She has become what she always dreamt of being. She has spoken life into her wildest dreams.
With her acting career on solid ground now, she has branched into entrepreneurship.
It all began when she was in pre-school, preparing for her first stage acting role. By the age of 11, she knew her heart was in acting.
SABC 1 at 8pm and SABC 2 at 9pm were her inspiration.
Candy Magidimisa would watch Connie Ferguson play Karabo Moroka on Generations, Sindi Dlathu play her iconic character of Thandaza Mukwevho on Muvhango and like most, she fell in love with the art instantly through them.
“I remember telling my mother that I will be an actress one day and I will start working on Muvhango and go overseas and have my own production,” she recalls.
Being a young girl from a Venda township called Shayandima in Limpopo, there was little at her disposal to push her dreams. But not even that didn't stop her from chasing them.
After high school, the young township girl packed up and headed to City of Gold to study. She enrolled for a course that was meant to lead towards a 'stable' income.
But she hated studying banking at the University of Johannesburg, so she had the difficult conversation with her mother.
“My mother finally allowed me to go and study what I love, which is a Bachelor of Arts in live performance, majoring in acting [at AFDA]” and she got her degree.
For someone who had went to Johannesburg because she believed that’s where her puzzle would come together, she never thought her breakthrough would actually come from where she was born and raised – Venda.
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Although she started small, playing Sharon on Muvhango has been a full circle experience.
“I started acting on Muvhango as a Vendashian, Mpho’s friend who was just a model supporting Mpho’s storyline. But my character grew as I became Gizara Mukwevho’s daughter, a Royal member. Then I became Dukathole manager and now I’m a businesswoman in my own story, owning Waterside restaurant. And only God knows what’s next,” she tells Drum.
From her growth in the character, the 30-year-old has learned to “dream big and to be persistent with what she wants and to work hard. And that it’s okay to start small and grow.”
The thespian says young girls could also learn a thing or two from Sharon, who started off as a waitress and went on to become a restaurant owner.
“South African young girls are becoming lazy and picky when it comes to jobs. They would rather stay at home and do nothing instead of working in restaurant as waiter or a receptionist.
“When Sharon wanted to get into business nobody believed in her. She didn’t get any support from the family as well. That didn’t stop her from becoming a restaurant owner. She left no stone unturned to get what she wanted, even though the royal family expected her to give up since she didn’t have their support,” she says.
In reality, Candy’s not so different from Sharon as she has also recently ventured into entrepreneurship. She credits her mother for the woman she has become.
“My mother, Rose, who is now late, played a major role in the woman I’ve become as she was an independent woman who taught me everything I know. I am a strong spiritual believer and I enjoy helping people because of her. She taught me to be strong and have courage and to trust God with all my heart and not to lean on my own understanding.”
She adds that “I am independent because of her teachings. Which is the reason I named my company King Rose Production & Marketing.”
Her goal is to be the world’s next Tyler Perry – “to produce movies and also act in my own films”.
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Candy was meant to start her company before Covid-19 in 2020 but things were just not falling into place. Throughout, she believed that “it was not the right time. When the time is right, He (God) will make it happen with the right people. So, when Covid-19 came, it made sense as to why he didn’t want me to do it then because everything was standing still.”
When Covid restrictions eased, it was now time for her to hit the ground running and she hasn’t looked back ever since.
Shortly after registering the company, her face was in demand for brand ambassadorship and before she knew it, the company was shooting her first TV commercial and providing marketing services to MANICS group.
The journey has not all been smooth though.
Some of the lessons she's learnt include: “The patience to wait for your season of abundance, how you contain yourself and what to do when you are in the waiting season. And when everything happens at the same time and you struggle to deliver your best because you are distracted by other things you are busy with.”
She doesn't fear challenges. In her acting career, she goes for strong, challenging roles that “help me grow my career and perfect my acting skills. I find easy roles very boring and not challenging, they just don’t serve a purpose.”
Even though she's ventured into business, Candy will never give up her first love - acting.
