Who Are the Ranaka Family Members and What Are Their Ages?

The Ranaka family is made up of more than ten members which include Kgotlaesele Ranaka and Nonceba Ranaka (the patriarch and the matriarch of the family), four children (Dineo, Manaka, Mpumi, and Ranaka Ranaka), a daughter-in-law (Michelle Ranaka), as well as several grandchildren (including Lwazi, Thando, Lerato, Katlego, Naledi, and Seni).

It is important to note that the most famous family member is Dineo Ranaka. The family has a reality TV show dubbed ‘The Ranakas’ which is probably one of the “realest” reality TV shows in South Africa. It portrays the life of a typical South African family, where there is no luxury and glam. The show airs daily on DStv channel 161 by 8 pm and also on Showmax. As of the time of writing this piece, the show is in its fifth season.

Meet The Members Of The Ranaka Family

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Reality shows are very common in South Africa but most of them are just avenues to show off wealth, luxury, and affluence. However, The Ranakas has proven to be different so far, and has been on the air for five seasons now. Meet the members of the Ranaka family who have been bringing so much fun, realness, and drama to TV.

Kgotlaesele Ntate Ranaka is the father and patriarch of the Ranaka family. His date of birth is not known, but according to DStv, he should be in his 70s. He is a traditionalist and on the reality TV show, he is known for always trying to impose his cultural beliefs and ethics on every other person.

On the show, Ntate tried as much as possible to be real as he believes that his family has their dirty and painful side just like every other family and there is no need to try to hide it from the camera.

He believes that Africans should not let westernization, civilization, and Christianity make them lose their true African identity. He shares a very beautiful long-term relationship and marriage with his wife.

Nonceba Ranaka – Mother

Nonceba Ranaka is the wife of Kgotlaesele Ntate Ranaka and the matriarch of the Ranaka family. She is also known as Mama Siba Ranaka. Just like her husband, her exact date of birth is not available to the media. Mama Siba also believes in being as real as possible on The Ranakas reality TV show. According to her, being in front of the camera does not mean they will have to start pretending about being glamorous.

For her, while filming, if there is a broken shelf in the kitchen, they would not try to avoid filming it because it’s normal for kitchen shelves to break, and because they have a budget, it will be repaired when it makes it to the monthly budget.

According to Mama Siba, her family is a simple family, they don’t usually eat out at restaurants and they would not pretend to do that on the show. She also believes that a family should be built on friendship. They try to spend time with their children and friends, but she always creates time for her husband.

She has been married to Kgotlaesele Ntate Ranaka for more than 40 years now and their love is still waxing strong.

Manaka Ranaka – Daughter

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Manaka Ranaka is the oldest child and first daughter of the Ranaka family. She was born on the 6th of April 1979 and attended Dinwiddie High School.

She is an actress and is well known for featuring in Generations: The Legacy. She also played the role of Nandipha Sithole on Isidingo while also featuring in other series like; Rhythm City, Home Affairs, Zabalaza, and Dubbed Society.

On the reality TV show, she shows that she knows her responsibilities as the oldest child and daughter of the family. She has a soft spot for all her siblings, especially Dineo because she is the youngest girl and was spoiled the most by their father.

Ranaka Manaka has learned to build a wall against criticism, even though it still gets to her when people say hurtful things about her family members. However, she also believes that all of her siblings are strong enough to fight criticism. Manaka has never been married, but she is a mother of three children and has obviously been in a couple of relationships.

Her first child is called Katlego, the second is Naledi and the last is Seni. The date of birth of her children is not available to the public, but we know that her last child was born in 2015. Her first child Katlego is now a mother and in season four of the show, their family had a baby shower for her.

Mpumi Ranaka – Daughter

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Mpumi Ranaka is referred to as the laid-back member of the family because she doesn’t like getting involved in drama. She is an entrepreneur and fitness enthusiast and is 43 years old. In the third season of the show The Ranakas, Mpumi revealed that she was sexually assaulted at the age of 16.

Before the start of the show, Mpumi Ranaka was already married. She met her husband in Abu Dhabi in 2005 where she was working as a cabin manager for an airline. After six months of dating him, they exchanged marriage vows. After 13 years of marriage, she announced that she would be getting separated from her husband in the third season of the show, and by the time the next season premiered, they were divorced.

