"For the longest time I have been torn between corporate and entertainment ... knowing that entertainment is my first love, but also having corporate really paying the bills."

"So I have chosen to allow myself the next few hours as hours of weakness. I will cry, I will be needy. I will ask him to bring me my favourite treats on the way home. Tomorrow, it will be business as usual. Its OK not to be OK"

"The danger of being viewed as the strong one is that you try to keep this up, even at times when you yourself are uncomfortably close to breaking point."

"I hope people will be reminded one way or another of who they are, and who black people were before colonialism. It’s pre-everything! It is pre-colonialism, pre-borders, and it is before the division of the countries in the continent. It was free rein. People could travel from any part of the continent to another. I hope that we get that vision of ourselves while watching the series"

"We want to see ourselves reflected on screen. We are patriotic in that way that we don’t want to be told something we can’t relate to. Tell us stories that reflect us"

"It’s very nice to be part of something that sets the standard. And the standard is high. I don’t want anything else for myself and for my career"

"We’re not living in isolation from what’s happening in the world. So we’re watching and streaming; now it’s our turn to join the party"

"The biggest myth is that we aren’t telling certain stories because the audience is not ready for them, which is a lie"

"So yes to the money, and to the bravery of saying, ‘Tell this story even if it has never been done before"

"A lot of my inner healing work is spent trying to come to terms with the fact that being a woman living in South Africa is a trauma all on its own."

"The secrets of this universe are revealed to those who seek and are ready.The how of seeking is sacred and truly humbling."

"Itâ€™s so important to teach our children at an early age to understand what anxiety is and equip them with tools to navigate it otherwise they start to believe that something is inherently wrong with them."

"Let your thoughts support, nurture and affirm the reality youâ€™re building."

"Learning how to be vulnerable has been my biggest teacher…Vulnerable to my struggles and vulnerable in an industry where one is expected to appear perfect — or where, somehow, the people who appear perfect are the most applauded. I’ve always shattered this expectation because I just want to tell the truth!"

"We are so afraid to be vulnerable about who we really are. The minute we step out there, we wear this veil of perfection then walk around feeling like imposters all day. Yet, the reason we feel like imposters is because we’re just not being ourselves"

"I think the biggest contributor to depression and anxiety, especially in our society today, is perceptions. There’s who we are, and then there’s this perception of what we’re supposed to acquire and become. Lastly, there’s this perception of perfection that is always held up to us. We always operate from a place of: ‘I fall short. I’m not meeting this and that criteria.’ My daily thing is reminding and asking myself: ‘How can I live, enjoy and unite with this current version of myself"

"Apart from the fact that I meditate daily, work out and eat well, prayer is my mainstay. I pray through any and everything. No matter what circumstances surround me, no matter what comes and goes, prayer is the one thing that never changes. Prayer is where I source my strength. Prayer never leaves, it never forsakes me. It’s always me and God, and I’m really grateful for that"

"How we are nurtured as children plays a big role in how we respond to life lessons"

"Whatever purpose you were born for on this earth, you’re going to arrive in the form and shape best suited for it"

"When what you do for a living becomes your entire identity, it’s easy to view your life as finished when things don’t go your way in a particular situation or experience. It’s important to have a vision of yourself that is larger than the job because, after all, the job comes from you, right"

"I think everyone has a propensity for depression. The trick is to teach your mind to recognise the symptoms ASAP. My two major depressive episodes taught me that everyone’s biggest enemy is their mind. Left to run rampant, our minds can easily become our worst enemies"

"Beyond acting and producing, I really believe that my purpose is to help people win the war against their mental destruction. How do we live beyond the limitations of our bad habits and limiting beliefs? I’m interested in meeting the highest version of who God intended Bonnie to be"

"When you’re going through a lot of emotional turmoil, you spend the bulk of your time running away from your body. Yoga, in my case, returned me to my body. That combination of movement and meditation really flipped the script for me"

"I often liken caring for our mental health to maintaining a healthy immune system. You don’t start boosting your immune system once you’re sick. The point is to keep it healthy so you don’t get sick. I also realised that if we are constantly on the brink of being mentally compromised, anything that life throws our way just tips us over"

"Throughout my 20s, I was depression prone and also suffered from anxiety. The only way to keep a lid on the anxiety was to work out. Exercise went from being about aesthetics to wanting to be mentally sound. Fitness, for me, is key to staying on an even keel"

"If I were to wake up one day and decide not to act anymore, I’d be really grateful to have had those opportunities. I take none of them for granted"

"I’ve been toying with the idea of creating work that educates, stories about ordinary people. I love history, and with the internet becoming more accessible to many, there’s room to create work that speaks to audiences across the globe. There is a series that’s now in post-production which should air later this year. Look out for that one, it’s gonna be fantastic."

