South Africa, the ethnically diverse southern coastal tip of Africa, has produced some of the biggest and brightest stars. Famous musicians, models, comedians, actresses, and others have come from the Rainbow Nation. However, you may not realize some of them are from the country. The following is a list of 17 stars you didn’t know had South African roots.
Steve Nash
The famous basketball star Steve Nash may have grown up in Canada, but he was actually born in Johannesburg, South Africa. The 6’ 3” point guard moved to Regina, Saskatchewan with his family when he was only 18 months old but maintains both British and Canadian citizenship.
Embeth Davidtz
Embeth Davidtz is known for appearing in Matilda, Mad Men, Mansfield Park, and Fracture. The Matilda actress was born in Indiana in the United States. However, both of her parents are South African. In fact, the family moved back to the country early during her childhood. She had to learn Afrikaan in order to attend school as a child. Davidtz grew up in Pretoria and attended high school there and college in Grahamstown.
Arnold Vosloo
If you have ever seen The Mummy movies, then you’ll remember Arnold Vosloo. The actor is famous for his role as Imhotep, the primary antagonist of the film. In it, his fit physique was prominent when he wore a costume that the actor self-described as, “the size of a postage stamp.” He has also held roles in the Darkman film series and a number of other movies and TV shows. He was born into a stage acting family in Pretoria, South Africa and has mostly Dutch and German ancestry.
Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant is famous for starring in a number of British screenplays, films, and TV series. He has played the Doctor in Doctor Who and has appeared in films: Withnail and I, The Age of Innocence, The Portrait of a Lady, and Gosford Park. Grant is technically from Swaziland, the sovereign state in Southern Africa. He was born in Mbabane in 1957. But his ancestry contains Afrikan descent, with his father being of English, Dutch, and Afrikaner ancestry.
Dean Geyer
Dean Geyer started to climb to fame when he finished third on the 2006 season of the singing competition show, Australian Idol. He got his big break in the United States after appearing in the fourth season on Glee as character Brody Weston. The actor and singer has two nationalities-South African and Australian. He was born in Johannesburg and moved to Australia with his family at a young age.
The Kongos (Band)
The Kongos is an alternative rock band that originates from South Africa. The band became popular in the United States and other parts of the world after the release of their song “Come With Me Now”. Band members, Jesse, Johnny, Dylan, and Daniel are four brothers that were born in Johannesburg. They are the sons of South African singer John Kongos. They’ve lived in the US for over 10 years now and attended Arizona State University.
Seether
The rock band Seether became well known in the US with the release of its album, Disclaimer. In the early 2000s the band toured with Evanescence. It may not be so obvious that the band originates from South Africa. In the 1990s, members formed the band, then called “Saron Gas”, in Pretoria.
Jonathan Liebesman
Film director Jonathan Liebesman is known for: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Wrath of the Titans, Darkness Falls, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. Liebesman was born in Johannesburg and studied film in South Africa until the mid 1990s. Then he moved to New York to attend NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts after visiting a family member attending the school..
Sienna Miller
Sienna Miller is an actress well-known in England for her roles in films like Layer Cake, Casanova, and The Edge of Love, and for her highly publicized marriage and divorce to British actor Jude Law. She is another one on this list that technically has South African roots. Although, she was born in New York, she is part South African from her mother’s side. Her mother is a former English model that was born in the nation.
Trevor Noah
If you haven’t heard of Trevor Noah, then you must not be a fan of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The actor and comedian was recently named the successor of Jon Stewart on the show in early 2015. He got his start in comedy in South Africa, alongside comedians like Barry Hilton, Marc Lottering, Darren Simpson, and David Kau. In 2011, he moved to the US and performed stand up routines. Noah is from Johannesburg. His father is white and from Switzerland, while his mother is a black South African. His interesting heritage and upbringing influences many aspects of his stand up comedy routines.
Sasha Pieterse
Sasha Pieterse is known as the actress that plays the role of Alison DiLaurentis in the hit TV show, Pretty Little Liars. She was born in Johannesburg to international acrobatic dance team parents. The actress didn’t spend much time in South Africa as a child though. She moved to Las Vegas at around age three, where she quickly became accustomed to the performing lifestyle. She has made appearance on several TV shows since the age of 6 and landed her breakthrough role on Pretty Little Liars when she was only 13 years old.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk is a huge star in the technology startup world. Musk is the co-founder or founder of several big-name, high-tech companies like: PayPal, SpaceX, and Tesla Motors. As one of the hottest names in the startup business community, Musk has an estimated net worth over $13 billion. He was born in Pretoria, South Africa in 1971, and has three nationalities: Canadian, American, and South African. His mother is a Canadian model and his father is a South African engineer. Around his 18th birthday, he moved to Canada to attend college and soon moved to the US to finish his degree at the University of Pennsylvania.
Dave Matthews
The singer of the Dave Matthews Band was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1967. About two years later, the singer made the move to the United States with his family. He grew up mainly in Westchester County, New York, but lived in Johannesburg again for a brief time. Matthews left Johannesburg before he could be enlisted for the South African military service. Eventually, the musician found a home in Charlottesville, Virginia, where after finding a place in the local music scene, he formed the Dave Matthews Band.
Orlando Bloom
Orlando Bloom is a bit of a tricky one to make it onto this list. The actor got his big break playing Legolas in the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Since then, he has appeared on Broadway and in a slew of films like: The Pirates of the Caribbean, Elizabethtown, and Troy. Up until about the age of thirteen, the actor believed he was part South African. His mother had told him his father was her late husband, the famous South African author Harry Saul Bloom. However, it was later revealed that his biological father was her English partner Colin Stone.
Bijou Phillips
Bijou Phillips entered the modeling world at the tender age of 13, making an appearance in Italian Vogue and Calvin Klein. From there. she spun out into the world of acting and singing. Some of her title roles have been in Almost Famous, Black and White, Buffy, and the TV show, Raising Hope. The daughter of The Mama and The Papas’ John Phillips and South African model, Geneviève Waïte, Bijou Phillips has a South African heritage.
J.R.R. Tolkien
The author of the beloved Lord of the Rings series J.R.R. Tolkien, or John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, is known for being a famous English poet and writer. However, he was actually born in Bloemfontein, South Africa to English parents, Arthur Tolkien and Mabel Suffield. When he was three, he went to visit family in England with his mother. His father stayed in South Africa during the visit and died from rheumatic fever. Since then, the long visit turned into J.R.R. Tolkien growing up in England for the rest of his life.
Charlize Theron
One of the biggest stars to come from South Africa is Charlize Theron. She was born in Benoni to an Afrikaner family with European ancestry. She grew up in Benoni with her mother and father. Her father was known as a violent alcoholic and was shot and killed in self-defense by her mother during one physical attack. The model and actress got her start in films like Mighty Joe Young, The Devil’s Advocate, and Reindeer Games. Since then, she has gained critical acclaim, winning an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and several other awards for her role in Monster. She’s had several other acting nominations and has been highly praised for her performance in the 2015 hit, Mad Max: Fury Road.
