Kwanele Mthethwa (born 23 May 1996) is a South African actress. She is best known playing lead roles in major productions such as the Netflix movie Lobola Man (2024) as Zandile, Pound 4 Pound (2024) as Sma and The Polygamist (2026) as Matipa Nkosi.
Contents
Early life
Mthethwa was born on 23 May 1996, in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. She went to Burnwood Secondary School in Clare Hills.
Career
Mthethwa made her first television debut in Mzansi Magic telenovela Isithembiso season 2 in 2019 playing the role of Ayanda. In 2020, she appeared in supranatural drama Indandatho Yokukhanya. She played the supporting role of Boity in a drama series Abomama and Showmax short television drama Umakoti Wethu playing the lead role of Nobuhle. The same year, she played the recurring role of Phumeza in The Queen season 5.
In 2022, Mthethwa played the lead in Mzansi Magic drama series Umbuso as Lihle. The same year, she also played the lead role in BET Africa original telenovela Redemption as Faith Zikode. She made her first Netflix role in 2024, in a romantic comedy drama Lobola Man playing the main role of Zandile. The same year, she starred in BET boxing drama series Pound 4 Pound as Sma.
Mthethwa played the role of Nobuntu Gumede in Umkhokha in 2023 after she replaced Khwezi Ndlovu and left in late 2024. In 2026, she appeared in the Netflix drama series The Polygamist playing the lead role of Matipa Nkosi. She is currently playing the starring role of Khethiwe Mkhize in Kwa Baba season 1.