Pearl Thusi (born 13 May 1988 in KwaZulu-Natal) is a South African model, radio personality, and actress. She is into other professions like business, and presenting. She walked into the spotlight after landing a presenting job on iCrew, a show on SABC3, in 2006.
She has also appeared in several pageants and made it to the top. Let’s start from 2005 when she appeared as one of the contestants of Miss KwaZulu-Natal. Other contestants were no matched to her and she proofed it by winning the competition.
In 2003, Pearl participated in the competition, Miss SA Teen, and finished as the first runner-up.
Profile
| Name | Sithembile Xola Pearl Thusi |
| Other names | The Real Black Pearl |
| Born | 13 May 1988 (age 33 years) KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa |
| Nationality |  South African |
| Gender | Female |
| Children | Thandolwethu, Okuhle |
| Education | Start-up Venture Course Communications Science |
| Alma mater | Wits Business School University of South Africa |
| Profession | Actress, model, radio personality, television host, businessperson |
| Baby Daddy | Robert Marawa |
Age
Her date of birth is on 13 May 1988 and the place of birth is in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Sithembile Xola Pearl Thusi is 33 years old.
Education
She had her high school academic pursuit at the Pinetown Girls’ High School. She had a start-up venture course at WITS Business School. Pearl also holds a BA in Communications Science from the University of South Africa (UNISA).
Family
She is the sister of Prunella and Pamela who are both younger than she is making her the eldest. She is also a half-sister to four siblings who are older than she is. The actress had a childhood that she is happy about, but the color of her skin made other children tease her.
Sadly, she lost her mother in 2004, at the time she was sixteen years old. The father and daughter relationship between Bhekizizwe Thusi and Pearl was a bit complicated. Her father allegedly abused her mother.
Career
She is a TV presenter, actress, and model and is popular on the international scene for appearing on Quantico. She was cast as Dayana Mampasi, a driven lawyer who finds it challenging to fit in. Pearl joined the popular show in the second season.
Here in Mzansi, she is popular for being a presenter and the roles she landed as an actor. She is also popular with South African viewers for being a co-presenter on the show iCrew in 2006.
Later, she gained more presence on television for playing the role of Samkelisiwe Nkambule on Zone 14. In the SABC drama series, she played the role of an orphan for a year (2011-2012).
More opportunities came following her impressive performance on screen. She landed acting roles on several other series including Soul City and Rhythm City.
As a model, Pearl has appeared in commercials for several big brands in South Africa including;
- Vodacom
- Edgars
- Jet
- Altech Netstar
- DStv
- Khomanani
- SANBS
- Toyota
- Kellogg’s Special K
- Danone and KFC, among others.
In 2012, she also appeared among the four contestants in the running to join Tropika Island of Treasure. She left the E.tv reality competition series after she lost out to Nicole Flint.
In 2012, she became the co-host of The Real Goboza taking over from Brenda Ngxoli. Pearl joined the SABC1 gossip show towards the end of the fifth season.
In the year that followed, she appeared in a crossover episode of RGB with My Perfect Family. As a presenter, she got the job on LIVE Amp, an SABC1 music show.
The Durban-born actress was cast as Palesa Motaung in Isidingo. On the SABC3 soap opera, she appeared first on May 20, 2013. Pearl landed a job as a co-host of the 13th Annual Metro FM Music Awards in 2014. She was to host the show alongside Phat Joe.
In March 2016, she left her role in LIVE AMP to be a host on the Lip Sync Battle Africa on MTV and e.tv. In 2016, she landed a role on the ABC thriller Quantico. Pearl played the regular role of Dayana Mampasi.
Boyfriend
Reports covered that Pearl Thusi was dating Quinton Jones, an Afro-American cameraman, and producer. They were in a romantic relationship before he fell in love with Minnie Dlamini.
The relationship was however confirmed by neither of them and the reports did not cover who dumped who. Seems these were mere rumors as the Queen Sono actress congratulated the couple after their engagement.
Daughters
Pearl is a proud mother of two children Thandolwethu (biological) and Okuhle (adopted). She had her biological child with her ex-boyfriend Walter Mokoena. She became an expectant mother during her first year in the university.
Business
Aside from being an actress, radio personality, or engaged in the earlier mentioned professions, she is a business-minded person. In 2015, she launched Black Pearl partnering with Afro-Botanics.
Baby Daddy
Pearl Thusi was dating Robert Marawa, a South African sports journalist. The couple made their fans know of their relationship in 2016 on social media.
Their relationship however ended a year after fans and followers knew about the affair. Robert confirmed their split in August 2017. The love they shared made them a daughter Thandolwethu.
References
- “Pearl Thusi“. TVSA retrieved 23-03-2021.
- “Pearl Thusi Biography: Friends, New Bae, Nigeria, Family, Pearl Goes MIA, Netflix, Age, Quantico, Career, Relationships, Daughter, Business, Net Worth“. Zalebs retrieved 23-03-2021.
- “Pearl Thusi“. Wikipedia retrieved 23-03-2021.