Uyanda Mbuli (born 29th of December 1978) is a 45-year-old South African fashion designer, actress, and model. The KaNyamazane-born star is also a former beauty queen, having won the crown of Miss Cape Town in the late 1990s.
Uyanda later widened her horizon by diversifying into other entertainment fields such as acting, TV presenting, and reality television. She is also a shrewd businesswoman, launching her fashion label to boost her career portfolio.
Summary of Uyanda Mbuli’s Biography
- Full Name: Uyanda Barbara Sibiya Mbuli
- Gender: Female
- Date of Birth: 29th of December 1978
- Uyanda Mbuli’s Age: 45 years old
- Ethnicity: Black
- Nationality: South African
- Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
- Religion: Christianity
- Marital Status: Divorced
- Uyanda Mbuli’s Ex-Husband: Sisa Mbuli
- Uyanda Mbuli’s Children: Landa Mbuli
- Uyanda Mbuli’s Parents: Tamary and Rannie Sibiya
- Siblings: Nyezi Sibiya (sister)
- Famous For: Acting and beauty pageantry
- Uyanda Mbuli’s Instagram: uyandam
- Twitter: @UyandaM
Uyanda Mbuli was Born in KaNyamazane, Nelspruit (Mpumalanga)
The 29th of December 1978 is the birth date of the South African model and actress. Uyanda Mbuli was born in her home country of South Africa, precisely in KaNyamazane, Nelspruit (Mpumalanga). Her childhood was quite memorable as the KaNyamazane native spent it in three provinces; Mpumalanga, Johannesburg, and Limpopo. She appended the last name Mbuli to her name after exchanging marriage vows with Sisa Mbuli but the model was called Uyanda Barbara Sibiya at birth.
Out of the four children born to Tamary and Rannie Sibiya, Uyanda is the youngest. Apart from their names, nothing much is known about the entertainer’s parents but Uyanda once revealed that she came from a loving family. In the same vein, there is a dearth of information about her siblings as they prefer to live their lives away from public scrutiny. However, one of her sisters, Nyezi Sibiya, is a gospel minister at the New Light Christian Center Church and is constantly hosting events for women.
Uyanda’s Education and Academic Qualifications
Her early academic record is not known but the South African entertainer achieved her secondary education at the Guardian Angels Catholic Girls School. Proceeding to Damelin College, she studied sales and marketing management, bagging a diploma in the process. Uyanda Mbuli’s quest for further academic qualifications took her to the University of the Western Cape where she earned a Commerce degree.
Still not satisfied with her academic achievements so far, Uyanda made a stop at the University of Johannesburg and dedicated a few fruitful years to a course in project management; she came off with another Bachelor’s degree. With all her academic acumen, Uyanda was set to face the labor market but fate obviously had other plans for her as she ended up in the entertainment industry that has nothing to do with all her degrees and diplomas.
She Participated in Beauty Pageantry As a Teenager
Uyanda Mbuli was just an 18-year-old girl when she came to public attention. She entered the Miss Cape Town pageantry in 1996 and emerged as the winner. This did not just mark the onset of her fame, it also became a turning point in her ensuing career in modeling. The young beauty queen didn’t waste time taking advantage of the doors of fame opened by her victory. She also proved that a pretty face and beautiful body were just small components of the package called Uyanda Mbuli, by bringing her intelligence to the fore.
It turned out that bagging the crown for Miss Cape Town was just the beginning for Mbali who came all out in 1997 to contest for the Miss Mpumalanga Province beauty pageantry and went home with the crown. By this time, the actress was already neck-deep into modeling and in 2005, she joined the race for the Mrs. Globe 2005 pageant.
Out of the 37 contestants vying for the crown, Mbali emerged in sixth place. Despite not earning the crown, she tidied up a hand full of prizes, including Motivator of the Year, Contestants’ Choice, and People’s Choice.
