Durban is blessed with many talented people including actors, artists, and other talented individuals. In this article we are talking about former beauty queen and now television actress Cynthia Shange. Shange was the first black beauty queen to represent South Africa in Miss World in 1972. She is well-known for her leading role in uDeliwe, and her other role as Mkabi in the five part mini-seriesShaka Zulu.
Cynthia was born in 1949 in Lamontville, Durban. She began competing in beauty pageants in 1970 and won Miss Natal, which opened up new horizons for her as it gave her the opportunity to compete for Miss Black South Africa (only because the apartheid government did not allow black beauties to compete with white ones). She then went on to represent South Africa in the Miss World Competition in 1972 as Miss South Africa.
Acting Career
Shange became a household name in South Africa as she was recognised as an actress, and not simply a beauty queen. She acted in many popular TV shows including Shaka Zulu, Deliwe and the SABC 2 Venda soap opera, Muvhango, where she played MaNkosi, mother to the Thandaza character. Cynthia was awarded the Golden Horn (South African Film and Television Awards) Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009, celebrating the role played by actors on television.