South African actress Nomzamo Mbatha has played some memorable characters during her career, but there’s one of particular historical significance that has given her newfound freedom.
Mbatha, 35, is currently filming the third and final season of the acclaimed series Shaka Ilembe, which is based on the life of King Shaka Zulu, perhaps the most famous figure in South African history. Mbatha plays her mother, Queen Nandi. Queen Nandi was born around 1760 and endured extreme poverty and rejection while raising a man who became a great leader of the Zulu people.
Queen Nnamdi is hailed as the founding figure of the Zulu nation and Mbatha said it was an honor to play her.
“It’s the greatest honor of my life to play this woman,” she told CNN’s Larry Madowo on the set of Cradle of Humanity, a UNESCO World Heritage Site about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Johannesburg.
Thanks to the role, Mbatha said, “I have become much more courageous, braver and just stubborn. I was never a stubborn person.”
Shaka Ilembe is said to be the most expensive South African series ever produced, and the new season is scheduled to air later this year.
Mbatha, who is also an executive producer, said the show’s success comes from its unique approach to telling the story of a controversial leader. Shaka Zulu was portrayed as a ruthless leader who expanded his kingdom through violence.
“What’s special about ‘Shaka Ilembe’ is that it depicts a pre-colonial lens on Africa. And unfortunately, a lot of the large-scale works that we see have a colonial perspective, or lean towards the colonial era. This shows that it’s completely subversive and completely for the people who are the custodians of this work,” she explained.
The show, which employs around 200 crew members a day, is recognized worldwide. “South Africans… have been really, really supportive when it comes to ‘Shaka Ilembe,'” Mbatha said. “I’ve never seen people love a show like that. And I don’t think my name is Nomzamo anymore…Everywhere I go, it’s like, ‘Queen Nandi, Queen Nandi’.”
Mbatha is no stranger to South African viewers, having made her debut in the hit TV drama Isibaya in 2013. However, she burst onto the world stage in 2021 when she played the role of Mirembe in the blockbuster movie sequel Coming 2 America.
“I had imposter syndrome at first because I was like, can I really do this? Can I pull this off? … Because this is… a leading role and my first Hollywood movie. And it was just an incredible experience,” she said.
Just a few months after “Coming 2 America” was released, Mbatha found herself on another set in Hollywood, co-starring movie icon Bruce Willis. “Bruce was incredibly friendly, really nice, very polite, and he had that Bruce Willis kind of laugh,” she said. “One of the kindest people I’ve ever worked with.”
Mbatha is one of the last actresses to co-star with Willis, 70, who retired from acting in March 2022 after being diagnosed with aphasia that progressed to frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a progressive brain disease that affects communication, behavior and personality.
Mbatha has received numerous accolades including being named to the 2025 TIME100 Next list, being the first South African ambassador for skincare company Neutrogena and haircare company Crème of Nature, and being the face of Levi’s Curvy campaign. Although her list of accomplishments continues to grow, her desire to help others remains the same. It’s a passion she’s had since the age of 14, when she traveled to Kenya as a representative for Save the Children.
“It was the first time I saw children from Somalia, Sudan, Cameroon, Congo, Kenya, and I thought, ‘Wow, this is us.’ It triggered something in me, and that’s when I realized: I have to work for the United Nations someday,” she recalled.
That dream came true in 2019, when she became the representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). In that role, she advocates for refugees across Africa through field assignments.
“I remember the first time I visited a refugee camp in Malawi, and I thought, ‘Oh, this is what it’s like.’ I get better at explaining things to people, and when I hear about injustice in the world, I don’t think we just need to stand up against what’s affecting us in our own backyard. It’s okay to lean into things that are beyond our boundaries,” she explained.
In addition to her work with UNHCR, Mbatha supports Global Citizen, an international advocacy organization focused on education and gender equality. That mission is also the driving force behind the Nomzamo Lighthouse Foundation, a nonprofit she founded in 2015. She is also a climate change advocate and will be a global ambassador for Prince William’s Earthshot Prize in 2024.
“Climate action affects every part of our lives. If you think it doesn’t affect your life, you’re lying…I think it’s important…I think it’s important to be able to empower people who are doing things, people who are trying to find solutions that really matter and are scalable,” she said.
Mbatha believes it is his “moral duty” to help others, as he is a “product of philanthropy”, having gotten to where he is thanks to the help given to him by his teachers as a child and the scholarship he used to attend university. “If I can use my voice and use my platform to make change, I think I’ve accomplished something really meaningful with my life,” she said.
As she continues her journey, Mbatha, like Queen Nadi, hopes to leave a legacy that will cement her place in history.
