Award-winning actress Nambitha Ben-Mazwi is shining brightly on the global stage. She shares how faith, boldness and an impressive degree of discipline – honed by years of Muay Thai – powered her rise. And that, to finally get your year of YES, you must first master the art of saying “no”.
It’s impossible to listen to Gqeberha-born-and-bred actor Nambitha Ben-Mazwi’s story and not see the golden threads of manifestation, intention, precision and steely discipline woven into the tapestry of her success.
She’s just landed back in South Africa after nearly two months in Zürich, Switzerland, where she shot her latest international project – an episode on the hugely popular procedural police drama Tatort (Crime Scene). The show, which has been running since 1970, airs on the Swiss public broadcaster ARD and attracts over 10 million viewers weekly.
In the episode titled Königeder Nacht (Kings of the Night), Nambitha stars as Moya, a young bicycle courier working illegally and leading a discreet life in Zürich. After witnessing a murder, Moya faces a life-changing dilemma: her statement could be crucial to closing the case, but it could also lead to her deportation. To secure her testimony, the investigating detectives must figure out a way to protect a witness who is not legally allowed to exist.
Portraying the episode’s lead character presented an immense challenge: Nambitha had to learn Swiss German.
“If I’d been told that I’d someday find myself having to learn Swiss German and act in it, I wouldn’t have fathomed it,” she admits. “Being chosen after a global casting that first took place in Europe, then extended to various African countries proves that this role chose me. I knew from the moment I received the brief that Moya’s character would bring about social awareness and healing to many. I just had to get it,” she enthuses.
Intention In Motion
The fact that Nambitha said yes to such a challenging role shouldn’t come as a surprise. Intentionality and discipline have marked her entire career – which began, not on screen, but in the boardroom after earning a degree in business science.
“When I graduated from the University of Cape Town, I wanted to be a marketing director at L’Oréal. They’d already awarded me a bursary and I was working towards that goal,” she shares. However, while working for a global software company in Cape Town, Nambitha realised that staying in corporate wasn’t how she’d transform the world.
Nkuli Nhleko, a good friend of Nambitha’s who was going through her own career transition at the time, called one day to remind her where her heart belonged. Following that call, Nambitha started making plans for her next career move. “After an honest conversation with myself, I resigned, negotiated a very good package and went to New York for what was initially supposed to be two weeks. I ended up staying for six months,” she shares.
Away from the noise of societal pressure, she took up a gig as a hostess at a New York comedy club and learnt how to survive on her natural strengths. That experience confirmed where her heart really belonged. Upon her return in 2014, and a few deliberate moves later, Nambitha landed her first professional acting role on the e.tv investigative drama Traffic!. Her acting career has been soaring ever since.
Now, the 37-year-old, with an energy as infectious as that of excited soccer fans at a high-stakes derby, is certain that she’s found her calling in storytelling. So solid is her connection to the art form that she regularly describes herself as “a mere vessel” for the story.
While in Zürich, she was a special guest and speaker at the Zürich Film Festival’s Leading FeMales NextGen event, where she addressed an audience of young, aspiring filmmakers.
Her devotion to her calling is reflected in how carefully she manages her career. For Nambitha, having a public persona means having the opportunity to convey messages that inspire healing in whatever form it’s needed.
The Star Aligns
To land roles that align with her values, like that of Moya, Nambitha has had to stay true to her long- term vision – which is to become a versatile actress with an extensive catalogue of local and international films and series. “I don’t want to find myself in a soapie, for instance, playing the same character over and over to the point where people start calling me by that character’s name,” she explains.
It has been hard, she admits, to stick to her guns in an industry where independent contractors never know when their next pay cheque will come. “I’ve had to say ‘no’ to a lot of instant gratification to avoid compromising my bigger vision. I’ve had to turn down certain roles and opportunities. For me, every decision comes down to one question: ‘Is this in line with my vision and strategy going forward?’,” she shares matter-of-factly.
This level of strategic management is rooted in her corporate background: “I’ve remained intentional and strategic and that’s definitely influenced by my business science background,” she notes. She still finds herself slipping into business jargon – such as casually mentioning the importance of “maintaining liquidity” while talking about managing her cash flow. “You don’t understand, I’m intense like that!” she says, giggling.
Nambitha isn’t apologising, though. She’s proud of her professionalism: “I do quarterly reviews to measure my progress. Then I reassess and adjust – depending on what worked and didn’t.” So intentional is her approach to progress and growth, that when she was approached to star in a six-part local series in 2025 – now in post-production – she negotiated executive producer and creative producer roles, too!
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For The Love Muay Thai
Her professional discipline is deeply mirrored in her fitness routine. For Nambitha, practising martial arts is like going to therapy: “Muay Thai is my love. It’s more than a workout. It keeps me grounded. It’s my way of life!” Like her prayer life, this practice is essential.
