Difference between revisions of "Moonyeenn Lee"

Revision as of 16:29, 19 July 2020

Moonyeenn Lee (circa 1945-2020) is an influential theatrical agent, casting director and producer.

Sometimes found as Moonyeen Lee

Biography

She was born in Johannesburg, the daughter of the actress Shirley Hepburn, but moved to England at the age of seven, where she spent most of her childhood with her mother. There she was trained as an agent by James Fraser of Fraser and Dunlop in 1974, the year she conceived her agency Moonyeenn Lee Associates (MLA).

She is the mother of Cindy Lee and actor David S. Lee.

She died due to complications caused by the COVID-19 virus on Saturday, 18 July 2020, in Johannesburg.

Contribution to the theatre, film, media and performance industry in South Africa

The Moonyeenn Lee Associates agency managed the careers of many actors, directors and writers

Working exstensively in film, she managed the casting of films such as The Bang Bang Club, Disgrace, Tsotsi, Fanie Fourie's Lobola, Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, Hotel Rwanda, Blood Diamond, Black Panther and Life, Above All, among many others.

She also formed the production company Khulisa Productions to make films. The first project for which she wrote the script and produced was the film Promised Land, based on the novel by Karel Schoeman (2003).

She was the first SA member of both the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which votes for the Oscars, and the Television Academy, which votes for the Emmys.

In 2017 Lee received the Lionel Ngakane Lifetime Achievement Award at the SA Film & Television Awards.