An Intriguing Look Into Pearl Thusi’s Real Age and Parents Identity

Sithembile Xola Pearl Thusi (born: 13 May 1988, Age: 35 years old) is an amazing and well-known South African actress, model, TV show host, on-air personality and presenter. Pearl Thusi’s father is Bhekizizwe Thusi while her mother’s name is unknown

Thusi has also dabbled into music, doing chants and singing with musicians like Dammy Krane and Olamide from Nigeria. Pearl loves being a strong African woman and hopes to die fulfilled, having completely given out all her potentials and gifts. The entertainment expert aims to place Africa on an equal pedestal with other entertainment industries in the world.

As much as Pearl Thusi’s career is being followed by her massive fan base, a lot of people are equally eager to know more about her private life, especially her age and family facts. It is widely held that she doesn’t look her age and seems very different from the rest of her family.

Pearl Thusi Is 35 Years Old and We Have The Secrets of Her Ageless Looks

The versatile entertainer was born on the 13th of May 1988 to a South African couple in kwaNdengezi, KwaZulu Natal, in Durban, South Africa. Since she was a preteen, the actress has had her share of colorism hate as a light-skinned girl growing up amongst persons with a darker skin tone than her. Amusingly, she continues to face this hate to date. She has been accused by fellow actresses, like Bonnie Mbuli, and fans of only moving forward in her career because of her light skin tone. But as much as she has been discriminated against, a lot of people have come to appreciate her with many wondering what the secret of her good looks could be.

Pearl has long grown from the girl who used to burn her skin to fit in, to a woman who is proud of her looks. It’s not uncommon to see her spotting a make-up-free or very subtle make-up look. She constantly shares her skincare routine and beauty tips to her fans on her social media platforms.

Did you know that the movie star is a MAC cosmetics ambassador? Yes, she is and swears by the brand’s face mist in keeping her skin fresh and supple, on or off make-up. Thusi also has a thing for mascara; she said her application method of focusing on the corners of the eyes makes all the difference. The model also speaks highly of drinking water to stay hydrated and its benefits to the skin.

She has a full head of hair and readily flaunts it gloriously. Pearl owns a hair products brand called Black Pearl; it caters to the needs of both natural and relaxed hairstyles.

The Actress Won Her First Modeling Title At Age 15

Pearl started her career in the entertainment industry as a young model in her birth town. It’s easy to see how she must have gained a stand in the modeling field, seeing as she is very beautiful. A scout at her grade 8 beauty pageant contest discovered her hidden talent. She rose from being her community star to the first-runner up at the 2003 Miss SA Teen contest. In 2005, she won the title of Miss KZN at age 17, while still in high school.

Pearl has appeared on the cover of many top magazines like City Press’ iMag, Gaschette, and Elle. She has also been featured in adverts for top local and international brands like Vodacom, DSTV, KFC, and Toyota.

She Became a Presenter on SABC at 18 and a First-time Mom At 19

Pearl Thusi came on the TV scene at age 18 as a co-presenter of iCrew, a kids’ show on SABC3. She worked as a translator, translating English and Xhulu, then moved to be a producer on the show. This happened about the same time she graduated from Pinetown High School in KwaZulu-Natal. The model said she met her baby daddy, Walter Mokoena, as a high school student. At the time, he was already a sports journalist. He had gotten her phone number from his ex-girlfriend who was also a model. Pearl and Walter became fast friends and in time, they began dating.

In an interview with MacG, the podcaster, she said finding out she was pregnant was a tough pill to swallow. She found out during the first week as a Drama student at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. This came about a year after they began dating but at the time, the relationship was off. This made her apprehensive about informing him but eventually, they got back together. Besides her father’s disappointment, the Queen Sono actress said her whole family accepted her pregnancy and the baby.

She dropped out of university a few months later due to the challenges of being a pregnant student. In 2007, Pearl gave birth to her first daughter, Thandolwethu Mokoena. Her previously rocky relationship with Walter has moved to a loving co-parenting relationship. The actress is reported to be even closer to his wife, Nosizwe Zuma, whom he got married to in 2016.

Thando, as her first daughter is fondly called, seems to be closely following her mom’s steps. She clenched her first modeling gig at age 8 and we are excited to see what her future holds. The beautiful child turned 13 years in 2020 and received loads of well wishes and gifts from Pearl’s friends, fans, and colleagues.

Pearl Thusi Appeared On Her First TV Show at 21

The model played the role of Patricia Kopong in an episode of the 2009 TV series, The Number 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. This gave room to even more television appearances. She acted as Samkelisiwe in the TV drama Zone 14 for two years, 2011-2012. Pearl has co-hosted several remarkable shows on TV such as  Live Amp (a musical show) in 2011–2016, Real Goboza in 2012, Tropika Island of Treasure in 2014 with DJ Fresh, Moments in 2015, and Lip Sync Battle Africa in 2016–2017.

In the year 2020, she played the titular character in the famous crime drama series, Queen Sono. The actress received lots of recognition from colleagues in the movie industry for this act. She says actresses like Gabrielle Union and Viola Davis reached out to her. Before then, she had done a couple of other acts on TV series. She played Palesa Motaung in Isidingo in 2013, and Dayana Mampasi in Quantico in 2016–2017. Unfortunately, Netflix canceled Queen Sono in November 2020 following the problems in production caused by the pandemic.

