Hanging with Neen

Neen is a mother, businesswoman, fiancée and singer.

She’s been engaged to Francois Wolmarans for 18 years and they have two children, Chermelé and Dwight.

“My kids come first at the end of the day,” Verneen says. Whether it is her singing career or day job, she will drop everything to come to the aid of her children.

Verneen says her strong support structure has helped her through difficult times and has always been there through the good times too.

Her parents encouraged her to sing and they still help her where they can. Whether it is by looking after her children or watching her shows, they are always standing right behind her pushing her forward and telling her to ‘put on her Big Girl Panties’.

Neen’s parents are the ones who got her into singing when they took her to a bar on a karaoke night and made her sing.

Their encouragement and her love for music helped her to become the singer she is today.

She sings everything from Kings of Leon to Freddie Mercury, but her favourite singer is Cher. She loves her music so much, she names her daughter after her.

She is flexible and crosses genres, from country music to Metallica, and she enjoys it all.

Because of this, her shows will appeal to a wide audience.

Neen released a solo album in 2001 and has worked with many artists from Kurt Darren to Watershed. But she loved working with JJ Stevens most of all because of his professionalism and work ethic.

As if being a mom, businesswoman, singer and songwriter wasn’t enough, she is involved with the South African Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (SACMEC) and helps with the Missing Persons Road Show.

Psychologists working for the police give her information that she works through to create a script for the show.

She also created a character called ‘Chirpy’, a parrot that sings songs about not talking to strangers and using the Internet safely, to help educate children. She chose a parrot as the mascot, as parrots don’t keep quiet.

Neen and her friend Kathy Low started a two-hour cabaret show, Green Door, three months ago in which the two are big girls in fishnet stockings and mini skirts. The cabaret has performed mostly for corporate events and at restaurant theatres.

Verneen would like the show to go tour South Africa and making it onto a stage.

Even though she is a very busy lady, she still finds time to be a part of her children’s lives and have a professional career.

When asked how she does it she says, “It’s balance and time management”, but her children always come first.

Verneen Grieve is a kind and fun a person with a loving heart that opens up for her community and loves the people around her.

She is very enthusiastic when it comes to volunteer work as she is known as the ‘Ring Master of Oppenheimer Circle’ where she can be seen cleaning up the park on a regular basis.

This bundle of energy who is always ready to help those in need is trying to organise a soup kitchen and a veggie patch for the community of Selection Park on top of everything else.

Please put in a box

– Neen was born on December 5,1979.

– She is an animal lover and has two dogs, Sheba and Cheeky.

– She once fell off the stage at the Springs Civic Theatre while singing Falling into You by Celine Dion.

– She loves reading and encourages her children to read.

– She enjoys cooking and gardening.

– She describes herself as freaky, spontaneous, weird and crazy.

– She won a Legend Artes Award with Bollywood singer Kyle.

– She had two fish named Gin and Tonic because she was once at a cocktail event and they were in a ‘Fish Bowl’.

– She can play the drums and guitar, but she doesn’t play in public, she only plays them while writing songs.

– Her twitter handle is @nienkiedam.