Lunga Shabalala facts for kids

Lunga Shabalala (born May 22, 1989) is a famous South African actor, TV presenter, and model. He became well-known as a presenter on the fun SABC 1 TV show called Selimathunzi. Later, he started acting and got his first role in the TV show The River, where he still acts today.

Growing Up

Lunga Shabalala was born and grew up in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. He went to school at Maritzburg College. While he was there, he was in the same class as actor Zenzelisphesihle Xulu and singer Mario Ogle. After finishing school, Lunga earned a diploma in Town Planning. However, he later realized that this was not the right career path for him.

Starting His Career

Lunga moved to Johannesburg to work in television. His very first job was in a Coca-Cola advertisement. In August 2010, he joined a Calvin Klein modeling contest. This competition was called "Represent South Africa." Lunga won the contest, which helped him get noticed by many people. Soon after, he started working in television.

Becoming a TV Presenter

In 2011, Lunga took part in a big search across the country. They were looking for a new presenter for the popular show Selimathunzi. The previous presenter, Kaos Matu, had left the show. Lunga won this competition and was chosen to be the new Selimathunzi presenter.

In 2013, he appeared on an entertainment show called 10 over 10. Later that year, he was picked to co-host the official SABC 1 New Year's Eve show, Come Duze. He presented this yearly show for three years.

Hosting Man Cave

In 2014, Lunga became a co-presenter on the SABC 3 reality TV show, Man Cave. He hosted this show alongside Janez Vermeiren. The show featured male contestants who competed in exciting, adventurous challenges. Lunga was an official co-host for all six seasons of Man Cave, which finished in 2017.

Other TV Appearances

In February 2015, Lunga appeared on the South African version of Celebrity Masterchef South Africa. This show was inspired by the very popular Australian reality TV show.

In June 2016, Lunga was chosen to help host the red carpet event. This was at the 2016 South African Music Awards. The event took place at the Durban International Convention Centre. He hosted alongside well-known presenters Bonang Matheba and Pearl Modiadie.

In 2017, Lunga announced that he would be leaving his role as a co-presenter on Selimathunzi. His last broadcast on the show was on November 28, 2017.

Acting Roles

In 2018, Lunga got his first acting role. He played the character Lindani on the M-net show, The River. This show was aired on the 1Magic channel on Dstv.

From early 2021 until September 2022, Lunga played the character Sims Zulu. This was on the M-Net show Legacy.