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IT is said her visit to see Oliver Mtukudzi was a major highlight as Hollywood met Zimbabwe.
Top award-winning Hollywood actress, Debra Messing was in the country last week albeit not to shoot a sequel to Wedding Date but as the Population Services International (PSI) ambassador.
She was here to attend the ninth presentation of the Auxilia Chimusoro HIV and Aids Awards and to visit HIV programmes funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the United States Agency for International Development and the Global Fund run by implementing partner PSI.
“As a woman and a mother, when I learned that globally, HIV affects women and girls at a disproportionate rate, I decided to use my voice as an ambassador for PSI’s programmes around the world to speak for the millions of women and girls who could not speak for themselves,” Messing told Standardplus.
In the history of Zimbabwe entertainment, it was in 1991 that, for the first time, Aids was listed as the cause of death of a prominent member of the community.
It was the popular “Jit” group Bhundu Boys’ guitarist David Mankaba who made public his illness as part of an Aids awareness campaign.
Messing feels one of the ways to fight the pandemic would be for prominent people affected by the disease to come out in the open.
“It is important for everyone to lead this initiative,” she said.
“I know Tuku who I met is involved in some HIV prevention programmes.
“And all the other people I met here in Zimbabwe who work tirelessly day and night to fight stigma and discrimination are to me the real celebrities and they are leading by example.”
At a private function where Mtukudzi performed for her, Messing danced to the music of the iconic local musician and exclaimed at one point that “the music is good”.
It was hard to have the Will & Grace star concentrate on the shenanigans of Hollywood.
She is obviously passionate about issues to do with Aids and HIV.
“I choose to come to Zimbabwe because I have love for this country.
“You guys went through amazing hardships yet the humbleness and reception I was given touches my heart and shows how great you are as a people,” Messing said.
Messing speaks about Paul Walker her acting instructor with both fondness and sadness: “In 1993 I lost someone very special to me to Aids complications — my acting teacher. It was a devastating loss.
The actress was also exposed to some Zimbabwean dancing, singing and acting and she felt that there was great talent around.
Internationally, Messing is best known for her role on NBC’s Emmy Award-winning comedy series Will & Grace.
She captivated television audiences worldwide for eight seasons with her brilliance as Grace Adler.
For her work on the popular sitcom, Messing won the 2003 Emmy Award and has earned numerous accolades, including several Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actors Guild nominations.
In 2001, Messing collected the TV Guide’s Actress of the Year in a Comedy Series honour and was awarded a Screen Actors Guild award with the cast of Will & Grace.
She also portrayed Mary Magdalene in the four-hour CBS miniseries, Jesus, and starred in the USA miniseries The Starter Wife with Joe Mantegna.
Messing’s recent film work includes several romantic comedies, including The Wedding Date, box office hit Along Came Polly, with Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston and The Women, alongside Annette Benning and Meg Ryan.
BY JOHN MOKWETSI
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