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100 Notable alumni of University of Cape Town

Updated: June 23, 2026 EliteDegrees

University of Cape Town is ranked #238 in the world and #1 in South Africa by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 100 notable alumni from University of Cape Town sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with University of Cape Town won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.

Michael Oblowitz

1. Michael Oblowitz

1952-. (aged 74)
cinematographer screenwriter film director
Michael Oblowitz is a South African filmmaker. His career has spanned almost five decades. He was a member of the No Wave Cinema movement of independent filmmaking in New York City in the late 1970s. He is also the first South African filmmaker to receive entries to both Cannes Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival, respectively.
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Aaron Sloman

2. Aaron Sloman

1936-. (aged 90)
artificial intelligence researcher
Aaron Sloman is a philosopher and researcher on artificial intelligence and cognitive science. He held the Chair in Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science at the School of Computer Science at the University of Birmingham, and before that a chair with the same title at the University of Sussex. Since retiring he is Honorary Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science...
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Randall Abrahams

3. Randall Abrahams

1969-. (aged 57)
television presenter
Randall Abrahams, is a South African TV personality, author and radio presenter best known for adjudicating the Idols South Africa (2002–2022) where he gained the nickname "The Bad Judge". He was with the show for the first 17 seasons.
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Kopano Matlwa

4. Kopano Matlwa

1985-. (aged 41)
physician novelist
Kopano Matlwa is a South African writer and doctor, known for her novel Spilt Milk, which focuses on the South Africa's "Born Free" generation, and Coconut, her debut novel, which addresses issues of race, class, and colonization in modern Johannesburg. Coconut was awarded the European Union Literary Award in 2006/2007 and also won the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in...
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James Selfe

5. James Selfe

1955-2024 (aged 69)
politician
James Selfe was a South African politician who was a Member of Parliament for the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), and the party's Federal Council Chairperson. He was also the party's Shadow Minister of Correctional Services. Selfe resigned from Parliament and as the Shadow Minister of Correctional Services with effect from 31 December 2021.
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Nicholas Haysom

6. Nicholas Haysom

1952-. (aged 74)
lawyer
Nicholas Roland Leybourne "Fink" Haysom is a South African lawyer and diplomat who focuses on democratic governance, constitutional and electoral reforms and the reconciliation and peace process. Since 2021, he has been serving as the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
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Elisabeth Vrba

7. Elisabeth Vrba

1942-2025 (aged 83)
university teacher paleontologist zoologist
Elisabeth S. Vrba was an American paleontologist at Yale University who developed the turnover-pulse hypothesis.
Cameron Dugmore

8. Cameron Dugmore

1963-. (aged 63)
politician
Cameron Muir Dugmore is a South African politician who was elected to the National Assembly of South Africa in the 2024 general election as a member of the African National Congress. Prior to his election, he was the Leader of the Opposition in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament from 2019 until 2024. Dugmore served in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament...
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Cheryl de la Rey

9. Cheryl de la Rey

psychologist
Professor Cheryl Merle de la Rey is a South African academic who, since 2019, has been vice-chancellor of University of Canterbury in New Zealand. She was formerly Vice-Chancellor of the University of Pretoria in South Africa.
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Nandipha Mntambo

10. Nandipha Mntambo

1982-. (aged 44)
sculptor television producer photographer
Nandipha Mntambo is a South African artist who has become famous for her sculptures, videos and photographs that focus on human female body and identity by using natural, organic materials. Her art style has been self described as eclectic and androgynous. She is best known for her cowhide sculptures that connects the human form to nature.
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Judith Sephuma

11. Judith Sephuma

1974-. (aged 52)
singer
Judith Sephuma is a South African jazz and Afro-pop singer.
Richard Spring, Baron Risby

12. Richard Spring, Baron Risby

1946-. (aged 80)
politician
Richard John Grenville Spring, Baron Risby is a former Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bury St Edmunds from 1992 to 1997, and for West Suffolk from 1997 to 2010. He joined the House of Lords in 2010.
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John Joubert

