Tinah Mnumzana (born 1967) is a legendary South African actress, playwright, and poet who has played starring roles in popular series like Isidingo, Muvhango, Scandal! and in movies like Greener Grass, Dora’s Peace, and Mrs. Mandela.
Though she has featured in many productions, Tinah Mnumzana has struggled through her career and has faced many challenges. She would later reveal that the reasons for her career struggles had been her refusal to answer the call to the priesthood.
Unfortunately, her career is not the only thing that has suffered; her marital and financial life has also suffered. In fact, Tinah began to face challenges in life as early as the age of 10. Still, being a strong woman, she has overcome her challenges and has become a role model to other people who may have gone through similar issues in life.
Summary Of Tinah Mnumzana’s Biography
- Full name: Tinah Arcia Mnumzana
- Gender: Female
- Date of birth: 1967
- Tinah Mnumzana’s Age: 57 years old
- Ethnicity: African
- Nationality: South African
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
- Marital Status: Divorced
- Tinah Mnumzana’s Children: Nonkululeko and Bokang
- Occupation: Actress, Play Writer, Poet
- Tinah Mnumzana’’s Net worth: $100, 000
- Famous for: Her roles in Isidingo, Muvhango,Scandal! and in movies like Greener Grass, Dora’s Peace, and Mrs. Mandela.
- Tinah Mnumzana’s Instagram: tinah_mnumzana
Tinah Mnumzana Was Born In 1967
Some details about Tinah Mnumzana’s early life are unknown, including her date of birth. However, we know she was born in South Africa in 1967, and her year of birth shows that Mnumzana was born during the apartheid rule in South Africa, so she may have been born or raised outside the country.
One thing that she has opened up about her childhood is that she was abused while she was younger (which will be discussed later). Her level of education is also unknown, but it is believed that she should be educated, considering that she used to teach in a school.
Tinah Started Her Career In Theater Productions
Tinah Mnumzana’s career in the South African entertainment industry spans decades. She began her career in theater productions, and there, she has worked with notable names in the industry like Martin Koboekae, Walter Chakela, and Joyce Levinson. Her contribution to the success of theater productions has not gone unnoticed, seeing that she has been a nominee at the FNB Vita Award for the award of Best Supporting Actor for Maru, while she won the awards for The Diary and Dance Kopano.
The veteran actress features in The River, where she plays the role of Flora, a domestic worker who struggles to take care of her gay son. Before her role in The River, she featured in season one of 7 De Laan as a guest actress. In season four of Black Sails, she played the role of Ruth, and in season one of Scandal!, she played the role of Constance.
Quick Peek Into TV Shows Tinah Mnumzana Has Featured In
- Scandal!
- Soul City
- ER
- Generations
- Noah’s Ark
- Gold Diggers
- Erfsondes
- 7 De Laan
- Ashes to Ashes
- Zero Tolerance
- Black Sails
- The Docket
- Isidingo
- Saints and Sinners
- Ihawu
- Ga Re Dumele
- Feast of the Uninvited
- Easy Money
- Diamond City
Tinah Mnumzana is not only known locally, as she is also of international repute. Her resume is also filled with credits for several international works as it is with South African soapies. Some of them include:
- Mrs. Mandela
- Dora’s Peace
- Life Above All
- Yesterday
- Price of Sugar
- Greener Grass
- The Beat the Drum
- State of Violence
- Machine Gun Preacher
- There Are No Angels Here
Her Marriage Lasted For Just Three Years
Tinah Mnumzana got married to the love of her life in 1992 after being in a relationship for several years. But sadly, their marriage could not stand the test of time as they both went their separate ways after three years. The union produced two children; a daughter named Nonkululeko and a son, Bokang.
Eight years after their divorce, precisely in 2003, Tinah, who was now a single mother, bought a house for herself and her children located at Xavier Reef, Johannesburg. Unfortunately, she was unable to keep up with payments, and as such, the beautiful house was repossessed.
She Answered The Call To Become A Priest After Experiencing Challenges in Life
According to Tinah, her life continued to go from bad to worse. She stopped getting acting gigs, her marriage crashed, and her house was repossessed. She could no longer fend for her children so much that she had to send her son, who was 17 years old, to stay with her aunt, and he even had to stop school for a while.
At this point in her life, she realized that she could not run away from the spiritual call upon her life to become a priest. According to the actress, around 2005, when her house was repossessed, Pastors had told her that if she continued running away from God’s call, things would continue to go wrong for her.
When everything had gone wrong, and she could not let it get any worse, Mnumzana answered the call to become a priest. By May 2016, she was officially ordained. Immediately after her ordination, her life took a turn for the better, and she started getting good acting gigs, which helped her pay up her debts little by little. One of the major roles that defined her rise back to fame was her role in Black Sails.
As of 2018, she admitted to Drum that she was yet to ultimately settle all her financial problems and still had her names on several creditors lists, but she was getting back on her feet. She could now afford to give money to her children, and she has been able to rent a house in Johannesburg. She used that medium to call on other celebrities to be open about specific issues in their lives to struggle with living a fake life.
Tinah Mnumzana Is Also A Rape Survivor
The beautiful actress who has endeared herself to several fans due to her outstanding acting talent is nothing but a total definition of a strong woman. Aside from dealing with divorce, being a single mother, dealing with financial and career crises, Tinah Mnumzana is also a rape survivor.
What makes her situation even sadder is that it happened when she was just ten years old, and according to her, the perpetrator of this evil was an elder in the family. She was ashamed of what had happened to her that she could not even open up to her mother.
At the age of 13, she was raped again, and this time, the perpetrator was another relative. Sadly, that was not the end of her rape episodes because she was raped twice – by someone with whom she was in a relationship. In 1993, while she was working as a teacher in Soweto, she experienced another near-rape experience. Still, fortunately for her, her colleagues and pupils were around, and they saved the day.
