
The shift challenged her to think differently and stretch herself in ways she had not previously considered.
Reflecting on a God-given journey
Looking back on the milestone, Marabe says 15 years on *Skeem Saam* has been proof of God's faithfulness. When she first stepped onto set as a child, the thrill of simply appearing on television was enough. She never anticipated that the opportunity would grow into such a defining chapter of her life.
She now carries years of hard-won experience and says she hopes to use what she has learnt to guide younger actors who are just starting out in the industry.
If she could speak to her 11-year-old self, Marabe says she would offer a simple but powerful reassurance: the road ahead will be difficult, but she will ultimately prosper. Her most important advice would be to hold firmly to her own identity and resist the pressure to let other people's opinions change who she is.
Skeem Saam praised for their storyline
Skeem Saam has drawn widespread praise for a storyline many viewers say reflected experiences they have lived through personally.
The SABC1 soapie shared a mental health crisis helpline following the episode, pointing struggling viewers towards support.
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Source: Briefly News