She Later Forged a Career in the Media
Uyanda Mbuli has been working since 1997 when the model was with City Power’s Media Manager (Department of Housing) in her capacity as its communication director. She also functioned as the Mpumalanga Tourism Ambassador. The South African lady is associated with SABC1 where she did some work as a Publicity & Events Manager for one year, spanning from 2005 to 2006. She quit the job in June 2006 to go after a career in acting.
There was a time in her career life when Uyanda worked as a presenter. She scored two hosting jobs in 2006; the Daytime Emmys and the Kora All Africa Music Awards.
Uyanda Mbuli is a Reality-TV Star
Uyanda Mbuli also added reality television to her already bulging portfolio. In 2008, she enlisted for season four of Strictly Come Dancing – one of the most popular reality television shows on SABC2. For the dance show, Uyanda paired up with professional dancer Ryan Hammond who was her partner throughout the context.
The dance completion was in its fourth episode when Uyanda and her partner were pitched against the popular actress, Brenda Ngxoli. In the ensuing dance-off on the 21st of February, Mbuli lost, making her the 3rd celeb to exit from the show.
Her Acting Career Commenced on the Set of Tshisa
Anybody viewing Uyanda Mbuli’s academic credentials would expect her to tow a career path in the corporate world but she obviously didn’t think in that direction. By the time she gained public attention, the model have almost tested all the entertainment fields except acting. However, she decided to remedy that with her appearance on the set of Tshisa – a popular SABC1 drama that marked her acting debut.
Tshisha is a drama centered on a couple of young people as they sought to realize their long-held ambitions. It also x-rayed the decisions they had to make as the plot proceeded. Uyanda played the role of Nomonde on set.
Moving to the United States of America, Mbuli joined the cast of Underground Music – a musical comedy that hit the movie stand in July 2007. There, she breathed life into the character of Stephanie Hall – a beautiful young lady who went to New York in pursuit of a career in the music industry. However, fate seemed to be against her as she ended up with a hip hop group as a mere backup dancer.
Though Tshisha and Underground Music have remained her best-known productions to date, the South African entertainer has also recorded appearances on the sets of other shows, albeit in cameos. She was seen in the debut season of 10 Over 10 playing the role of a commentator. During the fourth season of the most-watched South African soapie, The Queen, Uyanda was spotted among the cast giving expression to the character of Cynthia. She was also spotted in season five of Zaziwa as herself.
Her Multi-faceted Career Include a Fashion Business
Beauty queen, model, actress, reality television star, and media personality ought to be more than enough career paths for an individual to follow, but that obviously wasn’t enough for Uyanda Mbali. The mother of one is also a wheeler-dealer; she became part of the South African fashion industry when she launched her fashion label which has been competing in the market for a while.
How Much Debt Is Uyanda Mbuli In?
It is quite difficult to fathom how a successful entertainer like Uyanda Mbuli had her finances completely messed up. While many guessed she was living above her means, others just couldn’t place their fingers on it.
It came to the fore that 2020 was a very difficult year for the model cum actress as she came to the brink of bankruptcy. In no time at all, reports about her financial mess started making the rounds. Some sources said Mbuli was wallowing in debt throughout the year and at a point in time, ran the risk of facing a ban.
Some tidbits of information that hit the newsstand in 2020 said her Foschini account that was opened with the sum of R19,408 in May 1995 was already showing arrears of R4,279. Another news surfaced claiming that the actress raked up a huge debt of R46,042 as she was several months behind with the payments on the credit card she took from ABSA.
It was also announced that her case has been entrusted to the LGR Attorneys in Pretoria. However, even with that magnitude of negative publicity flying around about Uyanda, the multi-talented entertainer never deemed it necessary to comment on the issue. There are fans who believe that her silence may have led to the actress’ purported financial crisis being blown out of proportion.
