Top 10 South African Famous People Of All Time

Africa is the place where some of the world's most talented artists, athletes, and campaigners are born. These African celebrities are trying to make a better world in a variety of fields, from the media to politics.

MELANINFUL blog has created a list of the top 10 South African famous people.

Field: President of ANC and Former President of South Africa, Anti-Apartheid Activist
Date of Birth: July 18, 1918
Country: Mvezo
Biography: His government aimed to undo apartheid's legacy by addressing institutionalized racism, poverty, and inequality, as well as fostering racial healing. In 1961, he co-founded the militant Umkhonto we Sizwe alongside the South African Communist Party, directing a bombing campaign against government targets. In the Rivonia Trial in 1962, he was arrested, convicted of sabotage and plotting to destroy the government, and sentenced to life in jail. From 1956 to 1961, as a lawyer he was tried for treason, but not guilty of inciting activities and with the leadership of the ANC
Achievements: He got over 250 honors and awards including The Nobel Prize and the US Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Heritages: The books he has written are notable as The Long Walk to Freedom (1994) and No Easy Walk to Freedom (1965).

Field: Actress and producer 
Date of Birth: 7 August 1975 
Country: Benoni, Johannesburg 
Biography: Her debut appearance was in the B-movie Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest (1995), in a non-speaking role that lasted three seconds. Her next appearance was as Helga Svelgen in 2 Days in the Valley (1996), after which she was cast as Tina Powers in That Thing You Do! (1996) 
Achievements: The films she starred in include Hancock, Mad Max: Fury Road, Fate of the Furious, The Cider House and others. She also received the Globe Award and the Silver Bear Award for Best Actress. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016 

Field: Politician, Anti-Apartheid Activist 
Date of Birth: September 26, 1936 
Country: Bizana, Eastern Cape 
Biography: Winnie's journey was hindered by the South African government's prohibitions and persecution, but the tenacious social worker transformed South African politics. 
Achievements: She has accolades to her name and she won the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Award for her works in 1985. She was a South African anti-apartheid activist.

Field: Actress and producer 
Date of Birth: June 28, 1954 
Country: Upington, South Africa
Biography: In the 1981 Academy Award-winning film Chariots of Fire, she played Sybil Gordon, a soprano for Gilbert and Sullivan. Other appearances include the Borg Queen in Star Trek and a recurring character in Star Trek: The Experience's "Borg Invasion 4-D." 
Achievements: She has produced the film Jail Caesar. 

Field: Anti-apartheid Activist, politician 
Date of Birth: December 18, 1946 
Country: Ginsberg, South Africa 
Biography: He is the founder of the Black Consciousness Movement. In 1973, he was banned by the pro-apartheid regime and beaten to death while in detention 
Achievements: Stephen Bantu Biko was an anti-apartheid activist in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s, the Father of Black Consciousness, is remembered for his work against apartheid in South Africa. 

Field: A South African singer-songwriter, musician and actor, Alternative rock artist 
Date of Birth: January 9, 1967 
Country: Johannesburg 
Biography: He was the lead vocalist, songwriter and guitarist of the Dave Matthews Band, which sold tickets and made more money from 200 to 2010. 
Achievements: He has won two Grammys, one with the band and the other as a solo artist. He has hit songs like So much to Say, Some Devil, and Gravedigger. 

Field: A South African swimmer 
Date of Birth: April 12, 1992 
Country: Durban, South Africa 
Achievements: He is an Olympic and Commonwealth Games champion as well as the Commonwealth record holder in the 50- and 100-meter butterfly. In the 2012 Olympics in London, he won gold in the 200-meter butterfly and silver in the 100-meter butterfly. He also competed in the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore, winning five medals. 

Field: Entrepreneur, Astronaut, Engineer, Inventor, Scientist, Blogger, Businessperson, Computer scientist 
Date of Birth: September 18, 1973 
Country: Welkom 
Biography: He currently resides on the Isle of Man and is a dual citizen of South Africa and the United Kingdom. 
Achievements: He is credited with founding Canonical, the company that developed the popular Linux-based Ubuntu operating system, he was the first South African to go into space in 2002

Field: Soccer 
Date of Birth: November 12, 1977 
Country: Cape Town, South Africa 
Biography: He is a former South African footballer who last signed with the Orlando Pirates. 
Achievements:  He is the all-time top scorer with 31 goals for Bafana Bafana, the South African national team, at the 1998 World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations.

Field: Novelist, Author, Essayist
Date of Birth: February 9, 1940 
Country: Cape Town, South Africa 
Biography: Since 2002, he has resided in Australia. In 2006, he became an Australian citizen. He is currently based in Adelaide, South Australia. 
Achievements:  He has won the Booker Prize twice for books such as 'Life & Time of Michael K' and 'Disgrace,' and has been nominated numerous times for works such as 'Summertime,' 'Elizabeth Costello,' 'Slow Man,' and others. 
He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003 for his novel 'Dusklands.'