Eugenie Heyns

(b. 11/06/1925 – d. **/**/****). Actress. Though her parents were not keen on her following a theatrical career, Eugenie Heyns joined the student group Voorslag-Geselskap while studying for a degree at the University of Pretoria. This was followed by a number of leading parts for the Volksteater under Anna Neethling-Pohl. Her stage appearances included Skewe Straatjie (1945), with Jan Schutte and Gert van den Bergh; the female lead in Romeo and Juliet (1949) opposite Leon Gluckman, directed by André van Gyseghem and staged at the Wits Great Hall and the Pretoria Opera House for the Johannesburg Repertory Theatre to celebrate its 21st anniversary; and two smaller parts in Macbeth, with André Huguenet and Anna Neethling-Pohl for the Nasionale Toneelorganisasie (NTO).

While at the Volksteater she was spotted by director Pierre de Wet and given a screen test for his (and her) first film, Pinkie se Erfenis (1946). They subsequently married and she acted in three more films, all directed by her husband: Geboortegrond (1946), Simon Beyers (1947) and Kom Saam Vanaand! (1949). (FO)