Jessica Nkosi (born 20 January 1990) is an Award-Winning South African actress and TV presenter, best known for her leading roles in

M-Net M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

commissioned telenovelas

Isibaya ''Isibaya'' was a South African daily drama series that started production in 2013, premiering on Mzansi Magic and created by Angus Gibson, Desiree Markgraaff, Teboho Mahlatsi, Catherine Stewart and Benedict Carton. Siyabonga Thwala leads the mal ...

, Ayeye, ,The Queen, and Lavish.

Early life

Jessica Nkosi was born in

Empangeni Empangeni is a city in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is approximately 157 kilometres north of Durban, in hilly countryside, overlooking a flat coastal plain and the major harbour town of Richards Bay 16 kilometres away. The N2 freeway runs east ...

, KwaZulu-Natal to Jabu Nkosi and Nhlanhlayethu Ntuli. Nkosi moved to

Eshowe Eshowe is the oldest town of European settlement in Zululand, historically also known as Eziqwaqweni, Ekowe or kwaMondi. Eshowe's name is said to be inspired by the sound of wind blowing through the more than 4 km² of the indigenous Dlinza ...

, KwaZulu-Natal after the separation of her parents. While Nkosi was in Grade 11, her father died from

Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma, in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the patient's lymph nodes. The condition w ...

. Nkosi attended the

University of KwaZulu-Natal The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) is a university with five campuses in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville. ...

. Although she began her studies pursuing a Bachelor's Degree in Law, she later switched to studies toward a Bachelor's Degree in Drama and Performing Arts from which she graduated in 2012.

Personal life

On September 2018, Nkosi and her partner

Uzalo ''Uzalo'' is a South African soap opera produced by Stained Glass Productions, which is co-owned by Kobedi "Pepsi" Pokane and Gugu Zuma-Ncube. It began airing in 2015, quickly becoming a hit due to its compelling narrative, writing, direction an ...

actor, Ntokozo Dlamini welcomed their daughter, Namisa Dlamini.

Career

Acting

In 2013, Jessica Nkosi debuted her acting career with the role of Qondisile on the South African telenovela ''

''. In 2015, she starred as Eve on

Mzansi Magic Mzansi Magic is a South African digital satellite and general entertainment channel created by Multichoice and run by M-Net's local interest division, and is broadcast on DStv. History The channel launched in mid-July 2010 on channel 107 as ...

's ''Ayeye''. In 2020, Jessica began her new role as main female villain Thando Sebata on the popular South African telenovela, ''

The Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

''.

MC and Presenting

In 2017, Nkosi made her TV presenter debut as co-host on

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

's ''A-List'' alongside her ''

'' co-star Nomzamo Mabtha. Nkosi has made appearances on numerous award shows such as the Channel O Music Video Awards, the

MTV Africa Music Awards The MTV Africa Music Awards (also known as the MAMAs) were established in 2008 by MTV Networks Africa (now Viacom International Media Networks Africa) to celebrate the most popular contemporary music in Africa. The 2008 and 2010 events took pla ...

, V-Entertainment and other shows. She has appeared on variety shows such as MTV's ''Lip Sync Battle Africa'' as a celebrity guest. Nkosi first appeared on '' Our Perfect Wedding'' show as a guest presenter and later went on to host the show for the next season.

Brand Ambassador A brand ambassador (sometimes also called a corporate ambassador) is a person engaged by an organization or company to represent its brand in a positive light, helping to increase brand awareness and sales. The brand ambassador is meant to emb ...

* Durban Tourism - Ambassador *

Clinique Clinique Laboratories, LLC () is an American manufacturer of skincare, cosmetics, toiletries and fragrances, usually sold in high-end department stores. It is a subsidiary of the Estée Lauder Companies. As of 2019, Clinique has over 22,000 cust ...

- Global Ambassador *

Volvo The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...

- Ambassador * G.H. Mumm - Ambassador

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nkosi, Jessica 1990 births Living people South African actresses South African television presenters South African women television presenters