Sonia Mbele: Biography, Age, Ex, Husband, Children, TV Shows

Sonia Mbele (born 11 December 1976) is a South African actress, television producer, and entrepreneur. She is best known for playing Ntombi Khumalo in the soap opera Generations from 2003 to 2009.

Table of Contents

Mbele played Lisbeth Molapo in the series Blood & Water and Cleopatra Mokwena in the SABC1 soap opera Family Secrets. She produced the reality television series Real Housewives of Johannesburg and a podcast, Woza Nazo.

Sonia Mbele
Sonia Mbele is famous for her iconic role as Ntombi Khumalo on the SABC1 soap opera Generations.
Quick Facts
Name:	Sonia Nomthandazo Mbele
Born:	11 December 1976 (age 49 years old)
Place of birth:	Natalspruit, Alberton, Gauteng
Nationality:	South African
Occupation:	Actress, television producer, entrepreneur
Years active:	1998-date
Employer:	Sonia Mbele Films
Spouse:	Leslie Sedibe (m. 2006; div. 2014)
Children:	4

Early Life

Sonia Mbele was born on 11 December 1976 in Natalspruit, a suburb in Alberton, Gauteng. She grew up as an only child and lost her father as a teenager. She was introduced after joining a high school theatre group.

Education

Mbele took a course with the Sediba Programme through the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF).

Career

Sonia Mbele landed her debut acting role as a lead act in an SABC2 drama production, Phamokate, in 1998. She bagged the FNB Vita Award for Most Promising New Actress in 1999.

She joined the SABC1 soap opera Generations as Ntombi Khumalo in 2003. She claimed that her ex-husband forced her to quit her role in 2011.

She also appeared in several films, including Mr Bones and God Is African, and commercials for Vodacom, Sunsilk, and Shield. In she won the Golden Horn Award for Best Actress in a TV Soap at the South African Film and Television Awards.

Mbele produced the Real Housewives of Joburg and the podcast Woza Nazo. She portrayed Mmamosa Letsie in SABC 2’s telenovela Keeping Score. She also appeared in Mzansi Magic drama series iNumber Number as Philane.

She wrote and produced Meet The Radebe’s, which aired on Mzansi Magic and played Lisbeth Molapo in the series Blood & Water. She also played Cleopatra Mokwena in the SABC1 soap opera Family Secrets.

Mbele plays Zola, a charming and hardened gangster, in the telenovela DiepCity, making her first appearance on 27 July 2021. She has also written a short story about a woman who is imprisoned for killing her abusive husband.

Mbele launched her alkaline water brand, Alkamax, at Melrose Arch in November 2021, and the movement “Crowns on Fleek” in 2025. She aims to provide business support and mentorship for women through the movement.

Personal Life

Sonia Mbele married her ex-husband, Leslie Sedibe, in 2006 after dating for a couple of years. She divorced him in 2014 after 8 years of marriage. She revealed that she was in a long-distance relationship with a man based in New York-based in 2022.

Mbele called off her secret engagement to a businessman after he got married. She was engaged to be married to the businessman in 2023.

She has four children, including two sons, Donelle and Siyabonga. Her son, Donelle, was accused of rape but was released on R1,000 bail after appearing in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court.

She was reported to be in a state of depression and had even googled “how to commit suicide” in 2018. She made headlines after flaunting a red Ferrari, reportedly worth R5-million, in 2025.