Gcina Mhlope

Nokugcina Elsie Mhlophe (born 24 October 1958), known as Gcina Mhlophe, is a South African storyteller, writer, playwright, and actress. In 2016 she was listed as one of BBC's 100 Women. She tells her stories in four of South Africa's languages: English, Afrikaans, Zulu and Xhosa, and also helps to motivate children to read. Her childhood Nokugcina Elsie Mhlophe was born on 24 October 1958 in KwaZulu-Natal, to a Xhosa mother and a Zulu father. She started her working life as a domestic worker, and did not visit a library until she was 20 years old . Career Gcina Mhlophe worked as a newsreader at the Press Trust and BBC Radio, then as a writer and a magazine for newly-literate people.