The South African actress Connie Chiumefamous worldwide for her role in the film “Black Panther”, died on Tuesday, August 6, at the age of 72, according to her family.
“The Chiume family is saddened to report the passing of internationally acclaimed and award-winning actress Connie Chiume,” said a brief statement posted late Tuesday on her personal Instagram account.
According to the statement, which requested privacy until further details were released, Chiume died in a hospital in Johannesburg (north).
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Speaking to a local television channel, her son Nongelo Chiume said that before receiving the news of her death, his mother had been admitted for a “medical procedure” and seemed to be “recovering well.”
The veteran actress, daughter of a Malawian father and a South African mother, was born in 1952 in the town of Welkom, in the Free State province (central) and initially graduated in teaching, although she abandoned teaching after a few years in the classroom.
“I had never been in show business, much less received any kind of acting training,” the actress herself said when recalling the first time she auditioned and was selected, according to local media on Wednesday.
During her versatile career, she has acted in different South African television series and played the leader of one of the tribes featured in “Black Panther” (2018) and its 2022 sequel, from the Marvel franchise, as well as in the musical film “Black is King” (2020), directed by American singer Beyoncé.
Chiume has won several awards at the South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTA) and other awards, after portraying a wide range of characters – from a housewife to a criminal – in popular South African series for years.
The South African government expressed its condolences on the death of the “legendary” actress through X , highlighting that “her excellent work will always be remembered.”
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