"I genuinely respect the gift of storytelling that I’ve been entrusted with. I know it comes from a higher place. Keeping my personal life separate from what I do for a living. At home, I’m a mom, a wife, a neighbour, a sister. I learnt very early in my career not to make the job my life."

"I’ve always wanted to tell stories of dynamic African women such as Nokutela, Charlotte Maxeke… women that history finds a way to erase, those we don’t talk about enough. I feel that is my duty to tell their story," the 39-year-old says about her portrayal of Mdima-Dube being one of her lifelong dreams"

"While I was home taking care of my child, I got time to re-evaluate my life and what I wanted to do next. I used that time to work on myself and take care of my mental health."

"I’ve been very fortunate. Having to work in such a tough yet competitive industry isn't easy. It can be quite difficult to maintain the standard. It’s good to still see that I can be hired for roles on TV."

"I had a life-changing, massive audition for an international show that was going to be on Fox TV, but two months later I heard I didn't get it. I was gutted for months. After that I thought, 'I don't want to act for the rest of the year"

"I call you my struggle child, because you have had to face my hardships. Therefore, our bond and how far we have come cannot match any other. Remember to always pray and give thanks. Listen and have understanding. Work hard and give your absolute best. Focus on the positive. You don’t have to fit in. You are unique and incredibly gifted. I love you to infinity. I would do anything for you. I have your back. I get you. I will always be there, whether in this life or the next. I am with you. I love you so so much, Sipho. Mummy."

"It was good for me to come out of my shell, also to remind myself that I am capable of doing more than what I've always done."

"I think it is difficult being a mom and even falling pregnant when you are in this industry. I feel like in our industry, where we use our bodies to tell stories, we have to work very hard to prove our worth. That is why so many women wait until so late in their life to have kids."

"This time I feel like I have it under control. I have my life together. I am more mature and have more experience. I am not really worried. This time I am more confident and relaxed. I am happier and have more support."

"I would like to believe that I have a very long career ahead of me but I feel like that character is one character that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. It was such an impactful role in so many ways. She went through so much. Anything that you can think of, she went through and that opened my eyes personally to some of the things that people out there go through. I’ll always be grateful for that opportunity and that journey. I grew a lot as a person, it was really a privilege to play such a character"

"To be fair and honest, I did slip into some depression again after that. Our industry is not easy and being an artist is so difficult. Work wasn't coming as fast as I would've liked and hoped so I took some time to go do some training at the Market Theatre, I'm still busy with that, even now. But I will be finished soon. That really did help keep the fire burning and sharpening my skills. As an artist you can't say you have arrived you always have to be learning and any day things can go back to ground zero and you have to hustle again like you haven't been working every day"

"I struggled with depression a lot in those years, with my own things but I also think some of it was the character. Because sometimes I think I would forget it's not me"

"When we were staying in Joburg. We were staying with my aunt and things were not nice there. There was a lot of abuse that I never even spoke about ... they ended up throwing us out of the house and we went to stay in a shack"

"It was a secret, in fact I only told my family after I stopped sleeping in the bathrooms because ... when I started getting sick I realised it was because I was sleeping in the bathroom"

"I'd have to go and sleep in the bathroom before I'd start working. That happened for six months and no-one knew. There was another woman who used to work in the bathrooms who eventually started leaving a blanket for me"

"I chose a long time ago that I will not post anything that will make others feel less than who they are, because social media plays a huge role in people's lives"

"If there is one thing I pray about every day it’s always being humble and always respectful. I pray no amount of money or fame will change that"

"I do not care if you have all the money in the world,but if you do not have respect, wow, I feel sorry for you"

"If I’ve forgotten my heart’s song, they’ve always sung it back to me"

"As a child I felt too scared to exist in this world and the drama and acting gave me chance to go, I might be too scared, but this character might not be. So let me live it out through them"

"She’s taught me that I lose nothing by holding space for a younger actor"

"People have let you into their homes, to be a part of their families every day. So it shows an appreciation for your work and for your gift"