13. John Joubert

1927-2019 (aged 92)
composer
John Pierre Herman Joubert was a British composer of South African birth, particularly of choral works. He lived in Moseley, a suburb of Birmingham, England, for over 50 years. A music academic in the universities of Hull and Birmingham for 36 years, Joubert took early retirement in 1986 to concentrate on composing and remained active into his eighties. Though perhaps...
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Ian Neilson

14. Ian Neilson

1954-. (aged 72)
politician
Ian Douglas Neilson is a South African civil engineer and politician who is the longest served Deputy Mayor of Cape Town, from May 2009 to October 2021 (12 years). He also served as the Mayoral Committee Member for Finance from 2006 until 2021 and Executive Councillor for Safety and Health from 2000 until 2002.
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Brent Russell

15. Brent Russell

1980-. (aged 46)
rugby union player
Robert Brent Russell is a South African retired professional rugby union player. He is a "utility back" (capable of playing fullback, fly-half or wing) who plays for Clermont in the French Top 14. Previously, he had played with Saracens in England, and before that the Sharks in the Currie Cup and the Sharks in the Super 14 for many years....
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Mulalo Doyoyo

16. Mulalo Doyoyo

1970-2024 (aged 54)
professor engineer inventor
Mulalo Doyoyo OMS FRSA was a South African engineer, inventor, and professor.
Hugh Beadle

17. Hugh Beadle

1905-1980 (aged 75)
lawyer judge politician
Sir Thomas Hugh William Beadle, CMG, OBE, PC was a Rhodesian lawyer, politician and judge who served as Chief Justice of Southern Rhodesia from March 1961 to November 1965, and as Chief Justice of Rhodesia from November 1965 until April 1977. He came to international prominence against the backdrop of Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) from Britain in November...
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Jonathan Kaplan

18. Jonathan Kaplan

1966-. (aged 60)
rugby union match official rugby union player
Jonathan Isaac Kaplan, is a former international rugby union referee who used to hold the record for the most international matches as referee.
David Theo Goldberg

19. David Theo Goldberg

1952-. (aged 74)
criminologist university teacher
David Theo Goldberg is a South African professor working in the United States, known for his work in critical race theory, the digital humanities, and the state of the university.
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Vimbai Mutinhiri

20. Vimbai Mutinhiri

1987-. (aged 39)
reality television participant
Vimbai Mutinhiri is a Zimbabwean actress, model and television personality. She was born in Harare, Zimbabwe and raised in Belgrade, Serbia and in Johannesburg, South Africa. Before participating in Big Brother Africa Amplified in 2011, she studied in South Africa graduating from the University of Cape Town with an honours degree in politics, philosophy and economics.
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Johannes Brand

21. Johannes Brand

1823-1888 (aged 65)
politician barrister
Sir Johannes Henricus Brand, GCMG was a lawyer and politician who served as the fourth state president of the Orange Free State, from 2 February 1864 until his death in 1888. He was the son of Sir Christoffel Joseph Brand (1797–1875), speaker of the Cape legislative assembly, and Catharina Fredrica Küchler.
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Andrew Beauchamp-Proctor

22. Andrew Beauchamp-Proctor

1894-1921 (aged 27)
flying ace
Andrew Frederick Weatherby Beauchamp-Proctor, VC, DSO, MC & Bar, DFC (4 September 1894 – 21 June 1921) was a South African airman and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was South Africa's leading ace of the First World War,...
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Colin Eglin

23. Colin Eglin

1925-2013 (aged 88)
politician
Colin Wells Eglin was a South African politician best known for having served as national leader of the opposition from 1977–79 and 1986–87. He represented Sea Point in the South African Parliament from 1958–61 and from 1974–2004. Described by Nelson Mandela as "one of the architects of [South Africa's] democracy", Eglin played a leading role in the drafting of the...
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Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr

24. Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr

1894-1948 (aged 54)
classical scholar politician
Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr was a South African politician and intellectual in the years preceding apartheid. In his lifetime he was regarded as one of the cleverest men in the country, and it was widely expected that he would eventually become Prime Minister of South Africa. He came from a well-known Afrikaner family; his uncle, also Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr but known...
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E. Neville Isdell

25. E. Neville Isdell

1943-. (aged 83)
businessperson
Edward Neville Isdell is an Irish businessman, former chair and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company and currently president of the WWF.
Neil Aggett

