BY FREEMAN MAKOPA HOLLYWOOD-BASED Zimbabwean actress Sibongile Mlambo’s star continues to shine after she was selected to feature in a forthcoming Black Lightning’s spin-off Painkiller series set to hit the big screen this year. The soft-spoken actress is among other Zimbabwean actors such as Rick Cosnett, Danai Gurira and Tongai Chirisa, who have starred on Hollywood films. In the series that will air as the seventh episode of Black Lightning’s fourth season currently airing on The CW, Mlambo is set to star as Maya, who is described as a “strikingly attractive woman yet is icy and mysterious”. Further, she is considered a natural leader who immediately gives the impression of someone who expects results and should not to be messed around with. Speaking to NewsDay Life & Style, Mlambo said she was honoured to have been given a role in the movie. “I am so excited and honoured to be part of the Back Lightning spin-off Painkiller. The network, studio, producing and directing team, as well as my co-stars, are all people I have admired. To be able to stand among them and play, especially during a pandemic, is such a blessing. I hope we make something you will all enjoy,” she said. Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Mlambo said her passion for the arts started when she was part of the international cast of the film Kini & Adams. She went on to feature in local commercials as she also expanded into dancing and modelling. Mlambo is popularly known for starring in Netflix’s Lost in Space (2018 TV series), the Starz historical adventure television series Black Sails and in films such as Honey 3 and The Last Face. She is also known for her role as Tamora Monroe on the MTV television series Teen Wolf, as Donna on the Freeform television series Siren, and voicing Melusi in the Ubisoft multiplayer game Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege. She will also be seen in the forthcoming production Short Blackout and is currently shooting a recurring role on Roswell, New Mexico series. The talented Hollywood actress left Zimbabwe in 2005 to pursue her education in the United States and has lived in Texas, New York and briefly in Spain. Follow Freeman on Twitter @freemanmakopa