By Wanique Block
If you’re like me and you love scrolling through apps like Tik Tok, Instagram and YouTube; whether that be for inspiration, entertainment or just some tea, then you’re bound to come across fast-rising YouTube sensation and actress Neo Rapetsoa.
Neo first came to our attention when she graced our YouTube screens with conversational content that was not only an authentic reflection of her life but content that was relatable and inspiring.
Upon cementing herself as a digital content creator Neo has used creative mediums such as story time videos, vlogs and images as a means for storytelling. In doing so she has remained deeply connected to her audience.
“I love storytelling with everything in me! It’s a way to escape my reality. It allows me normalize and adapt to other people’s realities and worlds”, Neo tells Kaya 959.
Now as an actress Neo prides herself in telling stories that are authentic to the experiences of Black women, and in turn challenging societies preconceived notions about who Black women are.
“My favourite stories to tell are of course the stories of Black women. The reason for this is that people often have generic ideas and faces for what and who Black women are. For me finding out why and understanding the histories and backgrounds of Black Women is one of my favourite things to do because it’s a way to acknowledge people who don’t feel heard or seen”, Neo shares.
As a digital content creator, and a very good one at that, Neo lets me know that becoming a digital content creator wasn’t necessarily something that she planned on doing.
“With digital content creation. It just happened. It’s not something that I planned for.”
She does however reiterate the fact that she always knew she wanted to pursue acting.
With both her dad and grandfather working in the theatre/acting industry, Neo caught the acting bug quite early on in her childhood, so it was certainly a no-brainer that she would now be emersed into choosing it as a long-term career path.
“I always knew that I wanted to become an actress. I grew up in the theatre. My father and grandfather are producers, directors and writers; so, I basically grew up around actors and the theatre space”.
Neo is a final year student in Live performance, Television and Theatre, a digital content creator and a full time actress; a multi-hyphenate of note.
“Don’t stop falling in love with what you’re doing”, these are the eloquent words Neo shares with me when I ask her about the advice she would give younger creatives.
Her poised response is an indication about how passionate Neo is about her craft as a digital content creator and actress.
With passion and drive like Neo, it is clear that she is indeed a force to be reckoned with.
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