South Africa

Famous South African People: South African Artists, Scientists, Leaders, Musicians, Politicians and Athletes

Under the prominent people that played a significant role in the society of South Africa count brilliant leaders in different disciplines, heroes of wars, famous discoverers, high-placed officials, legendary figure who represent a category of people that changed not only South Africa, but the entire world by their thoughts and deeds, and left an eternal trace in the centuries.

:: List of Famous People from South Africa ::

Nelson Mandela
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

Nelson Mandela, one of the greatest political figures of all times, one of the most inspirational figures, spent 27 years as a political prisoner in South Africa before becoming the country’s first black president. He is regarded as a symbol of peace and reconciliation between the races. He is widely known for his determination for achieve equality and fair treatment of blacks in South Africa. He went to jail for what he believed to be wrong: judging people solely based on their skin color. Most of the people put him on the same level as Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 1993 to Nelson R. Mandela and Frederik Willem de Klerk “for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa”.

John Michael Coetzee
An author and academic from South Africa, a novelist and literary critic as well as a translator, author of “Waiting for the Barbarians” and “Life and Times of Michael K,” Coetzee was awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature. The Swedish Academy in Stockholm described his books as being “characterized by their well-crafted composition, pregnant dialogue and analytical brilliance. But at the same time he is a scrupulous doubter, ruthless in his criticism of the cruel rationalism and cosmetic morality of western civilization.”

Basetsana Kumalo
Is acclaimed South African television personality, fashion icon, outstanding businesswoman as President of the Business Women’s Association of South Africa and philanthropist. She was crowned Miss South Africa in 1994 and in the same year also became the first runner up in the Miss World Pageant.

Cecil John Rhodes
Was an English-born businessman, mining magnate, colonialist, diamond prospector, a white supremacist and political figure in southern Africa. Speculating in diamond claims, he founded the diamond company De Beers, which today markets 40% of the world’s rough diamonds and at one time marketed 90%. He was the founder of the state of Rhodesia, which was named after him. Rhodesia, later Northern and Southern Rhodesia, eventually became Zambia and Zimbabwe respectively.

Basil Rathbone
Basil Rathbone, the master of stage and screen, was a South African actor most famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes and of suave villains in such swashbuckler films as The Mark of Zorro, Captain Blood, and The Adventures of Robin Hood. climatic sword fight between Flynn and Basil Rathbone is one of the most memorable sequences in movie history.

Charlize Theron
Not only one of the most elegant women alive with a beauty beyond comparison, but also a very talented and versatile actresses, Charlize is an Academy Award-winning South African-American actress, film producer and former fashion model. She rose to international stardom in the late 1990s following her roles in 2 Days in the Valley, Mighty Joe Young, The Devil’s Advocate, and The Cider House Rules. Her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the film Monster, won her an Academy Award for Best Actress. Charlize was named Esquire’s Sexiest Woman Alive in 2007.

Christiaan Barnard
Barnard was a South African distinguished cardiac surgeon, famous for performing the world’s first successful human-to-human heart transplant. Christiaan Barnard performed the world’s first human heart transplant operation in 1967 and the first double-heart transplant in 1974.

V. (J.E.A.) Volschenck
Jan Volschenck is one oft he first professional artists of South Africa. Volschenck (1853–1935) is sometimes called the “father of South African art.” As an exceptionally observant, painter and as a naturalist , he is noted for his majestic landscapes of the Langeberg Range in the Western Cape Province. Some of his famous works are: The House On The Hill, Evening”, “Dassiehoek, Robertson”, “The Valley Of The Kaffirkuils” and many other.

Miriam Makeba
Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 10 November 2008) has a long and dramatic career behind her, both as a South African singer and civil rights activist. The Grammy Award winning artist is often referred to as Mama Afrika. Her career spanned parts of six decades and helped bring African music to a global audience, moreover she was the first vocalist to put African music onto the international map in the 1960s. Miriam Makeba is African music’s first and foremost world star.

Lyndon Ferns
Lyndon Ferns, one of the premier butterfly/freestyle specialists in the world, is an outstanding South African swimmer, who was a member of the Men’s 4x100m freestyle relay team that won gold and broke the world record at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Moreover, three of the team were in the team that broke the record and won gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.