Vintage Acterss Antoinette Louw was born on May 9, 1975 in Pretoria, South African. She is best known for her role as “Inge”, the manager of the boutique in the popular South African soap opera 7de Laan. Her parents, Dap Louw and Anet Louw, are professors in psychology and have written psychology handbooks for South African universities together. Her younger brother, Dap, is also a doctor in urology and an Iron man finisher.
Antoinette was raised in Potchefstroom, Vanderbijlpark and Bloemfontein, and she also attended school in the United States of America where as father did research and teaching at various universities. In 1991, her family moved to Bloemfontein, and Antoinette matriculated in 1993 at Sentraal Hoërskool, Bloemfontein. She studied drama at the University of the Free State (UOFS) and received her degree cum laude in 1996.
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In her third year in the university, she tried her hand as producer and director of the play, The Woman Who Cooked her Husband, a black comedy by the British playwright Debbie Issit. The production was invited to perform in London at the Courtyard Theatre. During her studies she was also awarded the:
- André du Plessis award for best second year drama student
- South African Theatre Journal award for best third year drama student
- Elsa Krantz award for best drama student 1994-1996
- UOFS Merit Bursary for Arts and Culture
- UOFS Honorary Colours for Arts and Culture
She later returned to South Africa after a few months in London and studied film acting at the South African School of Film and Dramatic Arts (AFDA) under the direction of award winning playwright, Deon Opperman. There she landed the lead in the M-Net shortfilm, Skidmarks. She was awarded both the AFDA and M-Net Awards for Best Film Actress for her role as Stacey, a second rate beauty queen.
After AFDA, she took a break from the entertainment industry for a couple of years during which she lived in Malta, a small Mediterranean island, for a year. Back in South Africa, she decided to go into acting and writing and shortly after her arrival in Johannesburg, she landed the role of “Inge van Schalkwyk” in 7de Laan. The original contract of which was three weeks became two years.
However, after two years on the soap opera, she returned to the stage. Recently she was seen at KKNK, Aardklop and the Volksblad Arts Festival as ‘Anna’ in the upsetting Dis ek, Anna – the stage adaptation of the book with the same title. Currently she is also in veteran film maker Jan Scholtz’ first play, Afspraak, with Paul Eilers in the director’s chair.
Antoinette has starred in movies like: Jacob’s Cross, Deeltitel Dames, Groen Mamba, Fiesta, Die laaste tango Fiesta, and also in theatre where she has featured in the following: Engele sonder vlerke, Die Trommel lead, Simple Bloody Simon, Dis ek, Anna, Afspraak.
