Connie Ferguson (born June 10, 1970) is a 53-year-old Botswana actress, filmmaker, producer, businesswoman, and the late Shona Ferguson’s wife. She is also known for portraying the character of Karabo Moroka on Generations, which is South Africa’s most popular soap opera.
Connie Ferguson is one of the most revered actresses in South Africa. Since making her appearance Generations, she has gone from strength to strength, featuring in other blockbuster television shows such as Generation: The Legacy, Rockville, The Queen, Danger Zone, The Wild, among others.
Although she is widely known as an actress, Connie Ferguson began her showbiz career as a model and has also been successful as a producer, businesswoman, and investor. Another fascinating fact about Connie Ferguson is her love life.
After getting married to her first husband, Neo Matsunyane, she divorced him in 1998 before getting married to actor, producer, and director, Aaron Arthur ‘Shona’ Ferguson. The couple has been together since 2001 and still waxing strong. Her story is one that would encourage anyone who is thinking of giving up on their dreams.
Summary of Connie Ferguson’s Biography
- Full name: Constance Masilo-Ferguson
- Nickname: Connie Ferguson
- Gender: Female
- Date of birth: June 10, 1970
- Place of birth: Kimberley, Northern Cape, South Africa
- Connie Ferguson’s Age: 53 years old
- Ethnicity: African
- Nationality: Botswana-South African
- Zodiac Sign: Gemini
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
- Marital Status: Married
- Connie Ferguson’s Husband (Wife): Neo Matsunyane (m. 1993; div. 1998); Aaron ‘Shona’ Ferguson (m. 2001)
- Connie Ferguson’s Children: Two (Lesedi Matsunyane, Alicia Angel Ferguson)
- Connie Ferguson’s Parents: Fish and Margaret Masilo
- Occupation: Actress, producer, model, investor, and businesswoman
- Connie Ferguson’s Net worth: $2 million
- Famous for: Portraying the character of Karabo Moroka on Generations
- Connie Ferguson’s Instagram: connie_ferguson
How Old Is Connie Ferguson Now?
Ferguson was born on June 10, 1970, as Constance Masilo which makes her 53 years old. The actress was born in Kimberley, Northern Cape, South Africa, but grew up in the town of Lobatse, Botswana.
Her parents are Fish and Margaret Masilo who raised her together with her siblings. Ferguson’s ethnicity is an interesting one as even though she is South African by nationality and Black African by ethnicity, her great grandfather was from Holland, while her great grandmother was from Saint Helena, a remote island located in the South Atlantic Ocean.
At 53, the iconic actress has achieved what so many in her age bracket would only dream of. Most people see her career as a thespian as the only significant endeavor she is involved in, but that is far from the truth. Besides being an actress, Connie Ferguson is a producer, model, businesswoman, and investor.
As a businesswoman, she became the first South African woman to launch her own celebrity fragrance in 2008 at the age of 38. The fragrance, christened ‘True Self’, was produced from a combination of imported French oils. Since then, she has added body lotion, men’s shower gel, and body spray to her range of beauty products.
In 2010, the Motswana actress joined forces with her husband, Shona Ferguson, to establish one of the leading film and television production companies in South Africa known as Ferguson Films. So far, their stable has produced several blockbuster soap operas which include the multiple award-winning TV series, The Queen. The show has aired on Mzansi Magic since it premiered in August 2017.
Others of note include The Throne, The River, Isikizi, The Gift, Rockville, The Imposter, among others. It should be noteworthy that Connie Ferguson has featured in some of her own productions.
Connie Ferguson has appeared on the cover of several magazines such as Glamour, Forbes Africa, Sowetan, Drum, True Love, and Women’s Health. At 23, she was voted one of South Africa’s Ten Most Beautiful Women by Cosmopolitan Magazine in 1993. She was also featured in Portraits of South Africa’s Most Beautiful Women by David Dodd at the age of 27 (in 1997).
She Had To Deal With Inferiority Complex While Growing Up
Growing up in Botswana, Connie never thought life would turn out to be what it is today. Even though she aspired to be famous, the opportunities to chart a career course were not available. The names of the schools (primary and secondary) she obtained her basic education are not known, however, she was an active student while in school. Connie engaged in sports and other activities like dancing.
But even though she was athletic, Connie was introverted, extremely shy, and quiet because she was not comfortable with her body. While her friends and agemates were busty and had nice curves in the right places, Connie was skinny. She became the object of tease in school which made her withdrawn. As a consequence of being bullied for her appearance, Connie Ferguson developed an inferiority complex.
Connie Ferguson Was A Beauty Queen Before She Found Fame Through Acting
Her aspiration as a teenager was to become a fashion designer. This was mainly because becoming a doctor or lawyer was seen as an exclusive reserve for the children of the elites in Lobatse – the town where she grew up. She started modeling because of her height and soon, she participated in and won the Miss Ellerines Lobatse while still in high school, and that qualified her to contest in the Miss Ellerines Botswana.
She would go on to win the Miss Ellerines Botswana, which was held in Johannesburg, South Africa. Moving a step forward, Connie went for the southern African round, where she finished as the first runner-up.
Generations TV Series Was A Big Break For Her At Age 24
As an actress, the beautiful and elegant Connie found her way into South African television in 1994 when she appeared as lead actress, Karabo Moroka in Generations. Connie was 24 years old when she made her debut and the soapie was the country’s most-watched TV drama at the time. It was a big deal for her as it put her at the forefront of the evolution of South African television. She remained on the show until 2010 when she left to start off her own production company.
