Leleti Khumalo (born 30 March 1970) is a South African actress known for her leading role in the movie and stage play '' Sarafina!'' and for her roles in other films such as ''

Hotel Rwanda ''Hotel Rwanda'' is a 2004 drama film directed by Terry George. It was adapted from a screenplay co-written by George and Keir Pearson, and stars Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo as hotelier Paul Rusesabagina and his wife Tatiana. Based on the ...

'', '' Yesterday'' and ''

Invictus "Invictus" is a short poem by the Victorian era British poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903). It was written in 1875 and published in 1888 in his first volume of poems, ''Book of Verses'', in the section ''Life and Death (Echoes)''. Backgr ...

'', as well as the soap opera Imbewu: The Seed where she plays Nokubonga "MaZulu" Bhengu. And the

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 ...

as MaNzuza In Sarafina!, She struggled for freedom for black people during Apartheid. We know her as a song called ' Freedom is coming Tomorrow ' which is sang by Khanyo Maphumulo

Early life and ''Sarafina!''

Khumalo was born in

KwaMashu KwaMashu is a township (South Africa), township north of Durban, South Africa. The name is in honour of Sir Marshall Campbell and means ''Place of Marshall''. KwaMashu is bordered by Newlands East to the south, Newlands West to the west, Ntuzuma t ...

township, north of

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, South Africa. Showing an interest in performing from an early age, she joined a youth backyard dance group called Amajika, mentored by Tu Nokwe. In 1985 she auditioned for the

Mbongeni Ngema Mbongeni Ngema (born 1 June 1956) is a South African writer, lyricist, composer, director, choreographer and theatre producer, born in Verulam, KwaZulu-Natal (near Durban). He started his career as a theatre backing guitarist. He wrote the mu ...

musical which was to become the international blockbuster '' Sarafina!''; Ngema wrote the lead character of Sarafina for Khumalo. She later married him, but they divorced. She is currently married to businessman Skhutazo Winston Khanyile and she gave birth to their twins Ulwenzile and Yamukelani Khanyile. Khumalo performed the role of Sarafina on stages in South Africa and on Broadway, where she received a 1988

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. '' Sarafina!'' had a Broadway run lasting two years, after which the production embarked on a worldwide tour. In 1987 Khumalo received a NAACP Image Award for Best Stage Actress. In 1992, she starred alongside

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...

Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including African popular music, Afropop, jazz, a ...

and

John Kani Bonisile John Kani (born 30 August 1943) is a South African actor, author, director and playwright. He is known for portraying T'Chaka in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films '' Captain America: Civil War'' (2016) and ''Black Panther'' (2018), ...

Darrell James Roodt Darrell James Roodt (born in Johannesburg, 28 April 1962) is a South African film director, screenwriter and producer. He is probably most well known for his 1992 film '' Sarafina!'' which starred actress Whoopi Goldberg. Also regarded as Sou ...

's film version of '' Sarafina!'', which had a worldwide distribution, and became the biggest film production to be released on the African continent. Khumalo was nominated for an

Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

, together with

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and

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

. Based on the 1976 Soweto youth uprisings, Sarafina! tells the story of a young school girl who is not afraid to fight for her rights and inspires her peers to rise up in protest, especially after her inspirational teacher, Mary Masombuka (Goldberg) is imprisoned and murdered. In 1993, Khumalo released her first album, ''Leleti and Sarafina''. Sarafina! was re-released in South Africa on 16 June 2006 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the youth uprisings in

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

Subsequent roles

Khumalo co-starred in

's international musical ''Magic at 4 AM'' which was dedicated to

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. She subsequently starred in another Ngema musical, ''Mama'' (1996), which toured Europe and Australia. In 1997, she starred in '' Sarafina 2''. Khumalo starred in the 2004 movies ''

'' and '' Yesterday''; the latter was nominated for a 2005

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

in the category "Best Foreign Language Film". ''Yesterday'' also scooped the Best Film award at

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Pune International Film Festival The Pune International Film Festival (also known as PIFF) is an annual film festival held in Pune, a city in Maharashtra, India. Open to general public, the films are screened at NFAI, Inox, City Pride, PVR cinema halls, all located in Pune ...

and had positive reactions at the

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

and Toronto International Film Festivals. Khumalo joined the cast of one of

South Africa's South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

longest running soap operas, '' Generations'' in 2005 as Busiswe (Busi) Dlomo, a ''refined and altruistic no-nonsense woman who heads up her own publishing empire, based in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

''. Her character is the younger sister to Sibusiso Dlomo and has none of the power-hungry, egotistical and callous characteristics he (Sibusiso) has. She has used her intellect and savvy to get where she is today, at the helm of South Africa's fictional top communications company, Ezweni, which she runs with her brother and founder Karabo Moroka. In 2015 Khumalo joined the cast of ''

'' and played as Zandile "MaNzuza" Mdletshe. The role marked her first on-screen appearance after a two-year hiatus from acting to raise her children. In 2015 Leleti was invited to Zanzibar Island, Tanzania, as a chief guest of the famous African film festivals known as the Zanzibar film Festivals, for its 18th anniversary celebrations. She currently plays Mazulu on

e.tv e.tv (commonly referred to on-air as e) is the first and only privately owned free-to-air television station in South Africa. It is the fifth terrestrial television channel in the country, following three channels that are operated by the sta ...

's Imbewu.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Images of Khumalo in the movie ''Yesterday''''Generations'' Cast Bio for Khumalo

Leleti Khumalo
a
Who's Who Southern Africa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khumalo, Leleti 1970 births Living people Actors from Durban South African film actresses South African musical theatre actresses