Dambisa Kente

Dambisa Kente (1958- 2002). Actress.

Biography

Born in Stutterheim in the Eastern Cape, she grew up in Soweto with her uncle Gibson Kente. Dambisa fell ill during the production of Nothing but the Truth in 2002 and died two weeks later in Johannesburg at the age of 44, survived by her husband Vuli Mbotoli and three sons.

The two greates influences in her life as an actress were Gibson Kente and Barney Simon.

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

She has appeared on stage in Night of the Long Wake (1983), in the lead in Fugard’s Nongogo (1994) and in Nothing but the Truth in 2002.

She has also appeared in the musical play How Long?.

Television roles were in, inter alia, Going Back (1981), Scoop Schoombee, Going Up.

She played notable roles in a handful of films, among them Cry, the Beloved Country, Friends and, the latest, Fools in 1997.

Sources

Various entries in the NELM catalogue.

Obituary written by Chris Barron, published in Sunday Times, 6 October 2002.

Return to ESAT Personalities K

Return to South African Theatre Personalities

Return to Main Page