Santie Grosskopf

Santie Grosskopf (1932-) is an Afrikaans journalist, author and screenwriter.

Biography

Born Anna Susan Pretorius on 16 June 1932 in Stellenbosch, she grew up in Paarl, where she matriculated at Paarl Girls' High School. She studied Afrikaans and Psychology at Stellenbosch University (BA 1952) then worked as a journalist at the Die Oosterlig in Port Elizabeth before joining Die Burger in Cape Town.

She married Johannes Grosskopf in 1955 and they then went to London as foreign correspondents for Nasionale Pers, returning after three years. Over the years she and Johannes lived in Cape Town, Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, Washington DC and Stellenbosch - where Johannes was Head of the Department of Journalism at Stellenbosch University from 1984 until 1993.

During this peripatetic existence, Santie was writing as freelance author and translated over 50 children's books.

The couple had four children: Ernst, Annemarie, Riel and Hein.

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

Her novel about the devastating effects of divorce, Die Hele Dorp Weet ("The whole town knows", 1958), was twice filmed

First Die Hele Dorp Weet in 1961 by Carfo films, with a screenplay by Grosskopf, and the second as Soekie, produced by Bill Troskie for Constantia Films in 1975. In this case she co-wrote the screenplay with Daan Retief, who also directed the film.