Pearl Thusi

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

Hey Rebels, if you're listening to this podcast, you love stories about girls being brave and strong, taking on big challenges, and embarking on adventures.

Well, this fall, movie studio Leica, who made the movie Coraline, is coming out with a new epic fantasy adventure. It's called Wildwood, and it's about a girl who ventures into a dangerous hidden forest to rescue her baby brother. It's a tale of love, loss, and secrets, and of the magic you can find on your doorstep. If you're willing to look for it, the film features vocal performances from Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, and Angela Bassett. Most of all, the film asks one very rebel question. How far would you go for those you love? This movie is gorgeous and handcrafted for the big screen. So go check it out. Wildwood is in theaters everywhere October 23rd. Tickets are on sale now.

Zeylie (0:53)

Welcome to Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. I'm Zeylie from Nashville. I'm eight years old and I'm interviewing Pearl Thusi, who was the narrator of last week's episode of Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. If you haven't heard last week's episode, now is a good time to go back and check it out.

Pearl, would you like to introduce yourself?

Pearl Thusi (1:19)

Hi, I'm Symbi Letrola, Pearl Thusi, and I'm a South African actress who plays Queen Sono on Netflix's very first African original, Queen Sono. I'm also a mother of two. My first daughter is 12 years old and the other is five years old. And I'm very excited to share the story with you today.

Zeylie (1:37)

What makes you a Rebel Girl?

Pearl Thusi (1:38)

I'm a Rebel Girl because I've always challenged the status quo. I've never wanted to have a normal life. I wanted to have an extraordinary life. And I realized from a very young age that I have to do extraordinary things in order to live a life that was much bigger than what I ever hoped for.

And I wanted to make my mom and dad very proud. I was scared of letting myself down. And I always think of the child that I was and who I've become. And who I've become is based on the promises I made to myself as a kid, which was to take care of animals and live an extraordinary life. So basically, the child that I was inspires the adult that I am today. And I want to make sure that every kid out there knows that they are incredible, that you're amazing. And whatever promise you make to yourself right now, you must make sure that the grown up you always makes the child that was you very proud. I hope that makes sense.

Zeylie (2:32)

Tell us about the amazing work you're doing with Europa Art and the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

Pearl Thusi (2:39)

So, Europa Art is a company that sells shoes and I work with them as their ambassador.

So, we decided to come together, bring some money together and partner up with a company that makes shoes that are from recycled materials. So, in that way, we were also helping the environment and help provide shoes for, well, 10,000 pairs of shoes to kids out there. And that was very exciting because a lot of children in South Africa and around the continent don't have shoes to go to school and a lot of them have to walk to school. So, you can imagine how uncomfortable it must be, especially in the winter, for those kids to walk to school without any shoes. We wanted to make sure that we leave a legacy of hope, like Nelson Mandela wanted us to do, to continue with his legacy, which is very important. I think that to make sure you have some sort of footprint in the future, you have to help children of today because they are the ones carrying the legacy, not only for the community, but for the entire country, and we need to empower that legacy by empowering young children.

SPEAKER_1 (3:41)

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