Hope Mbhele (born 5 April 1996) is a South African actress best known for playing Mabusi in Umkhokha: The Curse and Baleka in “Shaka iLembe”.
She has also appeared in other productions, including Dating #NoFilter South Africa and the music show Issa Vibe. She had a short stint as a lesbian on the soap opera Uzalo.
| Hope Mbhele | |
|---|---|
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| Quick Facts | |
| Name: | Hope Mbhele |
| Born: | 5 April 1996 (age 29 years old), Mtwalume, KwaZulu-Natal |
| Tribe: | Zulu |
| Nationality: | South Africa |
| Education: | Business administration |
| Occupation: | Actress |
| Parents: | Sissy Dlamini (mother) |
| Siblings: | 3 |
| Relative: | UMaGumede |
Early Life
Hope Mbhele was born on 5 April 1996 in Mtwalume, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. She has three brothers and is the only girl and the eldest. Her mother, Sissy Dlamini, is a radio personality.
She and her siblings were raised in a Christian home and a taxi family. She followed her mother to radio shows and would sit with her.
Hope started attending auditions from a young age with her mother’s guidance. And by six, she had already fallen in love with the camera. She would shadow her mother and even ended up doing kids’ shows on Ukhozi FM.
Education
Hope sat for her matric examinations in 2014. After high school, she obtained a degree in business administration.
Career
After matric in 2014, Hope moved to New York, United States. She held several steady jobs, ranging from au pair to paralegal for a year and a half.
Before working for Gagasi FM, Hope folded clothes in retail. She worked for Gagasi FM for over four years. She presents Sunday Chill Zone on Sundays from 2 pm to 6 pm. She was a presenter for the Saturday program Breakfast Gang Gang, which aired from 7 AM to 10 AM.
Hope joined the national commercial radio station Metro FM, where she had a weekend slot. She also hosted The Morning Shake Up with Hope Mbhele on weekends. She was on Kings’ Drive and also started as a social media producer.
As an actress, Mbhele has played many roles. She started her acting journey as an extra on Uzalo in 2016. After he role, she attended many auditions and landed a lead role on a Showmax movie, Goodbye Gogo.”
Her breakthrough came with the role of Mabusi in the hit Sunday-night TV drama Umkhokha. She later bagged a short stint on the soap opera Uzalo, playing a lesbian love interest of resident cop Lilly Madongwe.
She was a cast member in the Mzansi Magic drama series Shaka iLembe, playing Baleka, a healer for the Mthethwa King Jobe. She played a starring role in No Love Lost opposite Pallance Dladla, Zola Nombona, and Lungile Radu.
Hope attended the VJ audition of the 24-hour music channel MTV Base more than four times but wasn’t selected. In April 2022, she got a call offering her a job in April 2022.
In June 2022, Mbhele hosted the blue carpet for the DStv Mzansi Viewers’ Choice Awards alongside Pamela Mtanga and Smash Afrika. She was also nominated for Favourite Rising Star.
Personal Life
Hope Mbhele celebrated her Umemulo, a ceremony marking a girl’s transition into womanhood, in her hometown, Mtwalume, KwaZulu-Natal, in May 2023. Sadly, she lost her grandmother, UMaGumede, in March 2023.
References
- Lineo Lesemane. “PICS: Inside Hope Mbhele’s star-studded Umemulo“. The Citizen.
- “Hope Mbhele“. IMDb.
- Emmanuel Tjiya. “Hope Mbhele has had a winning year“. Sowetan.
