Editor: True Love

It’s been a steady climb to the pinnacle of the magazine world for 33-year-old Lerato Tshabalala. In 2011 she became editor of True Love, the bible for black women for 41 years and one of only a few titles catering to the interests of black women — a fact she considers “shocking”. She moved into the hot seat in 2011 and during her editorship the magazine has, at times, reached the record sales figure of 90 000. Among the steps in her climb to the top she counts being a writer for Fairlady, women’s editor of Drum, senior writer at O, the Oprah magazine and Marie Claire, and assistant editor of Real. In 2004 she won a Mondi award for best feature with a piece provocatively titled “Would you put this up your vagina?”. Now she has another target in her sights. “DJ Fresh has my dream job. Maybe I’ll be DJ Gogo in my 50s!”

— Joonji Mdyogolo

Twitter: @LeratoTJ