Berneen Cereska

Berneen Cereska Biography

Early Life

Berneen was born in Durban, South Africa and lived there until she was 18 years old. She attended Everest Primary School in her junior years and went on to attend Pinetown Girls High School. She started acting in primary school with her first professional performance in a play called Women which was presented at the Playhouse, Durban. She continued acting in school performances and local shows. At the age of 13, Berneen discovered her passion for music. She formed a band with her sister and cousin but that venture was short lived. At 16 she recorded her first demo. A song called Sweet Love, which was written by her. At 18 she left South Africa to pursue a career in London, UK with only 300 pounds in her pocket and a place to stay for 1 week. She found a job at Golds Gym in West London and continued recording and started dancing at the famous Pineapple Dance Studios.

Career

2007 to 09

After travelling on holiday to Lithuania, Berneen was offered a record deal by an Indie Label in the country. She accepted the deal but later ended the agreement due to a lack of activity from the label. While in Lithuania she participated in Kelias i Zvaigzdes 3 which was a Lithuanian show similar to X Factor. She travelled and performed throughout the country with the show and went on to the final stage. Her participation was seen as controversial as she did not speak Lithuanian and was also the first foreigner to appear on the show. All the songs performed had to be done in the Lithuanian language which was extremely challenging for Berneen. The show was a milestone in her career and gained her immense popularity quickly. She went on to play a lead role in a special Christmas production called Egle Zalciu Karaliene, which is the Lithuanian version of the English fairy tale Cinderella. Berneen playing Egle, which is similar to the character Cinderella. Berneen playing the role received mixed reactions as many felt that the role should only be played by a Lithuanian National. She went on to perform and act in productions such a Zvaigzdziu Duetai 2, Laba Diena as well as numerous televised concerts including opening for Snoop Dogg alongside artist Sezzy. She was also the first host for the show Kakadu, which is now on its 9^th season.

Racial Attack

In April 2008 Berneen was physically attacked in a public street while out with a friend. The attack was racially driven and carried out by members of a nationalist group. At the time Berneen was a participant on the show Zvaigzdziu Duetai 2. Following a news press conference about the attack Berneen announced that she had decided to leave the show and take a break from entertainment for a short period. The attacker was later caught and convicted. The case raised much awareness about the issues surrounding racism in Lithuania.

In 2009, she decided to leave Lithuania for a new challenge and decided to pursue a career in music in the English market. Performing in the Lithuanian language came with many challenges but resulted in a strong foundation for her future music career. She performed in English for the first time at the 2009 TV3 season opening and then left the country a few weeks later.

She then moved back to London.

2011 to 2014

Berneen met an American music producer/label owner Alim Salahud-din and moved to Qatar. She signed an agreement with the label I.AM.THE.FUTURE MUSIC GROUP. She went on to release the EP Lasers, Love and Lipstick in 2012. The EP went online for a period of about 2 weeks and was then removed. It was never further promoted or released. In 2014, she spilt from the label. No official reasons were given. This was a difficult time for her as a lot of time and effort had been put into her music which did not result in what she had hoped. However, it was a valuable learning experience.

2015 to Present

Berneen decided to take on a new challenge in her career and started her own company. Not A Robot Entertainment was the result of this. She is currently working on new music ventures with plans to release later in 2017.

Discography

Lasers, Love and Lipstick 2012

Singles

Filmography

Television