Kuli Roberts' biography: Age, career, family, divorce, death
Kuli Roberts was a famous South African television presenter, fashion and beauty tabloid journalist, actress and author. She featured in numerous projects on the media, including the What Not To Wear reality show on SABC2 as a co-presenter from 2004 to 2005. She also worked for SABC1's The Real Goboza daily talk show as a host from 2008 to 2009.
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Source: UGC
Here are details about Kuli Roberts' age, career, weight loss, and unfortunate death.
Kuli Roberts' profile summary
- Full name: Nomakula Kuli Roberts
- Birthdate: 16th December 1972
- Age: 49 years (at the time of death)
- Birthplace: KwaLanga, Cape Town, South Africa
- Zodiac sign: Sagittarius
- Died: 9th February 2022
- Place of death: Johannesburg, South Africa
- Nationality: South African
- Ethnicity: African
- Sexuality: Straight
- Secondary school: Grahamstown's Diocesan School
- College: University of Cape Town
- Career: Journalist, author, and actress
- Parents: Mr and Mrs Mboya
- Siblings: 3
- Notable relatives: Hlubi Mboya-Arnold (sister) and Prof Mzobanzi Mboya (uncle)
- Marital status: Divorced
- Former husband: Beyers Roberts
- Children: India Tembela and Laeun Roberts
- Grandchildren: 1 (at least)
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The early life of Kuli Roberts
Her birth name is Nomakula Makwela Mboya. Nomakula and her sister grew up under their maternal grandmother's care when their parents travelled abroad to further their studies.
Kuli Roberts' father was an assistant dean at the University of Cape Town. Her mother, Nothemba's occupation is unknown. Meanwhile, one of her notable relatives is an uncle named Prof Mzobanzi Mboya.
Source: UGC
Her maternal grandparents, the Nabe-Makwela family, was an entrepreneurial clan and owned grocery stores around the Cape Flats.
Since the younger daughter could not bear the separation, Mr and Mrs Mboya sent for her after settling in Washington, USA, and left Nomakula with grandmother Lawukazi Makwela'.
The couple returned to South Africa in 1994 with their degrees and two more children, Siyanda and Thabi. After years of separation, Nomakula had an emotional reunion with her younger sister at the airport.
How old is Kuli Roberts?
Kuli Roberts' age was 49 at the time of death. She was born on 16th December 1972 in KwaLanga, Cape Town, South Africa.
Who are Kuli Roberts' sisters?
Nomakula's sister, Hlubi Mboya-Arnold, is a prominent actress and an AIDS ambassador in South Africa. Her other siblings are Siyanda and Thabi.
Hlubi played in the Isidingo TV series as Nandipha Sithole and won a SAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress after acting in Dora's Peace film in 2016.
Her other films are A Small Town Called Descent (2010), How to Steal 2 Million (2011), Death Race 3: Inferno (2013), Avenged (2013), Hector and the Search for Happiness (2014), and I am All Girls (2021).
Who is older between Kuli Roberts and Hlubi Mboya?
Kuli was older than Hlubi, since the latter was born on 2nd March 1978. Hlubi is 44 years old as of 2022, while Nomakula would celebrate her 50th birthday on 16th December 2022 if she were alive.
Educational background
Kuli joined the then Grahamstown's Diocesan School for Girls during the last years of apartheid.
She later arrived at the University of Cape Town chauffeured in a state-of-the-art Mercedes Benz in 1991 as a first-year student. After college, Kuli interned at Fair Lady magazine in London, UK, before becoming a full-time staffer.
Source: Instagram
Career history
After getting married and earning several degrees, she moved from London to South Africa and began working at Metro FM as a political talk show producer at night and lifestyle producer in the day.
Nomakula worked for Drum magazine as a fashion and beauty editor, then You, before landing the Pace magazine's editor-in-chief position in the late summer of 2002.
She moved to the Sunday World six months later. Afterwards, Kuli hosted numerous shows and even became an actress.
- 2004 to 2005: A television host on SABC2
- 2008 to 2009: A co-host for SABC1's The Real Goboza gossip show's season 2 and 3
- 2010 to 2013: A host for the Headline celebrity gossip magazine show
- 2012: A host at Kaya FM
- 2013: A contestant on SABC3's Strictly Come Dancing season 6
- 2016: One of the four hosts of SABC3's Trending SA daily talk show
- 2020-2021: Acted as Mildred Sefatsa in seasons 4 and 5 of Mzansi Magic's The Queen series.
- 2021: She acted in Angeliena (a Netflix movie) as Tina
Kuli Roberts was one of the best fashion and beauty icons in South Africa. Besides her unique sense of fashion, the celebrity's exceptional oratory and writing skills, plus logical reasoning and objectivity drew many people to her shows.
How old was Kuli Roberts when she got married?
Nomakula once flew to Germany to meet her boyfriend in her teenage years without informing her parents. She must have been 17 or 18 years old when she got married to Beyers Roberts (a UK expat and musician) over a lunch break in 1990 without her parents' knowledge. The day's exact date is unknown.
The couple divorced many years ago after having two children. While she was still married to Beyers and pregnant with her second child, the family was kicked out of their flat in Muizenberg, Western Cape, South Africa, in the late 1990s because the landlord's wife did not appreciate the African Nomakula. Their firstborn was still a toddler at that time.
On 26th February 2018, Nomakula tweeted about bumping into her ex-husband at the airport, but he could barely recognize her after not being in touch for so long.
Despite the media star not creating a fuss out of the incident, it was natural for the public to wonder why Kuli Roberts' ex-husband could not recognize the mother of his children.
Kuli Roberts' children
Her children have mixed ethnicity, and the affectionate mother always smothered her kids with compliments, motivation, and gifts. She also celebrated their milestones from birthdays, graduations, having kids, and more.
Source: Facebook
Kuli Robert's daughter
Her daughter, India Tembela, was born on 1st March 1994. She got married to Gian and had her first child, Isabella, on 25th January 2017. India is believed to be a teacher.
How old is Kuli Roberts' son?
Laeun Roberts was born on 18th April 1996. Laeun played soccer in his teenage years and now works as a software engineer in the United Kingdom.
Who is Kuli Roberts' husband?
The actress never remarried after parting ways with the father of her children.
When Savita (Vuli Mbuli's widow) went to Twitter in 2013 claiming that Nomakula was among the women who had affairs with her late husband, she distanced herself from the accusations.
Nomakula stated that she and the TV presenter were only colleagues and platonic friends.
Who married Kuli Roberts' husband?
Nomakula and her children were on good terms with Beyers and never publicly discussed his love life. Therefore, it is unclear whether Kuli's ex remarried after their separation or not.
Kuli Roberts' weight loss
Kuli ignored the public's concern about her looks after she posted on Instagram an image of herself wearing cycling shorts. Nomakula loved her slim appearance and was not bothered by those trolling her over what they assumed was an "unhealthy weight loss."
According to the media star, the pandemic affected her appetite and mental state, thus contributing to her dramatic weight loss.
Kuli Roberts' death and burial
Kuli passed away on Wednesday, 9th February 2022, after suffering a seizure.
A close friend disclosed to City Press that Nomakula arrived on set on Wednesday night at around 1900hrs and collapsed while filming with other artists for her new show.
Her close friends, colleagues, schoolmates, and family held a private memorial service at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg, on the East Rand.
Kuli Roberts fitted the description of a multi-talented woman with a go-getter spirit. Additionally, the world adored her confidence and hard working attitude.
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Source: Briefly News
