Lesego Motsepe (28 April 1974 – 20 January 2014) 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. ...

, social activist and singer best known for her role as Letti Matabane in

Isidingo ''Isidingo'' was a South African soap opera, with dialogue mostly in English and isiXhosa. The series premiered on SABC 3 in July 1998 and was broadcast evenings on SABC 3 from Monday to Friday at 19:00. Until 2001 it was titled ''Isidingo: The ...

from 1998 to 2008.

Early life

Motsepe grew up in Meadowlands, and attended Technikon Pretoria where she obtained a diploma in speech and drama. At the age of 5, she acted in a mutton advertisement on television, which earned her the childhood nickname ''Nama Ya Nku'' (

Setswana Tswana, also known by its native name Setswana, is a Bantu language indigenous to Southern Africa and spoken by about 8.2 million people. It is closely related to the Northern Sotho and Southern Sotho languages, as well as the Kgalaga ...

for "mutton").

Notable roles

Although best known for her role as Lettie Matabane in Isidingo, in which she played the sister of her former real-life boyfriend Tshepo Maseko, she enjoyed stage acting, and she played the lover of

Steve Biko Bantu Stephen Biko Order for Meritorious Service, OMSG (18 December 1946 – 12 September 1977) was a South African internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist. Ideologically an African nationalism, African nationalist and ...

in the play "Biko - Where the Soul Resides", and the starring role in a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

at the State Theatre about

Brenda Fassie Brenda Nokuzola Fassie (3 November 1964 – 9 May 2004) was a South African singer, songwriter, dancer and activist. Affectionately called MaBrrr by her fans, she is also known as the "Queen of African Pop" or the "Madonna of The Townships." Fas ...

Personal life

She revealed her

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

-positive status in 2001. She attracted significant controversy in 2012 when she discontinued her

antiretroviral The management of HIV/AIDS normally includes the use of multiple antiretroviral drugs as a strategy to control HIV infection. There are several classes of antiretroviral agents that act on different stages of the HIV life-cycle. The use of mu ...

therapy in favour of

alternative medicine Alternative medicine refers to practices that aim to achieve the healing effects of conventional medicine, but that typically lack biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or supporting evidence of effectiveness. Such practices are ...

, as promoted by deceased former health minister

Manto Tshabalala-Msimang Mantombazana "Manto" Edmie Tshabalala-Msimang Order for Meritorious Service, OMSS (née Mali; 9 October 1940 – 16 December 2009) was a South African politician. She was Deputy Minister of Justice from 1996 to 1999 and served as Minister of He ...

References

External links

*
TVSA Actor Profile

Snaparazzi Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Motsepe, Lesogo 1974 births 2014 deaths 20th-century South African actresses 21st-century South African actresses Actresses from Johannesburg AIDS-related deaths in South Africa South African musical theatre actresses South African stage actresses South African television actresses South African HIV/AIDS activists