“BEING IN THE ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS ISN’T EASY. IT CAN BE AN UNPREDICTABLE
GIPSY LIFESTYLE BUT WONDERFUL AT THE SAME TIME AND VERY REWARDING. EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED AND EXPECT NOTHING AT ALL.” Musetta Vander: A glamorous gipsy in the limelight
Things that set Musetta apart:
Musetta Vander loved studying at UJ. Some of her favourite memories and friendships hail from her years studying Psychology and Communications in the early 80s – but life took her in a different, and some might say more exciting, direction. Getting a good education was strongly encouraged by her parents. Musetta wanted to study acting at Stellenbosch University (SU), but her father wasn’t open to sponsoring that idea, so she enrolled for Law. “Dad was very excited for me. I would be the first family member to attend university, and Stellenbosch was his childhood dream.” As fate would have it, her best friend was scheduled to go to UJ and came to stay with them the weekend before checking in. “I accompanied her and her mom to UJ. As we drove over the hill through Melville and I spotted UJ in the distance, I immediately got intense butterflies in my stomach. When my friend went to check in at the residence, the only other person in the entire place who hadn’t shown up was her roommate. I knew that spot was reserved for me somehow.” She explains that “my degree from UJ (then Rand Afrikaans University), enabled me to get a job in the corporate world, if I chose to, and to build on the confidence that anything is achievable if you set your mind to it”. Feeling trapped The corporate world happened for all of two weeks when Musetta felt trapped and wanted out. Her boss offered her a mornings-only position, and she went to perform on stage at night. The spotlight would be hers from then on.
• Played the “dream girl” in 21 music videos for, among others, Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, Elton John, Paul Carrack, Chris Isaak, and Amy Grant. • Shaved Djimon Hounsou’s head in a bathtub for a Tina Turner video. • Worked with Michael Jackson on the MTV 10th anniversary show. • Worked on film and television productions alongside Kenneth Branagh, Will Smith, Robert Duval, George Clooney, and Kelsey Grammar. • Played Sindel in Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, a siren in O Brother, Where Art Thou, Munitia in Wild, Wild West, and Robert Duvall’s wife in Kicking & Screaming. Guest Starred in episodes of NCIS, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, Hawaii Five-O, Star Trek Voyager, Stargate, and Murder, She Wrote amongst others.
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ALUMNI IMPUMELELO
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