26. Neil Aggett

1953-1982 (aged 29)
trade unionist physician
Neil Aggett was a Kenyan and South African doctor and trade union organiser who was killed, while in detention, by the Security Branch of the Apartheid South African Police Service after being held for 70 days without trial.
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Zach de Beer

27. Zach de Beer

1928-1999 (aged 71)
physician businessperson diplomat politician
Zacharias Johannes de Beer was a South African politician, businessman and diplomat. A liberal Afrikaner, he was the last federal leader of the Progressive Federal Party and then the co-federal leader of the Democratic Party.
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David Tredinnick

28. David Tredinnick

1950-. (aged 76)
politician
David Arthur Stephen Tredinnick is a British Conservative former Member of Parliament who represented Bosworth in Leicestershire from 1987 to 2019.
Leonard Hoffmann, Baron Hoffmann

29. Leonard Hoffmann, Baron Hoffmann

1934-. (aged 92)
judge politician
Leonard Hubert "Lennie" Hoffmann, Baron Hoffmann GBS PC is a senior South African–British judge. Currently, he serves as a Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong; he formerly served as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary from 1995 to 2009.
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Jonathan Shapiro

30. Jonathan Shapiro

1958-. (aged 68)
cartoonist comics artist journalist caricaturist
Jonathan Shapiro is a South African cartoonist, known as Zapiro, whose work appears in numerous South African publications and has been exhibited internationally on many occasions. He is the nephew of British magician David Berglas and cousin to Marvin Berglas, director of Marvin's Magic.
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Errol Damelin

31. Errol Damelin

1969-. (aged 57)
entrepreneur
Errol Damelin is a South African entrepreneur and early-stage technology investor. In 2007 he co-founded Wonga, an internet payday loan company that gained notoriety for charging extremely high interest on short-term loans. After Damelin stepped down as CEO of the company in 2013, the company went into administration on 30 August 2018.
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Neville Alexander

32. Neville Alexander

1936-2012 (aged 76)
university teacher linguist
Neville Edward Alexander OLS was a proponent of a multilingual South Africa and a former revolutionary who spent ten years on Robben Island as a fellow prisoner of Nelson Mandela.
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Ian Goldin

33. Ian Goldin

1955-. (aged 71)
banker economist
Ian Andrew Goldin is a South African-born British professor at the University of Oxford in England, and was the founding director of the Oxford Martin School.
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Anthony St John, 22nd Baron St John of Bletso

34. Anthony St John, 22nd Baron St John of Bletso

1957-. (aged 69)
politician business executive
Anthony Tudor St John, 22nd Baron St John of Bletso is a British peer, politician, businessman and solicitor. He is one of the ninety hereditary peers elected to remain in the House of Lords after the House of Lords Act 1999. He speaks on African affairs (and is a notable expert on Southern Africa), deregulation, financial services and information technology....
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Solly Zuckerman, Baron Zuckerman

35. Solly Zuckerman, Baron Zuckerman

1904-1993 (aged 89)
zoologist university teacher anatomist politician
Solomon "Solly" Zuckerman, Baron Zuckerman OM KCB FRS was a British public servant, zoologist and operational research pioneer. He is best remembered as a scientific advisor to the Allies on bombing strategy in the Second World War, for his work to advance the cause of nuclear non-proliferation, and for his role in bringing attention to global economic issues.
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Vinny Lingham

36. Vinny Lingham

1979-. (aged 47)
businessperson
Vinny Lingham is an entrepreneur and technology investor renowned for his significant contributions to the cryptocurrency and blockchain industries. He is best known for his early investments in major blockchain projects such as Solana, Filecoin, and Render, as well as his role as a General Partner at Multicoin Capital from 2017 to 2020. In 2024, he co-founded Praxos Capital, a...
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Demetri Catrakilis

37. Demetri Catrakilis

1989-. (aged 37)
rugby union player
Demetri Catrakilis is a South African former professional rugby union player. He played for Premiership side Harlequins, Top 14 side Montpellier, for the Stormers and the Southern Kings in Super Rugby and Pro 14, for Western Province in the Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup competitions and for the UCT Ikey Tigers in the Varsity Cup. His regular playing position was...
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Stephen Brislin

