Leleti Khumalo is a renowned South African actress famous for her role on Sarafina and currently playing Mazulu on Imbewu. In the face of having a career straddling over several decades, Leleti continues to mesmerize audiences worldwide. Despite her international escapades, she continues to grace our small screens. Let’s learn more about the veteran actress who keeps serving inspiration forever and a day. Leleti Khumalo Biography (Age, Kids, Husband, Death Tragedy, Divorce, Skin Condition and more).
Leleti Khumalo Biography
Profile summary
Current age as of 2020: 50 years
Birthday: 30 March 1970
Birth Place: Kwa Mashu, Durban (South Africa)
Children: 3
Profession: Actress, Radio Host and Musician
Marital Status: Married
How does Leleti Khumalo’s career start?
Her craze for performance manifests at a young age, and she joins a youth backyard dance group called Amajika. In 1985 she auditioned for the Mbongeni Ngema musical, becoming the international chartbuster Sarafina!
A few years down the line, in 1992, she stars along with Whoopi Goldberg and Miriam Makeba. She plays Sarafina in the film version of Sarafina! The following year sees her trying her Magic in music, and she releases her first album, Leleti and Sarafina.
Who is Leleti Khumalo’s husband?
The actress and Mbongeni Ngema’s professional relationship blossoms into love, and they get married. With time marital stress piles up. This leads to a falling out of the two, culminating in divorce in 2005. Seven years down the line, Khumalo finds love again and marries businessman Skhutazo Winston Khanyile. The two are blessed with twins, Ulwenzile and Yamukelani Khanyile.
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Khumalo speaks on her divorce.
“I would portray that I am happy, living happily and yet I’m living a disgusting and strange life. The media wasn’t after me because I was a very private person. They could not see that I was living a false life.” The pair meets while filming the movie Sarafina. Although Ngema is a married man, it does not stop him from having an affair with Khumalo. “I kind of had a problem with that and even asked him. He said he still wants to make me his wife. I continued still because I wanted to,” Leleti says.
Ngema was 15 years older than the actress. “On the day of the wedding day, the wife tried to stop the ceremony,” Khumalo says. “My family is furious; they ask me why I am doing this because he is married. I wasn’t living a normal life and wasn’t allowed to go anywhere I wanted to,” she says. After 14 years, the actress calls it quits. “I woke up one morning, and I don’t know what sparked it. I released a statement that we were divorcing,” she said.
Leleti Khumalo’s death tragedy
After receiving news that she is carrying triplets, the actress loses one of the babies leaving twins born on 24 May 2013.
Leleti Khumalo Performances
- The actress co-stars in Mbongeni Ngema’s international musical Magic at 4 AM, dedicated to Muhammad Ali.
- She consequently stars in another Ngema musical, Mama(1996), which tours Europe and Australia.
- In 1997, she starred in Sarafina 2.
- In 2015 Leleti was invited to Zanzibar Island (Tanzania) as a chief guest of the famous Zanzibar film Festivals for its 18th-anniversary celebrations.
Filmography
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| 1988 | Voices of Sarafina! | Sarafina |
| 1992 | Sarafina! | |
| 1995 | Cry, the Beloved Country | Katie |
| 2004 | Yesterday | Yesterday Khumalo |
| 2004 | Hotel Rwanda | Friedens |
| 2005 | Generations | Busisiwe Dlomo |
| 2005 | Faith’s Corner | Faith |
| 2009 | Invictus | Mary |
| 2010 | Africa united | sister Ndebele |
| 2010 | Hopeville | Flo |
| 2011 | Winnie Mandela | Adelaide Tambo |
| 2015-2018 | Uzalo | Zandile Mdletshe |
| 2016 | Free State | Maria |
| 2016 | Cry of Love | Zenzi |
| 2018- present | Imbewu: The Seed | Nokubonga Bhengu |
What happened to Leleti Khumalo’s skin?
She remains the beautiful melanin queen we all know and love. The actress has been a victim of the rare skin disease, Vitiligo. Leleti embraces it and is quite confident in front of the cameras. Why wouldn’t she when she is terrific? Her condition is not going to stop her from breaking ceilings.
Does Leleti Khumalo have any Awards?
The veteran actress has a ton of accolades to her name and has been a nominee and is an award winner. In 1987, she received the NAACP Image Award. Leleti is a nominee for the Tony Award Best Actress for Sarafina the following year!
What is Leleti Khumalo’s net worth?
Without a doubt, the decorated actress has amassed a great deal of wealth from her acting and music. Leleti Khumalo’s bank balance is in the handsome amount lying in the range of $400 000- $1 million.