LAMAMIMET

Cynthia Shange was born on 27 July 1949 in Lamontville, a township near Durban in KwaZulu‑Natal, South Africa. Growing up under apartheid, she entered local beauty contests that were segregated for Black participants, eventually winning the Miss Africa South title in 1972, which allowed her to represent South Africa at the Miss World pageant in London, becoming the first Black South African to do so.

After her pageant success, Shange moved into acting in the mid‑1970s. She appeared in the pioneering Black feature film uDeliwe (1975) and later secured the role of MaNkosi on the SABC 2 soap opera Muvhango, a character she portrayed for more than two decades and that made her a household name across the country. She also had roles in other television series such as Shaka iLembe.

Shange was mother to four children, including daughter Nonhle Thema, a well‑known television presenter and actress. She died after a short illness on 20 April 2026 in a KwaZulu‑Natal hospital at the age of 76.