Christia Visser (born 2 March 1992) is a South African actress and singer. She received a SAFTA nomination for her performance in the film '' Tess'' (2016). She began releasing music in 2019. Her debut album ''Gemaklik Verlore'' (2020) was nominated for a South African Music Award.

Early life

Visser grew up in

Swellendam Swellendam () is the third oldest town in South Africa (after Cape Town and Stellenbosch), a town with 17,537 inhabitants situated in the Western Cape province. The town has over 50 provincial heritage sites, most of them buildings of Cape D ...

. Her father is a preacher. After matriculating from

Stellenbosch High School Hoërskool Stellenbosch is a public Afrikaans medium co-educational in the town of Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa. It was founded in 1978 as a business-oriented technical school (''Hoërhandelskool Stellenbosch''), located in the ce ...

, she completed at two year Advanced Acting for Film diploma at Act Cape Town. She also received dance and classical vocal training.

Career

Acting

Visser made her professional stage debut in Nicola Hanekom's play ''Land van Skedels'' at the 2013

Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees The Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (Afrikaans for '' Little Karoo National Arts Festival'' and usually abbreviated to ''KKNK'') is an Afrikaans language arts festival that takes place yearly in the South African town of Oudtshoorn. The festival ...

and

Aardklop Aardklop is an annual South African arts festival held in Potchefstroom, South Africa. Potchefstroom has always been a cultural city and home to several well-known South African writers and artists. The Aardklop National Arts Festival has been ...

. Her first films were '' The Perfect Wave'' and ''Hollywood in my Huis'' in 2014, the latter of which earned her a People's Choice award for Best Actress at the kykNET Silwerskermfees, and ''Ballad for a Loner'' and ''Last Ones Out'' in 2015. In 2016, Visser played a young

Alison Botha ''Alison'' is a 2016 South African documentary film directed, written and produced by Uga Carlini. The film is based on the real life abduction, rape, stabbings, abandonment and then survival of Alison Botha in 1994. Botha appears as her older ...

in the documentary '' Alison'' and the titular role of '' Tess'', a film adaptation of the novel ''Whiplash'' by Tracey Farren. For her performance in the latter, Visser was awarded Best Actress at the

Durban International Film Festival The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) is an annual film festival that takes place in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. It was founded in 1979 by Teddy Sarkin and Ros Sarkin. Presented by Centre for Creative Arts at the Univ ...

that year and nominated for Best Actress in a Feature Film at the 2017

South African Film and Television Awards The South African Film and Television Awards (sometimes referred to as the Golden Horns; often simply called the SAFTAs) is an annual South African awards ceremony hosted by the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), to honour creative exce ...

(SAFTAs). From 2016 to 2021, Visser starred as Lillie Human in ''Die Boekklub'', marking her debut television role. Visser had main roles in the 2018 series ''Knapsekêrels'' and ''Onder die Suiderkruis''. She appeared in the Border War film ''The Recce''. She had a recurring role in the second season of ''Fynskrif'' before being promoted to series regular for its third season. In 2021, Visser joined the cast of ''

Binnelanders ''Binnelanders'' (previously ''Binneland'' and ''Binneland Sub Judice'') is a South African Afrikaans soap opera. It is set in and around the fictional private hospital, Binneland Kliniek, in Pretoria, and the storyline follows the trials, trau ...

'' for its seventeenth season as Yolandi, made a guest appearance in the

BBC America BBC America is an American basic cable network that is owned by AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs sci-fi and action series and films, as well as selected programs from the BBC (such as its nature documentary series). Unlike the BBC's ...

adaptation of

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English author, humorist, and Satire, satirist, best known for the ''Discworld'' series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983 and 2015, and for the Apocalyp ...

's '' The Watch'', and starred opposite Francois Jacobs in the romantic comedy ''Kaalgat Karel''. She released the singles "Beste Leun Wen" and "Kaapse Blou" in 2021 and "Handgranaat" in 2022. As of 2022, Visser stars in the English-language

M-Net M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

thriller '' Desert Rose'' as Ishara, one of the Greyling siblings.

Music

Visser began releasing music in 2019, beginning with the singles "17 Shots" and "Die Deur". The music video for "17 Shots" garnered over five million views on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. This was followed by her 2020 debut album ''Gemaklik Verlore''. Its release was accompanied by two more singles: "Kaal Voor Jou" and "Wildste Oomblik". That same year, she hosted ''Model'' for

SABC 2 SABC 2 is a South African free-to-air television channel owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). The channel was createdin its current form on 4 February 1996, due to the restructuring of the three national SABC networks. As ...

. ''Gemaklik Verlore'' was nominated for Best Pop Album at the

27th South African Music Awards The 27th Annual South African Music Awards were the 27th edition of the South African Music Awards. The award show was broadcast live on SABC1 on 31 July 2021, and was held virtually due to the effects of COVID-19 lockdowns. The nominees were ...

. In 2025, Visser released "Sal Jy Optel?", a duet with Armand Aucamp, her ''Die Boekklub'' co-star.

Personal life

Visser married Thomas Webb at Edendale Farm in Bonnievale in June 2021. They have a daughter Kida, born 29 May 2022.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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Christia Visser
at TVSA {{DEFAULTSORT:Visser, Christia Living people 1992 births 21st-century South African actresses 21st-century South African women singers People from Swellendam South African pop singers South African women pop singers Afrikaans-language singers of South Africa