Nambitha has been practising Muay Thai since 2014. She was first introduced to this form of martial arts by renowned Muay Thai king Quentin ‘Dragon’ Chong and his brother Winston in Cape Town, where she lived for ten years. “They taught me the foundations of martial arts and really shaped how I move, think and approach discipline.”
Desperate to get back into Muay Thai after relocating to Joburg in 2015, Nambitha asked Quentin for pointers on where to go. “There was a place in Sandton, but they were doing kickboxing. If you’ve been a Muay Thai fighter, you don’t switch to kickboxing – that’s like blasphemy!” she explains. “They may look similar, but they’re not. Kickboxing lacks the flow, rhythm, elbow work that makes Muay Thai such an art form. The nine, basic core combinations that I learnt are such a part of me now. They’re in my DNA,” she adds proudly. When she’s home, a typical day in Nambitha’s life includes an hour of training with Kru Henry Madini at Cama Fitness Centre in Greenside, Johannesburg. (Kru is a Thai phrase that means teacher or instructor. It’s used as a sign of respect for a trainer.)
“In the two years that I’ve been training with Nambitha, we always start with a run, walk and some skipping before moving into the session. She’s active, fierce and always enthusiastic,” says Kru Henry, vouching for Nambitha’s passion and dedication.
A Routine, Rocked
This dedication was tested in the fairytale-like Zürich, as Nambitha’s stay there meant shelving Muay Thai for two months. The absence was palpable: “That was so long for me to go without Muay Thai! Honestly, this Women’s Health shoot couldn’t have come at a worse time. Girl, I was in a foreign country eating pastries!” she declares.
The challenge of not having Muay Thai was compounded by a new diet: the Tatort set was proudly “green” as part of Switzerland’s. broader sustainability ethos. That meant cutting down on red meat, which is associated with high greenhouse gas emissions.
For Nambitha, the dietary shock was real: “I found myself asking, ‘What exactly counts as protein now?’”. With lactose intolerance ruling out cheese and yoghurt, she says, “I basically lived on nuts, bread and pasta. Meat was such a luxury. I’d have a bit of fish here and there. But steak? Hardly ever.”
As someone who thrives on a protein-rich, macronutrient-heavy diet, she admits the experience was a wake-up call. “I kept thinking, ‘I’m going to collapse from hunger if I don’t have protein. How am I supposed to survive on a vegetable bowl with mushrooms as my protein?‘ Jokes aside though, the crew really did try their best to accommodate my dietary needs.”
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Rituals and Reconnection
To compensate for this and to stay fit and grounded outside of Muay Thai, Nambitha turned to running and cycling along the river near Lake Zürich – weather permitting, of course! And at-home yoga sessions became her go-to for strength training. Yet, even so, she swears she could still feel her muscle mass dwindling. But it was about more than muscles. “Running became such a cornerstone for me while in Zürich,” she reflects.
And when she’s on those runs, she makes a deliberate choice: she prefers absolute silence. For her, running is when she really gets to talk to God. “It’s my time to take stock, to revisit and release the things that have been weighing heavy on my heart,” she says. “I come back with a clearer mind and, often, with solutions to problems I didn’t know how to solve before.”
But, while it has no place on her runs, music comes in handy when Nambitha prepares to get into, and out of, character. And she has playlists for almost every production she works on, with Beyoncè’s Black Is King album and Nina Simone featuring in all of them. “When I put on my earphones on any set, that’s usually me morphing into something else,” she explains. “It’s how I get into character and how I place myself in the moment. Just before we started shooting this cover, for instance, I listened to some Nina Simone to remind myself what I was there to do. By the way, Nina Simone is my person and my dream role.”
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Connect Dots, Unlock Doors
But her dreams extend beyond the screen. Being a #DarkSkinMagic advocate is one of Nambitha’s passions, and the DMs she receives from young, dark-skinned girls who see themselves in her, remind her of her purpose. She, therefore, believes she has a responsibility to wear her #DarkSkinMagic loudly and proudly, so others are empowered to do the same.
Much of that courage comes from her own childhood experience of being bullied for her complexion. “I owe my self-esteem to my late grandmother, Nanziwe Ben-Mazwi. She always encouraged me to be unapologetically myself, no matter the criticism I faced because of my dark skin. She reminded me never to dim my light for anyone. I understand why I’m on this earth and I also understand what dark-skinned girls go through,” she shares. This is the secret to Nambitha’s success and every choice she makes: she knows who she is and she knows where she’s going. That certainty is the foundation of living intentionally, for when done consistently, it has a way of unlocking doors we didn’t even know existed.
This article first appeared in the January/February 2026 Issue of Women’s Health South Africa. Words by Kemong Mopedi.
