Nomhle Nkonyeni

Nomhle Nkonyeni (9 [1] April 1942 – 10 July 2019) was a South African actress who has appeared in television series such as Mzansi, Tsha Tsha and the 2007 mini-series Society, as well as feature films such as Of Good Report (2013).[2]

Nomhle Nkonyeni
Born(1942-04-09)April 9, 1942
New Brighton, South Africa
DiedJuly 10, 2019(2019-07-10) (aged 77)
Port Elizabeth, South Africa
NationalitySouth African
OccupationActor
Years active1961–2019
ChildrenThabang Nkonyeni (daughter)
Tebogo Nkonyeni (son)

Career

Starting in the 1961 during apartheid, Nkonyeni and others who wanted to change their lives using the stage met with Athol Fugard and formed the Serpent Players.[3][4] In 1981, she played the lead role in Die Swerfjare van Poppie Nongena (The Long Journey of Poppie Nongena), at the CAPAB (Cape Performing Arts Board) theatre in Cape Town.[5] She said, “I was the first black person to perform on that stage and when that door opened, I never shut it.”[6]

Nkonyeni received a Diploma in Conflict Management from Lewisham College in London, England, in 1999.[7]

In 2002, she also received her Master's degree in Theatre for Development from King Alfred's College (now University of Winchester).[8]

Nkonyeni was in the international films Red Dust (2004) with Hilary Swank, Catch A Fire (2006) with Tim Robbins, and as Forest Whitaker's mother in Zulu (aka City of Violence, 2013).[9] Her last film, Knuckle City (2019), is South Africa’s official submission for the Academy Awards.[10]

She was also in many soap operas and dramas on television. In 2017, she joined Scandal! in the role of Lulama Langa, mother to Siseko Langa, played by Hlomla Dandala. She was scheduled to film more of "her much-loved and feisty character" when she suddenly died.[11]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2019 Knuckle City Ma Bokwana
2019 The Space: Theatre of Survival herself Documentary
2018 Sew the Winter to My Skin Old Matriarch
2013 Of Good Report Landlady
2013 Zulu Josephina as Nomhle Nkoyeni
2012 Angus Buchan's Ordinary People Maria as Nomhlé Nkyonyeni
2010 Themba Ma Zanele as Nomhlé Nkyonyeni
2008 Skin Jenny Zwane
2006 Catch a Fire Mama Dorothy
2004 Red Dust Mrs. Sizela as Nomhle Nkyonyeni
2004 Gums & Noses Mrs. Kleynhans
2003 The Wooden Camera Servant
2000 Christmas with Granny Granny Short
1999 Chikin Biznis ... The Whole Story! Mamkete

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2017 Scandal! Lulama Langa
2007 Society Ma Moloi
2016 Igazi Queen Mother
2006 Tsha tsha Lwazi's Aunt as Nomhlé Nkyonyeni
2005 Mzansi Granny (2005)
2005 Gaz'lam Kim's Mom Season 4[12]
2004 Zero Tolerance
2003 Scout's Safari 2 episodes as Nomhlé Nkyonyeni
1997 Les enfants du Karoo Television film as Nomhlé Nkyonyeni

Awards

In 2016 she was awarded the South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs) Lifetime Achievement Award.[13][14] And in 2018, she also received the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Eastern Cape cultural awards.[2]

She received the Order of Ikhamanga in Silver in 2019 for her contribution in arts and culture.[6][2]

New Brighton, Eastern Cape renamed Aggrey Road after her. The Arthur Wellington Church was on that road and she spent much of her childhood there.[2]

Personal life and death

Nkonyeni had 2 children; Tebogo Nkonyeni (son; born 27 March 1966) and Thabang Nkonyeni (daughter; 22 April 1968 - 11 August 2009). Her daughter was murdered on August 11, 2009.[15][16]

Nkonyeni died in hospital on 10 July 2019 after a short illness aged 77.[17] President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a Special Provincial Funeral Category Two for her because of her outstanding work in the arts and culture in South Africa. Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane said, “She has played quite a huge significant role in social cohesion. We really appreciate it and are hugely indebted to people of her calibre and the role that she has played under very difficult conditions, sometimes using art to communicate a message and also to fight the injustice of the then government of the day."[18]

References
  1. "IMDc". IMDb. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  2. "Veteran actress Nomhle Nkonyeni dies at 77". TimesLIVE. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  3. Sosibo, Kwanele (17 August 2018). "Actor, humanist, mentor". The M&G Online. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  4. "'Art is Life and Life is Art'. An interview with John Kani and Winston Ntshona of the Serpent Players from South Africa", in Ufahamu: A Journal of African Studies [Internet], 6(2), 1976, pp. 5–26. Available from: eScholarship, University of California. Accessed 26 July 2017.
  5. Hlalethwa, Zaza (10 July 2019). "Nomhle Nkonyeni bids us farewell". The M&G Online. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  6. Siyabonga SESANT, Sesant (10 April 2019). "'God wants me to share my talent'". HeraldLIVE. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  7. "Nomhle Nkonyeni | South African History Online". www.sahistory.org.za. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  8. Msila, Vuyisile (1 December 2014). A Place to Live: Red Location and its history from 1903 to 2013. AFRICAN SUN MeDIA. ISBN 978-0-9922359-4-9.
  9. "Nomhle Nkonyeni: Arts matriarch shines on". SowetanLIVE. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  10. "Knuckle City is SA's Oscar choice". Mzansi Magic - Knuckle City is SA’s Oscar choice. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  11. "Yizo Yizo's Nomsa ready to fill deceased Nomhle Nkonyeni's big shoes in Scandal!". SowetanLIVE. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  12. "Gaz'lam | Full Cast | Season 4 | TVSA". www.tvsa.co.za. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  13. "Veteran actor Nomhle Nkonyeni passes away". citizen.co.za. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  14. "All the winners at the 2016 Saftas". Channel. 20 March 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  15. "Thabang Nkonyeni †". gravesateggsa. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  16. "TV icon Nomhle Nkonyeni to lead femicide protest". SowetanLIVE. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  17. "Actress Nomhle Nkonyeni dies". sowetanlive.co.za. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  18. "Veteran actress Nomhle Nkonyeni to get Special Provincial Funeral". SABC News. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
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