38. Stephen Brislin

1956-. (aged 70)
Catholic priest Catholic bishop
Stephen Brislin is a South African Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Johannesburg since 2025. He was previously Archbishop of Cape Town from 2010 to 2024. He was made a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2023.
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Dillyn Leyds

39. Dillyn Leyds

1992-. (aged 34)
rugby union player
Dillyn Yullrich Leyds is a South African rugby union player for the South Africa national team and La Rochelle in the French Top 14. He can play as a fullback, fly-half or wing.
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Raymond Ackerman

40. Raymond Ackerman

1931-2023 (aged 92)
businessperson
Raymond Ackerman GCOB was a South African businessman, who purchased the Pick 'n Pay supermarket group from its founder. He purchased four stores from Jack Goldin in the 1960s. Raymond Ackerman was chairman until he stepped down in 2010.
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Henry Markram

41. Henry Markram

1962-. (aged 64)
university teacher neuroscientist neurologist
Henry John Markram is a South African-born Israeli neuroscientist, professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland and director of the Blue Brain Project and founder of the Human Brain Project.
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Lindiwe Mazibuko

42. Lindiwe Mazibuko

1980-. (aged 46)
politician
Lindiwe Desire Mazibuko is a South African writer, activist, and former politician. Between 2011 and 2014 she was the parliamentary leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly of South Africa. She served in the National Assembly through the Fourth Parliament until her resignation in May 2014.
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Pieter-Dirk Uys

43. Pieter-Dirk Uys

1945-. (aged 81)
comedian writer
Pieter-Dirk Uys is a South African performer, author, satirist, and social activist. One of his best known roles is as Evita Bezuidenhout, an Afrikaner socialite.
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Emanuel Derman

44. Emanuel Derman

1946-. (aged 80)
banker university teacher physicist mathematician economist
Emanuel Derman is a South African-born academic, businessman and writer. He is best known as a quantitative analyst, and author of the book My Life as a Quant: Reflections on Physics and Finance.
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Riaad Moosa

45. Riaad Moosa

1977-. (aged 49)
stand-up comedian
Riaad Moosa is a South African comedian, actor and doctor.
Tulia Ackson

46. Tulia Ackson

1976-. (aged 50)
lawyer politician
Tulia Ackson LL-Q7838 -Byera04-Tulia Ackson.wav (born 23 November 1976) is a Tanzanian politician who served as the Speaker of the National Assembly of Tanzania from 2022 to 2025. She was appointed a Member of Parliament by President John Magufuli. On 27 October 2023, she is the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) through the meeting convened at Luanda Angola where...
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Zane Weir

47. Zane Weir

1995-. (aged 31)
athletics competitor
Zane Weir is an Italian shot putter of South African descent. He has represented Italy since February 2020, and competed for them at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He won gold at the 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships.
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David Coltart

48. David Coltart

1957-. (aged 69)
minister civil servant politician
David Coltart is a Zimbabwean lawyer, Christian leader and politician. He was a founding member of the Movement for Democratic Change when it was established in 1999 and its founding secretary for legal affairs. Coltart was the Member of Parliament for Bulawayo South in the House of Assembly from 2000 to 2008, and he was elected to the Senate in...
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Zolani Mahola

49. Zolani Mahola

1981-. (aged 45)
singer actor
Zolani Mahola is a South African singer, actress, storyteller and inspiration speaker, now also known under the stage name The One Who Sings. She is best known as the former lead singer of the pan-African South African music group Freshlyground since 2002. On 15 August 2019, Mahola officially announced the launch of her solo career while the Freshlyground band went...
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Paul Maritz

50. Paul Maritz

1955-. (aged 71)
businessperson engineer
Paul Alistair Maritz is a computer scientist and software executive. He held positions at Microsoft and EMC Corporation. In October 2021, Maritz was named as the chairman of the board of directors for Acronis. He also is chairman of Pivotal Software.
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Hlumelo Biko

51. Hlumelo Biko

1978-. (aged 48)
investment banker businessperson
Hlumelo Biko is a South African businessman and investment banker. He is the son of Steve Biko and Mamphela Ramphele.
Golda Schultz