Ntate Ranaka and Mama Siba were not happy about the divorce. For Mama Ranaka, divorce is just like death. Mpumi’s parents believe that her marriage did not work because both she and her husband did not build a solid foundation. However, Mpumi believes that her divorce was the best decision for herself and her children. Speaking about her children. She is a mother of three children – Lwazi, Thando, and Lerato.

Currently, Mpumi Ranaka is a blogger, businesswoman, and radio host. She works at WOMan Radio and has a blog called Pumi’s Blog. She also runs bedding, loungewear, and lingerie luxury brand called La La with her daughter, Thando.

Just like her parents, Mpumi is not interested in pretending to be who she is not on camera. According to her, she does not care what anyone has to say about her. Although she does not like drama, she is also not interested in being fake. However, she admits that the reality TV show takes away her privacy sometimes but when she remembers that she signed up for it, she just continues being herself.

Dineo Ranaka – Daughter

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Dineo Ranaka is the most famous member of the Ranaka family. She was born on the 16th of September 1983 which makes her 40 years old and she is a graduate of the University of South Africa (UNISA).

Dineo is an actress, TV producer, television presenter, and DJ and has been active in the entertainment industry since 2005. She has worked for YFM, e.tv (where she was the host of Club 808) and in 2016, she was featured in Hustle, a South African television series.

Currently, she works at Metro FM where she co-hosts The Bridge, with Somizi and Lerato Kganyago. Before The Bridge, she hosted Metro FM Top 40 chart for two years. She is also the host of Yim’lo on Mzansi Magic, a show that is centered around helping South Africans who are living a double life to come out clear to their loved ones.

She is the producer of Mzali Wami, a drama series that airs on Showmax and Mzansi Magic. Dineo is also an entrepreneur as she launched her cosmetic brand called LuvDrBeauty in December 2020.

South Africans know her as someone who does not take nonsense from anyone. Being the most popular has also made her the family member with the highest number of controversies and criticisms. In January 2022, she was suspended from Metro FM for dancing on office furniture while doing #UmlandoChallenge.

Aside from featuring in The Ranakas, Dineo also has her reality TV show called Dineo’s Diary. Despite featuring in two reality TV shows, Dineo can be private when she wants to. Her reality TV show is one of the longest-running reality TV shows in South Africa. After season five, it came to an end. She is now more focused on featuring in The Ranakas.

In 2021, she got married to a man simply known as Klaas Pesha without letting the details out to the public. After about one year of being married, she announced that she is getting divorced because her marriage was toxic. Dineo is a proud mother. She has a daughter called Blaklez. Motherhood is another important part of Dineo’s life that she explores to the optimum.

Mzingisi Ranaka – Son

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Mzingisi Ranaka is the first son of the Ranaka family and he is seen as the hustler of the family. He celebrates his birthday on the 16th of February every year. He is a software developer and works at Notify Technologies. Mzingisi is happily married to Michelle and the union is blessed with a son. In one of the episodes of the family show, Ziggy has a quarrel with his wife due to a miscommunication but his reaction was so surprising to viewers.

Ziggy, as he is fondly called, reacted in such a way that viewers began to think that the quarrel was scripted. Some viewers came to the conclusion that if the quarrel was not scripted that Ziggy is a very dramatic person.

Ranaka Ranaka – Son

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Ranaka Ranaka is the last child of the Ranaka family and he is a DJ and event organizer. His date of birth is not known as information about him is not readily available in the public space.

Ranaka is his older sister Dineo’s favorite. She believes that he would turn out to be the most successful of all the members of the Ranaka clan. Despite being on a reality TV show, he keeps his life as private as he can and we can’t say for sure what his relationship status looks like.

Michelle Ranaka – Daughter-In-Law

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Michelle Ranaka is the daughter-in-law of Mr. and Mrs. Ranaka and the sister-in-law to Manaka, Mpumi, Dineo, and Ranaka. She features on the show alongside her husband, Mzingisi Ranaka.

Michelle is very much loved by the Ranaka family and it was evident in the fourth season of the show when a family blazer that had the names of all her children was given to the matriarch of the clan, Mama Siba and she immediately expressed her displeasure at the fact that Michelle’s name was not also included on it.

According to Mama Siba, all her daughters will leave her one day to join their mothers-in-law, but her daughter-in-law will remain with her.