Siyabonga Thwala is a popular South African actor best known for his role in one of the country’s most-watched TV series Isibabya. Though he has been married for several years, Thwala is too careful to let anything about his family life into the public arena. However, we recently got to know the name of his wife and the fact that he has fathered five grown-up children with the first one fast approaching the 30s. Despite his privacy policies, we unraveled a few details about the actor’s career and personal life.
Siyabonga Thwala Has Been Married To Thandi Thwala For Several Years
From the moment he surfaced on the movie scene as a full-grown man, Siyabonga Thwala quickly became a heartthrob to members of the opposite sex. Besides that, his current relationship status became a subject of discussion among fans as people were interested to know whether he was off the marriage market or still within grabbing reach.
As time rolled by without any enlightenment about his relationship history, it became quite disappointing to the SA viewing public who came to the conclusion that Thwala is the type who loves to keep the details of his personal life under lock and key. We must confess to meeting actors and actresses of similar ilk who lock up their personal history but will intermittently open up to let fans have access to some tidbits. However, in the case of Siyabonga Thwala, he did not just lock up, he seems to have thrown away the keys as well.
To worsen the matter, Siyabonga has no presence on any social media platform, hardly appears in photos with his family, and there are absolutely no records of the actor being in a previous relationship. According to speculations, his reasons for doing all that may well be because his family members are so dear to him and he wouldn’t want to witness any of them subjected to the usual unnecessary drama that has bathed the celebrity world.
However, even with all that secrecy, it came to the fore that Siyabonga is off the market. The actor has been happily married for several years and the name of his wife has been revealed as Thandi Thwala. This is about all that was known in his personal life until a recent interview.
He Gave an Insight Into His Family Life
While talking about his work on Yobe (the actor’s most recent project that focuses on prison inmates and their victims) Thwala quickly ebbed out on his flow of words when the conversation turned personal. He however chose to open up a tiny bit. Describing himself as an actor who so much believes in his craft, Siyabonga Thwala revealed his personal belief that fans ought to know him for his work and not his family life. The effort, he said is what should do the speaking and not his personal details.
The Isibaya actor let on something interesting when he said he does not even know the right button to press in order to create a presence on social media, thus, he has never been on any platform. The South African actor mentioned that being extremely private is all in a bid to keep his family protected. He however reiterated the fact that he is married to Thandi Thwala, including other tidbits like having five children with her. The oldest he said is an adult below thirty while the youngest is approaching teens.
The celebrated actor also opened up a bit about his life as a father. According to Siyabonga Thwala, he is a good teacher to his children. He tries his best to empower them, making the younger ones understand that the world needs to be respected and we all just need to work very hard. However, he has simply refused to share the details of his marriage with fans, thus, no one knows when and how he met Thandi, how long they dated, and when they finally tied the nuptials.
Siyabonga Thwala Was Born in the Late 1960s
Being a secretive person from the outset, nothing much is known about the Isibaya actor, but going by what we could sieve from the kept records, he was born in the late 1960s, precisely on the 17th of March 1969. His place of birth is captured as Umlamzi Township located in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal where he also spent a greater part of his growing up years. However, there is absolutely nothing to say about the identity of his parents and siblings.
The actor has often been confused with a footballer who is also called Siyabonga Thwala, but investigations have shown that the footballer is a much younger man who should never be confused with the actor. The only thing they have in common is the name.
The SA Entertainer Wears More Than One Career Hat
Siyabonga Thwala has diversified his entertainment career since he surfaced on the movie scene. The actor recently widened his horizon by playing on the reality television scene when he began producing and presenting the show Yobe.
His Career as an Actor Started in 1989
Thwala was a young man in his twenties when he first came into contact with the moving movie world in 1989. However, he got his first chance to grace the screen on the set of the 1996 film entitled Born Free: A New Adventure. His debut on-screen role soon opened other avenues as the young actor scored another role before the end of the year; he was featured in a single episode (season one, episode five) of the TV series, Tarzan and the Scarlet Diamond: S1 E5 under the bigger series, Tarzan: The Epic Adventures.
Siyabonga had to turn down a role in Isidingo on SABC 3 as he was not just ready for the kind of long-term commitment that comes with television at the time. A while later, a sitcom, Streak featured him alongside Themba Ndaba and in 2003, Siyabonga Thwala scored a recurring role on Gazlam as Jimmy.
He Rose To Popularity Playing Vusi Zwane In Scandal!
Fame and fortune beckoned as the SA actor landed the role of Vusi Zwane on the Soap opera Scandal on e.tv, earning a Golden Horn Award for the Best Actor in a Television Soap. His subsequent roles include playing Paul Mashaba on SABC 1’s Generations (he started in 2007 and left in 2010).
The actor’s best-known role to date is arguably that of Mpiyakhe Zungu in Mzansi Magic’s Isibaya through which he bagged the Best Actor in a Television Drama from the South African Film and Television Award in 2014.
His other known roles include depicting the character of Busani Mojalefa in Muvhango, as DH Radebe on e.tv’s Rhythm City, and appearing in Intersexions – the SA HIV/AIDS drama series that earned him another award. His latest role is in Legacy – the Mnet series where he’s playing the rich entrepreneur.
He is Now a Reality Television Show Host
Siyabonga Thwala is now producing and presenting the reality television show Yobe – a hard-hitting prison reality show. The show is a 13-part docu-series that follows the intense life journey of prison inmates seeking clemency from victims or the family members of victims as the case may be. Yobe which premiered on Mzansi Magic involves social workers and trained correctional services facilitators.