52. Golda Schultz

1983-. (aged 43)
opera singer
Golda Schultz is a South African soprano.
Lauren Beukes

53. Lauren Beukes

1976-. (aged 50)
author writer novelist film director journalist
Lauren Beukes is a South African novelist, short story writer, journalist and television scriptwriter.
John Cranko

54. John Cranko

1927-1973 (aged 46)
choreographer ballet dancer ballet master
John Cyril Cranko was a South African ballet dancer and choreographer with the Royal Ballet and the Stuttgart Ballet.
Lewis Pugh

55. Lewis Pugh

1969-. (aged 57)
explorer lawyer swimmer
Lewis William Gordon Pugh, OIG, is a British-South African endurance swimmer and ocean advocate. Dubbed the "Sir Edmund Hillary of swimming", he is the first person to complete a long-distance swim in every ocean of the world, and he frequently swims in vulnerable ecosystems to draw attention to their plight.
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Natalie du Toit

56. Natalie du Toit

1984-. (aged 42)
para swimmer
Natalie du Toit OIG MBE is a South African swimmer. She is best known for the gold medals she won at the 2004 Paralympic Games as well as the Commonwealth Games. She was one of two Paralympians to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; the other being table tennis player Natalia Partyka. Du Toit became the third amputee...
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Damon Galgut

57. Damon Galgut

1963-. (aged 63)
writer novelist
Damon Galgut is a South African novelist and playwright. He was awarded the 2021 Booker Prize for his novel The Promise, having previously been shortlisted for the award in 2003 and 2010.
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Tim Noakes

58. Tim Noakes

1949-. (aged 77)
sports scientist researcher
Timothy David Noakes is a South African scientist and an emeritus professor in the Division of Exercise Science and Sports Medicine at the University of Cape Town.
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Theaster Gates

59. Theaster Gates

1973-. (aged 53)
ceramicist performance artist artist
Theaster Gates is an American social practice installation artist and a professor in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Chicago. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, where he still lives and works.
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Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh

60. Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh

1989-. (aged 37)
musician
Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh is a South African podcaster, activist, musician and writer. Mpofu-Walsh was president of the University of Cape Town Students' Representative Council in 2010. He holds a DPhil in International Relations from the University of Oxford. In September 2017, Mpofu-Walsh published his debut book, Democracy and Delusion: 10 Myths in South African Politics. Along with the book, he released...
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Israel Kirzner

61. Israel Kirzner

1930-. (aged 96)
university teacher writer rabbi ethicist economist
Israel Meir Kirzner is a British-born American economist, historian, rabbi, and Talmudist closely identified with the Austrian School.
Albie Sachs

62. Albie Sachs

1935-. (aged 91)
writer lawyer judge university teacher
Albert Louis Sachs OLS, known as Albie Sachs, is a South African lawyer, activist, writer, and former judge appointed to the first Constitutional Court of South Africa by Nelson Mandela.
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Allan McLeod Cormack

63. Allan McLeod Cormack

1924-1998 (aged 74)
researcher biophysicist physicist
Allan MacLeod Cormack was a South African and American physicist, academic, and Nobel laureate. He was Professor of Physics at Tufts University and won the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (along with Godfrey Hounsfield) for his work on X-ray computed tomography (CT), a significant and unusual achievement since Cormack did not hold a doctoral degree in any scientific...
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George F. R. Ellis

64. George F. R. Ellis

1939-. (aged 87)
astronomer university teacher physicist non-fiction writer mathematician
George Francis Rayner Ellis, FRS, Hon. FRSSAf, is the emeritus distinguished professor of complex systems in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. He co-authored The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time with University of Cambridge physicist Stephen Hawking, published in 1973, and is considered one of the world's leading theorists in...
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Andrew Feinstein

65. Andrew Feinstein

1964-. (aged 62)
writer businessperson politician
Andrew Josef Feinstein is a South African former politician, economic advisor and investment banker, now activist, political consultant, filmmaker, campaigner and author, who specialises in the investigation of the arms trade and the corruption that accompanies it. He is the executive director of the small non-profit Shadow World Investigations, and serves on the board of Declassified UK.
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Ebrahim Rasool

