Shaleen Surtie-Richards
| Shaleen Surtie-Richards | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 7, 1955 Upington, Cape Province, South Africa |
| Nationality | South African |
| Occupation | Actress, talk show host |
| Years active | 1974-present |
| Known for | Fiela se kind, Egoli: Place of Gold, Supersterre |
Shaleen Surtie-Richards (born 7 May 1955, Upington, Cape Province [now Northern Cape Province], South Africa) is a South African television, stage, and film actress. She is perhaps best known for her starring roles in the 1988 film Fiela se Kind and the long-running serial Egoli: Place of Gold. She has performed in both Afrikaans and English.
Surtie-Richards was born in Upington, Cape Province, South Africa, on 7 May 1955 and schooled both there and in Cape Town. Her father was a school principal, and her mother was a teacher. Despite growing up during the Apartheid era, she has stated that her background was not a disadvantaged one. As a child, when a local music school would not admit her because of her colour, her father bought her a piano and hired a teacher. She also took ballet and tennis classes.
Qualifying as a kindergarten teacher, Surtie-Richards taught in Upington and Cape Town between 1974 and 1984. She took many roles in several amateur stage productions between 1974 and 1981 and was also active in productions of the South African Department of Education’s Theatre-in-Education from 1982 to 1984. She launched her professional acting career in 1984.
Surtie-Richards had a starring role in Egoli: Place of Gold, South Africa's first television soap opera. She appeared in most of the show's 18-year run as Ester (Nenna) Willemse.
She has also appeared in a number other South African television programmes, including the soap opera's 7de Laan, Villa Rosa, and Generations. In 2000, she hosted her own talk show, Shaleen, on South Africa's M-Net channel.
Surtie-Richards was also a judge on the reality competition television series Supersterre from 2006-2010.
In 2013, she appeared as one of the "roasters" in The Comedy Central Roast of Steve Hofmeyr, the inaugural roast conducted by the Comedy Central South Africa channel, which was hosted by Trevor Noah.
Surtie-Richards has played starring or supporting roles in the following films:
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