Pearl Thusi has also hosted award shows, including the South African Music Awards.

She Starred In Her First Official Movie At Age 27

Pearl grew up with a love for entertainment and worked her way up from modeling. Her acting career began in a church drama group. She has two longtime friends from church, Gift and Jonathan, whom she said were contributory to her startup as an actress. They were committed to ensuring she had transport to go for her auditions way back. The  Quantico star revealed her schools were also contributory to her successful acting career, having attended both a colored-dominated school and then an Indian school before moving on to Pinetown Girls High School.

Pearl co-starred in the fifth installment of Tremors franchise called Bloodlines released in 2015. Her portrayal of Samkelo in the 2017 Kagiso Lediga movie, Catching Feelings, really got movie watchers in their feelings. The movie was widely received by fans and critics alike and according to the actress, remains one of her best.

Thusi also played the roles of Brenda Riviera in Kalushi (2015), Tala in The Scorpion King: Book of Souls (2018), and Joanna “Jo” Schmidt in Bulletproof 2 (2020). Her long modeling years meant she had to keep fit and this lifestyle has paid off for the star. She had had to do some training to do stunts on some movie sets. Pearl boasts of having done about 90-95% of the stunts in Queen Sono by herself. She is a very talented lady!

At Age 33, Pearl Thusi Is a Mother To Two Lovely Girls

The queen adopted a lovely baby girl named Okuhlekonke Thusi, possibly in 2018. She has decided to keep the circumstances surrounding the adoption away from the public, saying it will be the girl’s story to share if she chooses to when she comes of age. Right before the adoption, the mother of two had started running a charity outfit designed to cater to abandoned kids.

Pearl loves Okuhle and finds opportunities to gush over her. On her 5th birthday celebrated on 7th March 2021, she shared a video of her girls on Instagram, and it was accompanied by a sweet birthday note.

It’s so cute to see Pearl being a loving mother to Thando and Okuhle. She says there were times she wished her parents were richer, even though she understood their love and sacrifices. This drives her to work extra hard to ensure her kids never have the same thoughts. Thusi Pearl advocates that parents should try to set up a future for their kids; through legacies, wills, policies, and investments.

Pearl Thusi’s Mom Died In 2004

Sadly, Pearl Thusi’s mother is late. Her mother passed on in 2004 when she was barely a teenager and just at the start of her modeling career. Pearl’s mother who was a nurse was heavily invested in ensuring she and her siblings had the best education possible.

After her mother’s death, Pearl was saddled with the responsibility of caring for her younger sisters and father. Luckily for the family, she had begun to make money from her modeling gigs. Her dad also worked hard to make ends meet. She revealed to MacG that a best friend to her mom and grandmother had to pitch in when things became tough for the family.

Her Father Bhekizizwe Thusi Is Also Late

Bhekizizwe Thusi, a native of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban in South Africa, is Pearl Thusi’s father. He was a single parent to his kids after the death of his wife and had an on-and-off relationship with his eldest daughter. One clear conflict between them was when he told the Sunday Sun about his displeasure toward the Marawa family. This happened in 2017 when Pearl was engaged to Robert Marawa but his family hadn’t made moves towards her lobola payment.

However, at the time of his death, the duo was pretty cool. Bhekizizwe’s death in 2020 hit Pearl badly and made her take time out from social media. She said they had just made plans of things to do together and the death happening at the start of the covid-19 pandemic made it worse. Pearl had to forgo her attempt to go back to school at the University of South Africa.

Meet Pearl Thusi’s Two Sisters

The actress is the oldest child of her parents’ three daughters so she has two younger sisters:

Pamela Sinenhlanhla Thusi

Pamela Sinenhlanhla Thusi is a graduate of Arts from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. She also holds Graduate Honors from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Although she is active in the corporate world, this Thusi sister couldn’t escape the world of entertainment. Pamela loves dancing and has incorporated this into her flair for gyming. She works with Rocking N Heels and posts their dance/workout sessions occasionally on Instagram.

Like her elder sister, Pamela is a skincare and natural hair enthusiast. She makes use of Black Pearl hair products in her hair regimen and has a luxurious mane of hair as well. This beautiful black woman also runs the Pamela Thusi foundation which is all about giving to persons in need.

At the heart of the pandemic, she led her foundation to elderly persons’ homes to share some love with them. Pamela is a Christian and proudly shows off her faith on her socials.

Prunella Sanelisiwe Thusi

Prunella Sanelisiwe Thusi is an Instagram sensation known for her high fashion taste and dress sense. She particularly shares her life through pictures and has amassed a large number of followers. Prunella isn’t left out in their natural hair love relationship. Thando and Okuhle also rock their natural hair like their mama and aunties.

Prunella and Pamela are also amazing aunties to their sister’s children. One unique fact about the Thusi sisters is that both their first and middle names start with the same letters: P and S.

Is Any Member of Pearl Thusi’s Family As Light Skinned as She Is?

Pearl has two younger sisters named Prunella and Pamela Thusi. Both ladies are as beautiful as Pearl, it’s safe to say they come from a family of good genes.

Speaking about genes, Pearl has traced her light skin tone to as far back as five generations and says it’s only natural that a recessive gene comes out to play after some generations. Her sisters are not as light-skinned as she is but are not dark-skinned either. They are equally beautiful and could both pass for models from the picture posts on their social media platforms.

 

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