66. Ebrahim Rasool

1962-. (aged 64)
diplomat politician
Ebrahim Rasool is a South African politician and former diplomat who served as the South African ambassador to the United States from 2010 to 2015 and again in 2025, as a member of the National Assembly from 2009 to 2010, and as the 5th premier of the Western Cape from 2004 to 2008. He is a member of the African...
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Roelof Botha

67. Roelof Botha

1973-. (aged 53)
businessperson
Roelof Frederik Botha is a South African-American venture capitalist. He served as the managing partner of Sequoia Capital from 2022 to 2025. He joined the firm in 2003 as a partner, later taking over their U.S. and European early-stage investment franchises in 2017. Botha was the chief financial officer (CFO) of PayPal from 2000 to 2003, taking the company public...
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Christiaan Barnard

68. Christiaan Barnard

1922-2001 (aged 79)
surgeon writer
Christiaan Neethling Barnard was a South African cardiac surgeon who performed the world's first human-to-human heart transplant operation. On 3 December 1967, Barnard transplanted the heart of accident victim Denise Darvall into the chest of 54-year-old Louis Washkansky, who regained full consciousness and was able to talk easily with his wife, before dying 18 days later of pneumonia, largely brought...
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Nigel Hawthorne

69. Nigel Hawthorne

1929-2001 (aged 72)
stage actor television actor voice actor film producer film actor
Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne was an English actor. He is known for his stage acting and his portrayal of Sir Humphrey Appleby, the permanent secretary in the 1980s sitcom Yes Minister and the Cabinet Secretary in its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. For this role, he won four BAFTA TV Awards for Best Light Entertainment Performance.
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Mark Shuttleworth

70. Mark Shuttleworth

1973-. (aged 53)
software developer engineer inventor private astronaut computer scientist
Mark Richard Shuttleworth is a South African and British entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Canonical, the company behind the Ubuntu Linux operating system. In 2002, Shuttleworth became the first African to travel to space, doing so as a space tourist. He holds dual citizenship from South Africa and the United Kingdom. In 2020, the Sunday Times Rich List estimated Shuttleworth's...
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Tim Jenkin

71. Tim Jenkin

1948-. (aged 78)
writer
Timothy Peter Jenkin is a South African writer, anti-apartheid activist and former political prisoner. He is best known for his 1979 escape from Pretoria Local Prison (part of the Pretoria Central Prison complex), along with Stephen Lee and Alex Moumbaris.
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Richard Stanley

72. Richard Stanley

1966-. (aged 60)
film producer screenwriter film director
Richard Stanley is a South African filmmaker, known for his work in the horror genre. He began his career making short films and music videos, and subsequently directed the feature films Hardware and Dust Devil (1992). He was the original director of The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), but was fired early into principal photography due to creative differences, an...
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Zindzi Mandela

73. Zindzi Mandela

1960-2020 (aged 60)
diplomat activist poet
Zindziswa "Zindzi" Mandela, also known as Zindzi Mandela-Hlongwane, was a South African diplomat and poet, and the daughter of anti-apartheid activists and politicians Nelson Mandela and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Zindzi was the youngest and third of Nelson Mandela's three daughters, including sister Zenani Mandela.
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Denis Goldberg

74. Denis Goldberg

1933-2020 (aged 87)
human rights defender writer politician
Denis Theodore Goldberg was a South African social campaigner who was active in the struggle against apartheid. He was accused No. 3 of 11 defendants in the Rivonia Trial of 1964, alongside the better-known Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu. He was the youngest of the defendants.
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Marais Viljoen

75. Marais Viljoen

1915-2007 (aged 92)
politician minister
Marais Viljoen, DMS was a South African politician who served as the last ceremonial State President of South Africa from 4 June 1979 until 3 September 1984. Viljoen became the last of the ceremonial presidents of South Africa when he was succeeded in 1984 by Prime Minister P. W. Botha, who combined the offices into an executive state presidency.
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Eddie Kramer

76. Eddie Kramer

1942-. (aged 84)
composer engineer record producer audio engineer
Edwin H. Kramer is a South African-born recording producer and engineer. He has collaborated with Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, the Kinks, Kiss, John Mellencamp, and Carlos Santana, among others, as well as records for other well-known artists in various genres.
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Breyten Breytenbach

