Themba Ndaba (born on the 14th of February 1965) is a multi-award-winning South African actor popularly known as ‘Brutus Khoza,’ a role he plays in the Queen, a South African TV series aired by Mzansi Magic.
Themba Ndaba has been active in the movie industry for over 3 decades now and has become a role model to upcoming actors and actresses. In his many years on earth, he has been married, divorced, married again, fathered 3 children, and built himself a net worth of $5 million from his acting and directorial career.
Summary of Themba Ndaba’s Biography
- Full name: Themba Ndaba
- Gender: Male
- Date of birth: 14th February 1965
- Place of birth: Soweto Gauteng
- Themba Ndaba’s Age: 54 Years Old
- Ethnicity: Black
- Nationality: South African
- Zodiac Sign: Gemini
- Religion: Christianity
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
- Marital Status: Married
- Themba Ndaba’s Wife: J Ndaba (m. 2010), Sophie Ndaba (m. 1998–2007)
- Themba Ndaba’s Children: Lwandle Ndaba, Rudo Ndaba, Sibusiso Ndaba
- Education: Harare Polytechnic, University of South Africa (Unisa)
- Occupation: Actor, Creative Director
- Themba Ndaba’s Net worth: $5 million
- Famous for: His role in the Queen, a South African TV series aired by Mzansi Magic
- Themba Ndaba’s Instagram: themba_ndaba
- Twitter: @IAMTHEMBANDABA
He Started Schooling at the Age of 5
Themba Ndaba, formerly married to Sophie Ndaba, is learned and well-schooled in Business and Leadership. He started his educational journey in 1970, at the age of five, and had his basic education (primary and secondary) at Saint Mark High School within the space of 12 years, and in 1982, he graduated from high school.
A year after high school, Themba left South Africa for Zimbabwe to study Economics and Statistics. After a while, he decided to take a break from schooling and work for best-known reasons. As a student of Economics and Statistics, Themba was able to secure a job for himself as a banker at Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, formerly called Salisbury.
In 1986, he went back to school to continue his education at Harare Polytechnic and graduated in 1988 with a higher diploma in Business Studies. As an outstanding student that he was, he came through with a distinction in Economics and Statistics. To add to his academic qualification, Themba Ndaba also attended the University of South Africa, where he graduated with a theology diploma in leadership and life training.
These qualifications and the knowledge and exposure he acquired by earning them have played a major role in helping Themba Ndaba build a successful career in directing, writing, and acting. However, acquiring knowledge and certificates was not the only thing Themba Ndaba did in his youth; he also fell in love – one too many times.
Themba Ndaba and Sophie Ndaba Were Married for Almost a Decade
As a result of the racial segregation in South Africa as at the time Themba was ready for college, it was a given thought that he would not get quality education in the country because it was not available to the Blacks in South Africa, and so, he left for Zimbabwe. On the other hand, Sophie Ndaba was also born in the same apartheid era and was also sent to study in Harare, Zimbabwe, by her mother.
It is not clear whether Sophie and Themba met while studying in Harare or in the course of their movie careers (as they were both members of the casts of the Soul City TV series). However, what is clear is that they were both in love and decided to get married.
In 1998, Sophie and Themba Ndaba tied the knot, and in the space of 9 years, their marriage was blessed with two children – Rudo Ndaba and Lwande Ndaba. As a result of their inability to settle their differences, their marriage was annulled. Four years after Sophie and Themba Ndaba divorced, Themba got married to Josey Ndaba.
The couple has remained together since 2007 to date, and their union is blessed with a child. On the other hand, after Sophie’s divorce from Themba, she married two other men. Currently, she is married to Max Lichaba, who happens to be her third husband.
He Rejected an Award Nomination in 2019
Themba Ndaba, who has been nominated for several awards over the course of his acting career, decided to turn down an opportunity to be awarded as the best actor at the DSTV Mzansi Viewer’s Choice Awards. He said he did it to give other actors who have never won the award a chance to do so. Themba started his acting career in 1994, where he was one of the cast members of the TV series Soul City. The success of South African telenovela contributed to the success Themba Ndaba enjoyed in his acting career.
Since Soul City, Themba Ndaba has played a role in several local and national movies and television series such as Machine Gun Preacher (a 2011 biographical action film about Sam Childers), Hopeville (2010), and Zone 14 (2005). He won the award for best actor at SAFTA in 2010 for his outstanding role as Ngema in Hopeville.
Being the amazing actor he is, Ndaba was able to land the famous role as Brutus Khoza in The Queen in 2016. That role further enhanced his reputation and increased his popularity among the show’s viewers so much that they threatened to stop watching the series after an episode where it looked like he died.
Without a doubt, it is a fact that the award-winning Themba Ndaba has become a legend and role model in the movie industry, with so many looking up to him and following his footpath to success. Some of Themba Ndaba most loved movies include:
- Soul City
- The Queen
- The Road
- Zone 14
- Rhythm City
- Mfolozi Street
- Hopeville
- Machine Gun Preacher
Besides Acting, Themba Ndaba is Also a Director
Ndaba is someone who seems to excel in every aspect where he finds himself. He is an exceptional writer and has been involved in writing a couple of child programs and comedy shows. In 2002, while he was married to Sophie Ndaba, he collaborated with other people to start up an advertising agency called Vutha Advertising Agency, where he was the creative director.
Currently, to his fans’ excitement, the actor is still playing Brutus Khoza in the Queen, and he is also a managing creative director at a creative agency. Themba Ndaba, a business-oriented, hardworking, and goal-getter, is also the co-founder of a multimedia agency named Visual Republic Media.