Connie Chiume, a South African actress who appeared in Black Panther, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Beyoncé’s Black Is King, has died. She was 72.
Chiume died Tuesday at the Garden City Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, her family announced on Instagram. Her cause of death wasn’t immediately available.
“The Chiume Family regrets to inform you of the passing of the internationally acclaimed award-winning actress Connie Chiume,” they wrote in a statement. “The Family asks for privacy during this difficult period. The family will communicate further details.”
Born on June 5, 1952, in Welkom, South Africa, Chiume trained as a nurse and graduated with a teaching degree prior to finding her way into the movie and television industry, The Independent reported. It wasn’t until 1977 that she started her career as an actor, moving to Greece to join the cast of the musical Sola Sola.
She later became more recognized among South African communities thanks to her role as Thembi in the series Inkom’ Edla Yodwa in 1989.
From there, she continued to make a name for herself as an actor, starring as Mamokete Khuse in the South African soap opera Rhythm City, as well as dozens of other projects including Warriors from Hell, The Line, I Dreamed of Africa, Yizo yizo, Zone 14, Home Affairs, Blessers, Umama and Jewel.
Chiume was also cast as a Zawavari, a Mining Tribe Elder, in 2018’s Oscar-winning film Black Panther. She reprised the role in the 2022 sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which saw her character succeed Zuri (Forest Whitaker) as Wakanda’s Elder Statesman.
She previously told South Africa’s Sunday Times in 2022 that she never could have guessed how successful Black Panther was going to be. “I went to an audition not knowing what I was auditioning for,” she said at the time. “I went there and I was given a piece that I was supposed to do. I could see that this person is an African who was addressing the nation. I wore my African regalia, I learnt my lines. I did my best.”
Chiume also portrayed Simba’s mother Sarabi in Beyoncé’s Black Is King, a musical film interpreting the global icon’s soundtrack album The Lion King: The Gift.
Throughout her career, she won the NTVA Avanti Award for best actress in a drama series for her performance in Soul City in 2000. Nearly a decade later, she took home the SAFTA in 2009 for best supporting actress in a drama for her role in Zone 14.
The Independent reported that Chiume is survived by her four children. She was married from 1985 to 2004.