77. Breyten Breytenbach

1939-2024 (aged 85)
lithographer writer painter poet essayist
Breyten Breytenbach was a South African writer, poet, and painter. He became internationally well-known as a dissident poet and vocal critic of South Africa under apartheid, and as a political prisoner of the National Party–led South African Government. He was also known as a founding member of the Sestigers, a dissident literary movement, and was one of the most important...
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Pretty Yende

78. Pretty Yende

1985-. (aged 41)
opera singer
Pretty Yende OIS is a South African operatic coloratura soprano. She has performed leading roles at opera houses internationally, including La Scala and the Metropolitan Opera. She performed at the coronation of Charles III and Camilla.
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Marlene Dumas

79. Marlene Dumas

1953-. (aged 73)
writer conceptual artist collagist lithographer sculptor
Marlene Dumas is a South African artist and painter based in the Netherlands.
Donald Woods

80. Donald Woods

1933-2001 (aged 68)
journalist writer
Donald James Woods CBE was a South African journalist and anti-apartheid activist. As editor of the Daily Dispatch, he was known for befriending fellow activist Steve Biko, who was killed by police after being detained by the South African government. Woods continued his campaign against apartheid in London, and in 1978 became the first private citizen to address the United...
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Galt MacDermot

81. Galt MacDermot

1928-2018 (aged 90)
composer songwriter pianist film score composer
Arthur Terence Galt MacDermot was a Canadian-American composer, pianist and writer of musical theater. He won a Grammy Award for the song "African Waltz" in 1961. His most successful musicals were Hair (1967; its Broadway cast album also won a Grammy) and Two Gentlemen of Verona (1971). MacDermot also composed film soundtracks, jazz and funk albums, and Western classical music....
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Roger Whittaker

82. Roger Whittaker

1936-2023 (aged 87)
composer whistle artist singer-songwriter guitarist writer
Roger Henry Brough Whittaker was a Kenyan/British singer-songwriter and musician. His music is an eclectic mixture of folk music and popular songs, the latter variously in a crooning or in a schlager style. He was best known for his baritone singing voice and trademark whistling ability as well as his guitar skills.
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Richard E. Grant

83. Richard E. Grant

1957-. (aged 69)
stage actor diarist actor television actor film actor
Richard E. Grant is a Swaziland-born English actor and presenter. He made his film debut as Withnail in the comedy Withnail and I (1987). Grant received critical acclaim for his role as Jack Hock in Marielle Heller's drama film Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018), winning various awards including the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. He also received...
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Roger Ebert

84. Roger Ebert

1942-2013 (aged 71)
television presenter film critic journalist presenter reporter
Roger Joseph Ebert was an American film critic, film historian, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. Ebert was known for his intimate, Midwestern writing style and critical views informed by values of populism and humanism. Writing in a prose style intended to be entertaining and direct, he made sophisticated...
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Chelsy Davy

85. Chelsy Davy

1985-. (aged 41)
lawyer businessperson
Chelsy Yvonne Davy is a Zimbabwean businesswoman. She is the owner and founder of the jewellery brand Aya and the travel agency Aya Africa. She is known for being the ex-girlfriend of Prince Harry.
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Geoff Makhubo

86. Geoff Makhubo

1968-2021 (aged 53)
politician
Moloantoa Geoffrey Makhubo was a South African politician who served as the Mayor of Johannesburg from December 2019 until his death from COVID-19 in July 2021. He was a member of the African National Congress and the party's regional chair. During the administration of Parks Tau, he served as the MMC (Member of the Mayoral Committee) for Finance.
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Mamphela Ramphele

87. Mamphela Ramphele

1947-. (aged 79)
writer politician
Mamphela Aletta Ramphele is a South African politician, anti-apartheid activist, medical doctor and businesswoman. She was a partner of anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, with whom she had two children. She is a former vice-chancellor at the University of Cape Town and a former managing director at the World Bank. Ramphele founded the political party Agang South Africa in February 2013...
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Aaron Klug

