Famous People Born In Durban

One of the best ODI bastmen in the world, South African cricketer Hashim Amla has made many records, from being the fastest to reach 20 ODI centuries to being the fourth player to score centuries against all Test-playing nations. He was also the Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2013.

South African supermodel, actor, and make-up artist Tanit Phoenix had begun her career at 14. A sensation in the fashion world, she has graced magazines such as GQ and Maxim, and has also been featured on the Sports Illustrated swimsuit editions. She loves ballet, yoga, and martial arts.

Olympic gold medalist South African swimmer Chad le Clos, who plays for the club Energy Standard, also holds records in the 50- and 100-m butterfly categories in the Commonwealth Games. He is one of his nation’s most-decorated Olympians but failed to get a medal in the 2020 Olympics.

Lara Logan is a South African radio and television journalist. She has also worked as a war correspondent; in 2001, she interviewed General Babajan after successfully infiltrating the American-British-backed Northern Alliance at the Bagram Air Base. Over the years Lara Logan has worked for popular news channels like CBS News and Fox Nation. 

Best known for her roles in Dempsey and Makepeace, Blake's 7, and EastEnders, South African actor Glynis Barber has also showcased her skills in theater, appearing in plays such as High Flyers with Hugh Grant and Killing Time with Dennis Waterman. She is married to co-star Michael Brandon.

Nick Price is a Zimbabwean golfer who was considered the best player in the world in the mid-1990s; he was ranked number one as per the Official World Golf Ranking. He has won three major championships including two PGA Championships. In 2003, Nick Price was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Ricky Fataar is a South African multi-instrumentalist and actor. He gained national recognition after playing Stig O'Hara in the popular 1978 television film All You Need Is Cash, a parody of the history of The Beatles. Also known for his work as a record producer, Fataar won the 1983 Countdown Australian Music Award for Best Record Producer of the Year.

Rory Sabbatini is a South African-Slovak golfer who won a silver medal for Slovakia at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He has also represented South Africa in several World Cups. Between 2000 and 2011, Sabbatini had six PGA Tour wins under his belt.

A powerful batsman, South African cricketer Graeme Pollock was likened to Garry Sobers by legendary cricketer Donald Bradman. Known for his precision of timing as a batsman, he also bowled legspin at times. Born to a cricketer father, he is also the uncle of popular cricketer Shaun Pollock.

Musetta Vander is a South African model, actress, and dancer. Over the course of her modeling career, Vander has appeared in commercials for popular brands like McDonald's, Sanyo, Mercedes, Diet Coke, and Heineken. Musetta Vander has also appeared in American films like Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Wild Wild West, and Under the Bed.

Blondie Chaplin is a South African guitarist and singer who contributed to the success of the rock band The Flames in the 1960s. He has also served as a backing vocalist, acoustic rhythm guitarist, and percussionist for the world-renowned English rock band The Rolling Stones.

Leleti Khumalo is a South African actress best known for her portrayal of the title role in the 1992 musical drama film Sarafina! She has also played the role on stages and on Broadway, receiving an NAACP Image Award in 1987 and a nomination for the prestigious Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1988.

Henry Cele was a South African actor and soccer player. Renowned for his goalkeeping skills, Cele was nicknamed Black Cat due to his cat-like agility. As an actor, he is remembered for playing Shaka kaSenzangakhona in the miniseries Shaka Zulu and in the TV film Shaka Zulu: The Last Great Warrior. Henry Cele was honored with the Golden Plumes Award.

Adhir Kalyan is a South African actor best known for playing Timmy in the American sitcom television series Rules of Engagement. He is also known for portraying the role of Awalmir "Al" Karimi in a television sitcom series titled United States of Al. Born into an Indian South African family, Kalyan is often cast to play characters of Asian origin.

Popularly known as Zulu, South African former cricketer Lance Klusener was an all-rounder. He was named the Player of the Series in the 1999 World Cup. Taking up the role of coach later, he worked with the South African and Afghanistan national cricket teams, and was the Dolphins head coach.

One of the greatest rugby players from New Zealand, Andrew Mehrtens has gained over 967 Test points for the national team, All Blacks. He was part of his country’s 1999 Rugby World Cup squad and was later associated with the English club Harlequins and the Paris-based Racing Metro 92.

Mark González is a Chilean retired football player who was chosen to play three Copa América tournaments during his career. He also represented his national team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Renowned for his speed, Mark González helped his national team win their second Copa América Centenario in 2016.

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the UN Under-Secretary-General, was initially a teacher and has also worked at the World YWCA. A women’s rights activist, she works for gender equality and education and has established the Umlambo Foundation. She has also been the South African deputy president. Four of her five children are adopted.

Baleka Mbete is a South African politician who served as the deputy president of South Africa under President Kgalema Motlanthe. From 2014 to 2019, she also served as South Africa's Speaker of the National Assembly. One of the most controversial South African politicians in the recent past, Mbete is an associate of Tony Yengeni, who was accused of defrauding parliament.

Growing up playing cricket and a variety of other sports, such as tennis and football, Ahmed Amla later made it big in South African cricket just like his younger brother, Hashim Amla. Unlike Hashim, however, he doesn’t sport a beard. He studied business after retiring from cricket.

A South African Zulu, Mbongeni Ngema worked as a manual laborer and a guitarist before venturing into theater and then becoming a playwright and a director. While he created controversy with his play Asinamali!, he gained international repute with Sarafina! He was also a choir director for The Lion King.

Navi Pillay is a South African jurist known for serving as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014. She is of Indian Tamil origin and was the first non-white woman judge of the High Court of South Africa. She has also served as the president of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

Manto Tshabalala-Msimang was a South African politician who served as the Deputy Minister of Justice from 1996 to 1999. She was appointed the minister of health under President Thabo Mbeki in 1999. She earned considerable criticism for suggesting the AIDS epidemic should be treated with easily accessible vegetables such as African potato, beetroot, and garlic rather than with antiretroviral medicines. 

Candice Boucher is a South African actress and model who gained international recognition after being featured on the cover page of Playboy magazine in 2010. In addition to being a cover model for popular magazines like Sports Illustrated and Cosmopolitan, Boucher has also modeled for Elle, FHM, GQ, and Speedo. In 2011, she appeared in a Bollywood film titled Aazaan.

One of South Africa’s best-known businessmen, mining magnate Mzi Khumalo grew up selling oil cans and fuel after his father’s death. He later established the Zimbabwean gold-manufacturing company Metallon Corporation, which grew to become the country’s largest gold-producing company. He is also a WWF trustee member.

Born in South Africa, Matt Stevens later joined the English rugby team as a prop. He was dragged into a drug controversy and banned for a few games, too, in 2009. He later moved to South Africa, where he worked for the Boschendal wine farm for a while.

South Africa-born novelist and screenwriter Noel Langley began his career in London with his play Queer Cargo. Concurrently with writing plays, he also started publishing novels like Cage Me a Peacock, and There's a Porpoise Close Behind Us, very soon gaining recognition in Hollywood with screenplay Maytime.  His other popular screenplays include The Wizard of Oz, Tom Brown’s Schooldays etc.

The CEO of Tennis Australia, Craig Tiley has previously been a professional tennis player and high-level university coach. He broke a 100-year-old record for the most back-to-back wins while coaching at the University of Illinois. He has also been a captain of the South African Davis Cup team.