Connie Ferguson’s career as an actress blossomed with the Generations series, however, she has been acting since her high school days. For Connie, acting in a drama (or participating in a sporting activity) was an escape from reality as she played her roles with a boldness she never displayed in real-life. Part of the prizes for placing second at the Miss Ellerines beauty pageant for Southern Africa was a braiding course in Johannesburg. When she left her home in Botswana to claim the prize, it was expected that she would return home but Connie never did.
One activity led to another as she worked several jobs to keep afloat. Connie worked as a researcher, production assistant, even translator. She landed her first major acting gig with SABC1’s What If. That was the beginning of her acting career as she quickly appeared in other productions such as Soul City and Crime Reporter before TV producer, Mfundi Vundla, offered her the chance to appear on the Generations TV series in 1994.
Some of Connie Ferguson’s Movies and TV Shows:
- Generations (1994–2010)
- Danger Zone (1996)
- Love By Many Ways (2003)
- Madiba (2004)
- The Wild (2011-2013)
- Generations: The Legacy (2014–2016)
- Rockville (2015–2016)
- The Queen (2016–present)
- Kings of Jo’burg (2020)
Connie Ferguson’s Parents Played A Big Role In the Success She Has Achieved Today
Whatever Connie Ferguson is today has a lot to do with the role her parents played in her formative years. This cannot be far from true because of the struggle Connie went through as a young child – being bullied in school and body shamed, plus the episodes with battling inferiority complex. There is no comprehensive detail of her relationship with her parents but from what we gathered, it was a very cordial one.
If nothing, her tribute to her mother, Margaret Masilo, after she died on July 25, 2013, tells a lot about what their relationship was like. What her mother did for a living while she was alive is not known as that has not been revealed to the media. Her father, Fish Tuelo Masilo is still fit despite being an octogenarian. He is a sensei in martial arts with a black belt to show for it. This leaves little to wonder why Connie is a fitness enthusiast.
Connie Ferguson’s parents helped her overcome her complex issues. When they saw she was uncomfortable in her body, they would always call her ‘beautiful’, even though according to her, she never believed them, it helped that someone thought her body was beautiful. It was her parents, especially her father, Fish Masilo, who encouraged her to register for beauty pageants which ultimately led to her breakthrough in acting. He saw it as a way to build her confidence and self-belief, which paid off eventually.
She Entered Her First Marriage At The Age Of 23
There was a time when film credits displayed “Connie Matsunyane” as the actress’s name. Yes, that was because she was married to a man named “Matsunyane”. She first tied the nuptial knots at the age of 23 with multi-talented television presenter, actor, director, Neo Matsunyane. They got married in 1993 but the union ended five years later in 1998.
Details of how they were married and the reason why they got a divorce are not available in the public space. However, the 5-year union produced a daughter, Lesedi Matsunyane, who was born on December 31, 1992. Although it is not known why Neo Matsunyane and Connie Ferguson divorced, it seems to be on a cordial note as the relationship between the duo is still amicable.
She Became Shona Ferguson’s Wife In Her Second Marriage, Eight Years Later In 2001
It seems the evergreen actress has a thing for men in her field of work as it is no news that Connie Ferguson is married to a fellow actor and business partner, Aaron Ferguson who is popularly known as Shona Ferguson. Three years after her marriage to Neo Matsunyane ended, she shook off her divorcee shoes and walked into the arms of Shona Ferguson as they pledged forever to each other in November 2001. Since then, the power couple of the South Africa film industry has continued to grow together.
They met in September 2001 in the most beautiful, yet accidental manner. Shona, who had a mutual friend with Connie’s younger sister, Atoise Pilane, had gone to drop the friend at Atoise’s house, which was also Connie’s house. They met there and it was magical as they did not need a second meeting to know they wanted to spend the rest of their lives with each other. They dated for only two months and were married by November 2001. The couple gave birth to their first and only child, Alicia Angel Ferguson on the 7th of June 2002.
Shona Ferguson has become not just her husband but also a confidant, best friend, biggest cheerleader, and business partner. She enjoys their partnership and considers it a blessing that she is married to the actor and director.
Meet Connie Ferguson’s Younger Sister Atoise Pilane
When there is a famous person in a family, they seem to overshadow the other members of the family. Connie Ferguson is the most famous (if not the only famous) member of the family of Fish and late Margaret Masilo, however, she is not the only child born to the couple. She was raised alongside a younger sister named Atoise Pilane.
Despite the fact the Connie seems to overshadow her in the public domain, Atoise Pilane has nothing but respect for her older sister. She may be in the shadows, but she can be credited as the matchmaker in her sister’s second marriage as she was friends with Shona before he met Connie – in their house. Every time she has had reason to talk about her sister on social media, it’s always filled with words of gratitude. It goes to show that both sisters enjoy a very close relationship.
Atoise Pilane takes every opportunity she gets such as her sister’s birthdays and wedding anniversary to pour encomiums and thank her for being an amazing role model and teaching her so much about life.
It seems however that Atoise Pilane was not the only sibling Connie Ferguson had. An IG picture she posted on November 21, 2016, reveals that Connie Ferguson had four siblings as she captioned the post “Then we were five”. This may suggest that she had other siblings but they either lost their lives or they are not communicating with each other. There is no clarification in that regard at the moment.
In another post, which had only four children (not five like the previous one) in the picture, she gives their names as Constance Masilo, Moses Masilo, Lydia Masilo, and Anthony Masilo, and tagged it “When we were four”.
