This story originally appeared in the February 2019 issue.
One of South Africa’s reigning media stars—and globe-trotters—is 31-year-old Bonang Matheba. Affectionately called Queen B by her fans, Matheba broke out when she started hosting the popular music show LIVE in 2007. She went on to become an entrepreneur and a star of her own reality series, Being Bonang, on the 1Magic channel, which earned her a spot on the Forbes “13 African Celebrities to Watch in 2013” list.
Take one look at Matheba’s social-media feed and you’ll find her touring Brazil and bringing heat to Zanzibar as she balances worldwide travel with her busy work schedule. “From the beginning of my career, all the way through 2017, my traveling was really centered around work,” she reveals. “When I turned 30, I became a completely different woman. I felt I needed to be in charge of my time and carve my work in ways that take me to places that I want to visit.”
For Matheba, exploring the globe has opened her mind and helped her to expand her hustle, and she encourages other women of color to do the same—and maybe even find a boo along the way. “Mentally, travel inspires me,” she says. “You see people living lives that are attainable. It also introduces you to so many people, especially potential husband material.” Though she is able to visit some of the world’s most exotic locales, it’s seeing her home continent that fills her with pride. Here she shares her favorite African hot spots, her bucket-list dreams and some reasons why it’s important for our people to visit the homeland.
HER HOT SPOTS: “I love Lagos, Nigeria. It has the best nightlife and the most wonderful, inspirational people in the creative arts. And, of course, Cape Town is always magical.”
HER BUCKET LIST: “I would love to see the Okavango Delta in Botswana and the Great Migration of wildebeests, zebras and gazelles in Kenya. I also want to visit Mount Kilimanjaro, Marrakesh and Cairo, and I would really love to see Madagascar. It’s so weird, wonderful and close by. No one says much about Madagascar, but when I research it and look at pictures, it’s got so many beautiful spaces and destinations, like Miavana Resort in Nosy Ankao.”
HER TOP TIP: “See Africa before you see the rest of the world because it introduces you to so many cultures, places and foods. You’ll realize how big the African continent really is.”
