Queen B: Bonang Matheba's Adventure of Being an Entertainment Icon in Mzansi
Bonang Dorothy Matheba is a style icon and a hardworking entertainer in the industry. Briefly.co.za takes a look at Bonang's career, relationships and personal life throughout her years of being a television personality.
PAY ATTENTION: Join Briefly News' Telegram channel! Never miss important updates!
Bonang Matheba has been in the entertainment industry for over a decade and she has made her mark in the business. Bonang has paved the way for herself and had humble beginnings. She even received the name "Queen B", which is the same nickname as Beyoncé Knowles-Carter.
Briefly.co.za takes a look at Bonang's journey through fame and how she turned herself into a household name in the process.
Early beginnings, childhood and first appearance on TV
As of today, Bonang is 33 years old. She was born on 25 June, 1987. Her zodiac sign is Cancer. Bonang was born in Mahikeng, North West. She belongs to the Tswana ethnic group in South Africa. As she became older, she relocated to Johannesburg and went to Fourways High School.
Bonang went to the University of Johannesburg and made her first appearance on television on a SABC 2 kids' show, Manhattan Fantasy Challenge, when she was 15. She then auditioned to be the presenter for LIVE on SABC 1 and won, becoming the host from 2007.
Moving on from LIVE, endorsements and fashion deals
Bonang quickly became a hit on LIVE and this made her gain attraction from a number of brands to collaborate with her. She left LIVE in 2012 and focused on other ventures. She then hosted a number of other television shows such as Afternoon Express, Top Billing and KFC Taste Kitchen.
Queen B then started to host a number of award shows. She hosted the 2014 MTV Music Awards, 2016 MTV Africa Music Awards and the 2016 BET Awards.
Source: Getty Images
In 2018, Bonang hosted the Miss South Africa pageant, she also hosted in 2019 and the pageant was won by the current Miss Universe, Zozibini Tunzi.
She also hosted the Global Citizen: Mandela 100 concert in 2018 alongside Naomi Campbell and Trevor Noah. Bonang also tried her hand at acting and appeared in InterSEXions. She soon realised that acting was not for her and hasn't accepted any roles since.
Bonang was approached later to be on Muvhango but she declined the offer. Speaking about her experience, she told City Press:
"I think these people wanted publicity by using my name, so I'm not interested."
In 2009, Bonang joined radio and had her own show called The B* Hive on YFM. She left the radio station in 2012 and she joined Metro FM in 2015. Bonang had a slot on the radio station and had her own show titled The Front Row. She left Metro FM after a dispute with the station manager.
Bonang launched her first fashion line in 2008 in collaboration with Legit. Her line was called Just B. Queen B has also worked with a London designer to create a line of handbags. She has also collaborated with Woolworths, making her own lingerie line, Distraction by Bonang, in 2014.
Bonang has also worked with Superbalist and had her own range of T-shirts with her signature catchphrases, "Mo'ghel" and "Give the people what they want".
Bonang also has her own line of sparkling wine, titled House of BNG. It can be found at Woolworths. The deal made her the first black woman to be added to the Méthode Cap Classique Association.
Source: Twitter
Romantic relationships
Bonang started dating Slikour in 2007. He was part of the Kwaito group Skwatta Kamp. In 2009, Bonang began a very public relationship with Euphonik. The relationship ended when he allegedly assaulted her, they reconciled thereafter but things did not work out in 2012.
Bonang was accused of lying about the alleged assault by a number of people and Euphonik even came out to call her "hlanyo". In the first edition of her book, From A to B, Bonang addressed these claims and said:
"I never anticipated how badly I would be treated when the story of my break-up was leaked. It was one of the most painful experiences and sometimes I am not sure how I survived."
From 2015 to 2017, Bonang was in a relationship with rapper AKA. The relationship was controversial as it started while DJ Zinhle was still pregnant with AKA's child, Kairo Forbes. Zinhle exposed their affair on social media when she had enough.
Currently, it is not known if Bonang is romantically involved with anyone. After her break-up with AKA, the businesswoman decided to keep her private affairs out of the public eye.
Other projects
Bonang has put her entertainment career on hold as she steps into doing other business ventures. Bonang has taken time off so that she can focus on her career in the alcohol industry since her sparkling wine brand House of BNG is doing well.
Bonang has also been a brand ambassador for Revlon cosmetics. She became the first international ambassador for the brand outside of the United States. She has been on a number of magazine covers in South Africa and has become the first black woman in the country to do so.
The television personality also has her own reality TV show, produced by her company Bonang Matheba Entertainment. Her show is called Being Bonang and airs on 1Magic, The shows follows the happenings of Bonang's personal life and her work life.
Bonang said for many years that she would never do a reality show but changed her mind about it a few years later. Fans were happy to see the media personality sharing more details of her private life and even came to love her cousin, Tebogo "Pinky Girl", on the show.
Source: Twitter
Social media presence
Queen B has a large following on social media. She currently has 4.2 million followers on Instagram and shares a number of pictures showcasing her lavish lifestyle. Bonang has travelled around the world and always leaves fans envious of her travel goals.
The media personality has 4.7 million followers on Twitter. She spends time promoting her brand and takes breaks from social media from time to time. Stating that she has to make time to focus on making money. She also has an iconic tweet that says:
"They have to talk about you. Because when they talk about themselves, nobody listens."
Briefly.co.za previously reported that Bonang Matheba has social media spinning with a cryptic post about kids. Mzansi media personality Bonang Matheba had the timeline talking when she tweeted something cryptic.
Bonang took to social media to share some good news but Mzansi took the tweet and ran with it. Queen B said:
"...It's a girl!"
Bonang's tweet was accompanied by heart emojis and fans became excited. Many social media users thought that Bonang had had a child and took to the comments section to congratulate her.
Enjoyed reading our story? Download BRIEFLY's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major South African news!
Source: Briefly News
