To many of fans she is known as the evil Cherel De Villiers-Haines- Le Roux in the hit SABC 3 soap Isidingo. A woman that fears no one and does all she can to ensure that she is always triumphant, even kill if the situation forces her to.
But the actress that brings the evil Cherel to life is the complete opposite. Michelle Botes (49) is one of the most phenomenal actresses to come out of South Africa. A woman that believes in family, love and hard work in order to gain success, ‘‘I am a true South African, I love my country and the people, my children and I am a woman that embraces the spirit of South Africanism and of course a law abiding citizen that pays her taxes” she says with a smile.
Michelle boats about how proudly South African she is, and how the people of this country have made her appreciate it even more “I love my country so much, the languages and the races, the old and the young, and I recently modelled for David Tlale at his show at the Mandela Bridge, that was also a great experience, and to wear such clothes and South African textures was just too amazing”
As a young girl she has always been passionate about all that she did, and wanting to be the best no matter what and with family that has always supported her she feels blessed. “My children know that what I do as Cherel is different to me being Michelle their mother, they grew up with Cherel and the Isidingo logo to them reminds them of growing up. Every day they witness the transformation from Cherel to Michelle every evening when I get home and remove that make-up”
To many fans the characters they see on TV also become somewhat like family to them too. With watching them every day, some fans even forget that the actor on screen and the character are completely different people. “I’ve had situations where people came up to me and shouted at how evil I am, it is always surprising, it gets overwhelming at times too. It shows you that you are doing a good job and serving your character and the story well”
In 2006 Botes left the world of Horizon Deep and, in story the character of Cherel got arrested after trying to kill her ex-husband Barker Haines (Robert Whitehead) and his late daughter Lee (diseased Ashley Callie). She joined the cast of Binnerlanders playing a role of no nonsense legal eagle Ingrid.
“Change is always good, even if we can’t see it at the time, and even if it is a weird choice it serves to clarify things, and I love change and transformation, so it was great to have a break from being the wicked witch, but playing her again is great”
And when asked what she as Michelle thought about Cherel “No one has ever cared for Cherel that’s why she cares about nobody but herself, I as Michelle, admire Cherel’s ability to never give up and her lust for life. Her absolute belief in herself and willingness to do whatever it takes to survive”
“Oh and how she handles men” she giggles.
Botes has been in numerous television dramas in her early acting days. Under her acting belt she also holds movie credits, and has acted alongside American actor Michael Dudikoff in the 1987 movie American Fighter II.
©You can catch the evil witch on Isidingo Monday to Friday @19:30 during the cricket world cup, on SABC 3©.