[2] After matriculating at Harold Cressy High School, Kadalie attended the University of the Western Cape, where she studied library science and anthropology.
[6] She also published social and political commentary in both English and Afrikaans, in which capacity she was often highly critical of the African National Congress government.
[8] Their only child, Julia Bertelsmann, became an economist, and she married American politician Joel Pollak in 2009 during a ceremony at the residence of Helen Zille, then the Premier of the Western Cape.
[7][13] Pollak, who is a Republican campaigner, suggested that Kadalie supported "the ongoing anti-'woke' backlash" and admired Trump "as a skollie – a 'ruffian,' in South African slang – who would shake up a complacent American establishment".
[6][8] A memorial service was held in Rondebosch, Cape Town in June, and Helen Zille was among the speakers; she joked that Kadalie's character was such that she could have made a success of any pursuit "except a diplomatic career".