Editing Leleti Khumalo (section)

==Early life and ''Sarafina!''==
Khumalo was born in [[KwaMashu]] township, north of [[Durban]], South Africa. Showing an interest in performing from an early age, she joined a youth backyard dance group called Amajika, mentored by Tu Nokwe.

In 1985 she auditioned for the [[Mbongeni Ngema]] musical which was to become the international blockbuster ''[[Sarafina! (musical)|Sarafina!]]''; Ngema wrote the lead character of Sarafina for Khumalo. She  later married him, but they divorced. She is currently married to businessman Skhutazo Winston Khanyile and she gave birth to their twins Ulwenzile and Yamukelani Khanyile.

Khumalo performed the role of Sarafina on stages in South Africa and on Broadway, where she received a 1988 [[Tony Award]] nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. ''Sarafina!'' had a Broadway run lasting two years, after which the production embarked on a worldwide tour. In 1987 Khumalo received an [[NAACP Image Award]] for Best Stage Actress. In 1992, she starred alongside [[Whoopi Goldberg]], [[Miriam Makeba]] and [[John Kani]] in [[Darrell James Roodt]]'s film version of ''[[Sarafina! (film)|Sarafina!]]'', which had a worldwide distribution, and became the biggest film production to be released on the African continent. Khumalo was nominated for an [[NAACP Image Award|Image Award]], together with [[Angela Bassett]], [[Whoopi Goldberg]] and [[Janet Jackson]]. Based on the 1976 [[Soweto Riots|Soweto youth uprisings]], Sarafina! tells the story of a young school girl who is not afraid to fight for her rights and inspires her peers to rise up in protest, especially after her inspirational teacher, Mary Masombuka (Goldberg) is imprisoned and murdered.

In 1993, Khumalo released her first album, ''Leleti and Sarafina''.

Sarafina! was re-released in South Africa on 16 June 2006 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the [[Soweto Riots|youth uprisings]] in [[Soweto]].