Nomzano Mbatha

South African model/actress/humanitarian/brand ambassador, Nomzamo Mbatha has taken Hollywood by storm last spring with her first-ever U.S. role in Paramount/Amazon Studios’ hugely successful film, Coming 2 America. The sequel to the hit 1988 comedy, Coming To America, premiered March 5, 2021, on Amazon Prime Video in over 240 countries worldwide and was the most viewed movie in the history of the streamer, making it the #1 streaming service that opening weekend!  Nomzamo’s breakout performance has been praised in the likes of The Hollywood Reporter, W magazine, Harper’s Bazaar and Allure among others. Nomzamo can currently be seen starring as the lead role of “Queen Nandi” in the epic South African drama series, Shaka Ilembe, where she also serves as an executive producer. The production was six years in the making, consulting historians, academics, and family descendants of the iconic African king. The limited series premiered in June 2023 to staggering ratings. In March 2023 Nomzamo  led the cast in the sci-fi action film, Assassin, alongside Bruce Willis and directed by Jesse Atlas. The film was released in theaters and on-demand on March, 31, 2023. Nomzamo is also a brand ambassador for several iconic global brands, including Neutrogena Africa, Audi South Africa, L’Oréal Paris Hair and Veuve Clicquot Africa. In March 2021, Nomzamo launched her PUMA SA collaborative collection, SHANDU, named after her maternal grandmother. The brand is the first for the PUMA brand on the African continent and is already wildly successful.

Born in Durban, South Africa, Nomzamo rose to fame by entering MTV’s Africa VJ Search in 2012. Though she came in second, her talent left an everlasting impression resulting in Viacom Africa signing her as one of their presenters across multiple platforms such as BET Africa, BET International, and MTV Base. This move garnered her fame, not just in her country, but also across the African continent - later extending her reach to the U.S. with Viacom CBS’ high-profile awards shows such as MTV’s Africa Music Awards (aka MAMAs), MTV’s European Awards, the BET Awards, and BET’s Black Girls Rock. It was through these opportunities that Nomzamo explored her passion for acting, which landed her a series regular role on “Isibaya,” one of Africa’s first Telenovela’s. With the series, her acting resume extended to film where she has had roles in Tell Me Sweet Something, The Jakes Are Missing, All About Love and Hotel Hillbrow.

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In 2017, Nomzamo was announced as a High-Level Influencer for the United Nations Refugee Agency. Her role was to advocate for the plight of the African refugee, which gave her the opportunity to travel across the African continent visiting refugee camps and engaging with local governments. Her good work was soon brought to the attention of the Refugee Agency’s High Commissioner, and in 2019, she was appointed as a UN Global Goodwill Ambassador, with a special focus on refugees. She traveled the world, on UN missions, lobbying for nations to provide shelter and asylum to African refugees and raising funds on behalf of refugees. In 2020, Nomzamo was invited by the UN President to address one of the high-level meetings at the 75th UN General Assembly in a new role as UN Eminent High-Level Champion of Gender Equality. As an honor for her work, Ludwig’s Roses named her as one of three South Africans to have their own rose alongside Nobel Laureates, Dr. Nelson Mandela, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Nomzamo studied at the University of Cape Town, where she obtained her Bachelor of Commerce degree in Accounting. She currently resides in Los Angeles and South Africa.

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