Connie Chiume, the South African actress who appeared in Black Panther, has died. She was 72.
She passed away Tuesday at the Garden City Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, her family said in a statement on Instagram. No cause of death was given.
Her son, Nongelo Chiume, told Newzroom Afrika his mother had been admitted to the “hospital for a medical procedure.” “She was recovering well, but unfortunately we then got the news of her passing,” he said.
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Connie Chiume was a trained teacher before becoming a household name as a television actress, according to the BBC, rising to prominence with her role as Thembi in the show Inkom’ Edla Yodwa in 1989.
She played Zawavari, a Mining Tribe Elder, in the 2018 Marvel film Black Panther. She also appeared in the 2022 sequel, Black Panther Wakanda Forever.
“I went to an audition not knowing what I was auditioning for,” she said of her experience being cast in Black Panther, according to TimesLIVE. “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.”
