Fiona Coyne (22 June 1965 – 18 August 2010) was a South African

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

and

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people ...

who hosted the South African version of ''

The Weakest Link ''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which The Weakest Link (British game show), first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host ...

''. Coyne was born in

Springs, South Africa Springs is a former independent city that is now part of the City of Ekurhuleni, based in the east of Johannesburg (East Rand), in Gauteng Province, South Africa. It lies east of Johannesburg and southeast from Pretoria. Its name derives from ...

in 1965. She was a member of the Capab drama group for seven years after training as an actor. She also worked at a

rhinoceros A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

and

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

sanctuary in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

for four years. She was the playwright of many notable plays such as The Birthday, Glass Roots and As the Koekie crumbles. In 2009, Coyne appeared in ''

The Adventures of Pinocchio ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' ( ; , i.e. "The Adventures of Pinocchio. Story of a Puppet"), commonly shortened to ''Pinocchio'', is an 1883 Children's literature, children's fantasy novel by Italian author Carlo Collodi. It is about the mischi ...

'', a

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

by Janice Honeyman, as Katarina the Cat. She also authored the book ''Who Moved My Ladder? The Working Woman's Guide to Success''. Coyne was best known in South Africa for her position as the presenter of ''The Weakest Link''. Her appearance, hair, dress and style of speaking to contestants were based on those of

Anne Robinson Anne Josephine Robinson (born 26 September 1944) is a British journalist and television presenter, best known as the host of BBC game show ''The Weakest Link'' from 2000 to 2012, and again in 2017 for a one-off celebrity special for ''Children ...

, who hosted the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

version of the show. Coyne beat approximately 500 people for ''The Weakest Link'' position. She travelled to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 2003 to train with

before the South African version of the show was launched. Coyne died at her home in

Fish Hoek Fish Hoek (, meaning either Fish Corner or Fish Glen) is a coastal suburb of Cape Town at the eastern end of the Fish Hoek Valley on the False Bay side of the Cape Peninsula in the Western Cape, South Africa. Previously a separate municipality, Fi ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, on 18 August 2010, aged 45, from a suspected suicide. She had recently divorced her husband, Willie Fritz, after 22 years of marriage. She had reportedly left notes for her housekeeper, Zoleka Shumani, and her family. Her funeral was held at St. Peter's Roman Catholic church in

Strand, Western Cape Strand (, ) is a seaside resort town in the Western Cape, South Africa. It forms part of the Eastern Suburbs of the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality, situated on the north-eastern edge of False Bay and near the foot of the Helderberg ...

References

External links

Fiona Coyne
a
Who's Who Southern Africa
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coyne, Fiona 1965 births 2010 suicides 2010 deaths South African television presenters South African women television presenters South African women dramatists and playwrights South African game show hosts South African people of British descent South African people of Irish descent Suicides in South Africa People from Springs, Gauteng 20th-century South African dramatists and playwrights