In view of Mbuli’s financial crisis, we must not forget to mention the entertainer’s return to her ex-spouse’s Kyalami residence which seems to lend credence to all her ostensible debt predicament. Some have even concluded that her return to Sisa’s house is an indication of a reconciliation, but we don’t know how true the claims were.
Who is Uyanda Mbuli’s Ex-Husband?
Mr. Sisa Mbuli is no celebrity by any standard, thus, there is no public interest in his family background and career life. The man’s personal life only became news after he exchanged marriage vows with a model and actress of Mbuli’s caliber.
Some tidbits of information that surfaced about Sisa’s career life said he is a businessman and also works in paid employment at IDC (Industrial Development Corporation) as their substantial head of marketing
They Tied the Knot in 2002
There is a dearth of information regarding when Uyanda Mbuli met her ex for the first time, but according to reports, the duo dated for a while before Sisa asked for the actress’ hand in marriage. It was quite romantic; they were atop a building in New York when Sisa proposed.
Though we didn’t get the exact time they moved from lovers to an officially engaged couple, reports said that the duo tied the connubial knot in 2002 in a wedding ceremony that was described as famous and spectacular. The couple’s reception was quite grand with all the trimmings of a celebrity occasion.
The Two Share a Son
Barely one year after the couple exchanged the forever commitment, they had their only son, Landa, who joined the family in 2003. For the rest of their time together, they didn’t deem it necessary to increase the size of their family. It later became known that the couple’s union was beleaguered by marital problems leading to their separation and ultimate divorce in 2012.
Uyanda and Sisa’s Divorce was Acrimonious
The eventual divorce between Uyanda Mbuli and her ex-spouse Sisa Mbuli can be best described as acrimonious as the duo took to public trashing, continuously washing their dirty linens in the view of everyone. As the couple’s divorce battle continued to hit up, their names constantly made the headlines.
Allegedly, Mbuli threatened to expose her ex-s “gay tendencies” and the marital abuse she had to endure at his hands. She also commented on the diary Sisa allegedly leaked to the public. On his own part, Sisa claimed Uyadi did accuse him of displaying gay tendencies, he included this is in an affidavit tendered in court for their divorce suit.
The two continued to appear in court frequently, claiming the other was capable of violent actions that may likely result in bodily injury.
Another Point of Contention was their Combined Estate
Uyanda Mbuli and Sisa were joined together in “community of property”, thus, the law demands that their matrimonial home be sold and the proceeds divided between the two parties. However, Sisa bought the actress out of their palatial home.
Another bone of contention was the monthly maintenance payments that were ruled as part of the couple’s divorce settlements. When Uyanda Mbuli started demanding R119,000 on a monthly basis, Sisa accused the actress of bringing a man into their home in Kyalami which led her to incur so much cost. Sisa also labeled her a spendthrift.
Uyanda Found Love Again in a Man Named Wonga
A short while after she finalized her divorce from Sisa, the tabloids reported that Uyanda Mbuli has moved on with her life. According to the reports, her new man is simply called Wonga – an Eastern Cape businessman whom she met through their mutual friend. She was still enmeshed in her complicated divorce from Sisa when Wonga came into her life.
Even though Wonga wanted to date Mbuli right away, the man just had to exercise patience and wait for her to be free and settled. They first became friends before taking their relationship to the next level. Reports have already started emanating from the couple. Many said Wonga is a loving gentleman that respects and treats Mbuli like a queen and that the Tshisha actress is happy with her man.
Another source claimed that Uyanda Mbuli already met the man’s family; she went to spend the festivities with them and they just love her. Wonga they said had already popped the big question and her answer was in the affirmative. The businessman took her on a trip to Paris when he proposed.
Since her return from France, the model and beauty queen has been severally spotted with a yellow diamond adorning her left finger. Fans have already weighed in on the matter saying she deserves happiness, having suffered in her first marriage.
When quizzed to throw some light on the recent happenings in her life, Mbuli declined to comment.