88. Aaron Klug

1926-2018 (aged 92)
university teacher biophysicist chemist molecular biologist biochemist
Sir Aaron Klug was a British biophysicist and chemist. He was a winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his development of crystallographic electron microscopy and his structural elucidation of biologically important nucleic acid-protein complexes.
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Lerato Mbele

89. Lerato Mbele

journalist
Lerato Mbele is a South African journalist and broadcaster working for the BBC. Mbele currently presents Talking Business Africa for the network. She previously presented the Africa Business Report and Newsday.
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Andries Treurnicht

90. Andries Treurnicht

1921-1993 (aged 72)
Christian minister minister politician
Andries Petrus Treurnicht was a South African politician, Minister of Education during the Soweto Riots and for a short time leader of the National Party in Transvaal. In 1982 he founded and led the Conservative Party of South Africa whose successes among the white electorate made him Leader of the Opposition in 1987, a position he retained until his death....
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Ernest George Jansen

91. Ernest George Jansen

1881-1959 (aged 78)
lawyer writer politician
Ernest George Jansen was the penultimate Governor-General of the Union of South Africa, holding office from 1951 until his death in 1959.
Angelique Rockas

92. Angelique Rockas

1951-. (aged 75)
dancer researcher television actor theatre practitioner theatrical producer
Angelique Rockas is an actress, producer and activist. Rockas founded the theatre company Internationalist Theatre in the UK with her patron Athol Fugard. The theatre featured multi-racial casts in classical plays."a historic example of theatre work addressing representation in the most valuable manner" As an actress Rockas`s work has been characterized by "her strong interpretation of roles".
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Max Theiler

93. Max Theiler

1899-1972 (aged 73)
physician chemist virologist
Max Theiler was a South African-American virologist and physician. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1951 for developing a vaccine against yellow fever in 1937, becoming the first African-born Nobel laureate.
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Trevor Hastie

94. Trevor Hastie

1953-. (aged 73)
university teacher academic statistician
Trevor John Hastie is an American statistician and computer scientist. He is currently serving as the John A. Overdeck Professor of Mathematical Sciences and Professor of Statistics at Stanford University. Hastie is known for his contributions to applied statistics, especially in the field of machine learning, data mining, and bioinformatics. He has authored several popular books in statistical learning, including...
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Dipuo Peters

95. Dipuo Peters

1960-. (aged 66)
politician minister
Elizabeth Dipuo Peters is a South African politician who is the Deputy Minister of Small Business Development of the Republic of South Africa from 7 March 2023. She was previously the Minister of Transport from 10 July 2013 until 30 March 2017, in the Zuma administration, and former Minister of Energy from 2009 to 2013 having served as successor to...
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Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela

96. Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela

1955-. (aged 71)
university teacher psychologist writer
Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela is the Research Chair in Studies in Historical Trauma and Transformation at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. She graduated from Fort Hare University with a bachelor's degree and an Honours degree in psychology. She obtained her master's degree in Clinical Psychology at Rhodes University. She received her PhD in psychology from the University of Cape Town. Her doctoral...
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Barney Pityana

97. Barney Pityana

1945-. (aged 81)
university teacher theologian lawyer
Nyameko Barney Pityana FKC GCOB is a human rights lawyer and theologian in South Africa. He is an exponent of Black theology.
Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge

98. Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge

1952-. (aged 74)
politician
Nozizwe Charlotte Madlala-Routledge is a South African politician who was South Africa's Deputy Minister of Defence from 1999 to April 2004 and Deputy Minister of Health from April 2004 to August 2007. President Thabo Mbeki dismissed her from the Cabinet on 8 August 2007, after which she maintained her role as a member of parliament representing the African National Congress....
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Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka

99. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka

1955-. (aged 71)
politician minister
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is a South African politician and former United Nations official, who served as the Executive Director of UN Women with the rank of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.
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J. M. Coetzee

100. J. M. Coetzee

1940-. (aged 86)
university teacher novelist linguist essayist writer
John Maxwell Coetzee AC FRSL OMG is a South African and Australian novelist, essayist, linguist, and translator. The recipient of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature, Coetzee is one of the most critically acclaimed and decorated authors in the English language. He has won the Booker Prize (twice), the CNA Literary Award (thrice), the Jerusalem Prize, the Prix Femina étranger,...
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