The words encourage, empower and embrace have guided actress, model and self-acceptance advocate Marciel Hopkins throughout her life. Now, she’s using her journey to empower others
Bridging the gap between body positivity and social media stereotypes, with her unparalleled passion for women empowerment, South African TV personality, actress and internationally renowned model Marciel Hopkins uses her transformational weight- loss journey and motivational speaking expertise to encourage women of all ages to embrace their bodies, aim for consistent growth and practise self-acceptance. ‘From a very young age, I knew that I wanted to live an inspiring life,’ she explains. Marciel graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Drama from the University of Stellenbosch and completed her Honours degree in Psychology. In 2016, she had her first big break when she was selected as a Top 12 Miss South Africa finalist and leveraged this platform to establish deep connections and relationships with individuals from diverse backgrounds, who continue to play an important role in her life today.
‘I think it’s important to be a good listener and to really find people fascinating. It’s brought me very far and allowed me to build those bonds with people. I think the biggest thing when it comes to relationship building is to remain authentic,’ she says. Just by chatting to Marciel, there’s an unbridled sense of humility and appreciation for her success and those who have unconditionally supported her throughout her journey.
Aspiring To Inspire
When it comes to advice, Marciel’s encouragement is slightly unconventional. ‘You should be able to “chameleon”. I think often we are so focused on being the actor or the actress, we miss opportunities to work behind the scenes, in costume, make-up or the production side where you get to understand how things need to flow; just sitting behind a director, being an assistant. I’ve learnt so many nuances from behind the scenes and this has made me a better actress,’ she shares. Off the screen, Marciel describes herself as a sociable and adventurous individual, who enjoys spending quality time with her friends and family over an intimate meal, but by the same token loves the outdoors, hiking and taking full advantage of new experiences.
She’s a major advocate for loving the life you create for yourself, and it’s evident in all of her activities and opportunities. ‘This is a very interesting topic for me to reflect on. We often wait for the time to work on our self-care and I realised that this was one of my big reminders for this year. It’s so important to make that time, so I promised myself this year to say “no more”. I was stuck in a mindset of just doing as much as possible and not thinking or reflecting about what is beneficial for me.’ Some of the things she enjoys doing are being by herself at home with her cat, reading, taking a long bath and enjoying solitude. ‘It’s so important for us to be okay with being alone because that’s the time we really reflect, do our internal work and regroup for what is to come,’ she says.
Body Image Journey
As a young girl, Marciel dreamed of becoming a model and a Miss Inter-schools finalist. ‘I was always a curvy girl, I was a size 14 in high school and during this time the beauty standard was very boxed in, you needed to be skinny, tall and have that perfect bikini body.’ For this reason, Marciel never had the opportunity to participate and perceived herself as ‘too big’ to join a modelling agency – that was until she met a previous year’s Miss South Africa finalist, who visited her university residence at the time to do a motivational talk. Marciel, who also participated in some of the speaking and guest thanking, was approached and encouraged to enter The Miss South Africa pageant. ‘It was just the right place, right time. I had the motivation and drive to do it, so I decided to give it a go. I had nothing to lose except a bit of weight (I always joke about that).
I started working out with a personal trainer, prepping myself, changing my lifestyle, training two to three hours a day, eating no carbs, sugar or alcohol and I lost 14 kg within four months.’ Although Marciel went on to achieve great success during her time as a contestant in the Miss SA pageant, she recounts how unsustainable and extreme the lifestyle was for her health and fitness. Marciel has since taken on a more enlightened approach to well-being, and even offers an 8-week Feel Good Fitness ebook training package, which she worked on with a personal trainer, and is available for purchase on her website. These workouts were designed to be done at home and accommodate people with a busy schedule.
She believes in maintaining a holistic approach when it comes to being healthy. ‘You can’t only focus on one or two things in isolation – health is so holistic. It’s our mind space, mental health, relationships, the workspaces we find ourselves in. So for me it’s about focusing on the balance of overall well-being and making sure all those things are in place. Not just your exercise regime and how oftenyou eat your greens.’
Words by Aadilah Hallam
Photography Chanelle Naudt
