Bio
Lesego Tlhabi is a South African satirist, screenwriter, presenter, actress and content producer best known for her comedic character, Coconut Kelz.
She attended high school at St Anne's Diocesan College, a private school in KwaZulu-Natal, matriculating in 2006.
She obtained a BA in English and Media from the University of Cape Town, after which she studied further at Brunel University in London (theatre), Columbia University (short courses in TV writing) and the New York Film Academy (musical theatre).
After graduating in 2014, Lesego returned to Johannesburg and began working as a content producer, scriptwriter and occasional DJ, gigging under the name Dame the DJ.
During this time she launched a satirical YouTube account as the character Coconut Kelz, a self-loathing black person who articulates collective white anxieties in post-apartheid South Africa.
The popularity of the character led to further career opportunities opening up, as her viral videos gave her an increasingly popular public profile.
In 2018 she landed a regular slot on Phemelo Motene's Radio 702 weekend program and the following year co-hosted the SABC3 show Democracy Gauge, with Bongani Bingwa.
Towards the end of 2019 she published a satirical book called Coconut Kelz's Guide to Surviving this Shithole.
She also made an appearance on the M-Net investigative journalism series Carte Blanche on 8 December, 2019, in which (as Coconut Kelz) she applied her wit and insights to unconscious biases and issues that South Africans share as we get in the mood for the festive season and wind down the year that was.
Her segment on the show was called "Contemplating Christmas with Coconut Kelz".
In 2020, Lesego was a comedic contributor on the 1Magic reality clip show The Lowdown with Thomas Gumede, which premiered on 4 July and also aired on Mzansi Magic.
Later in the year she was a contestant in an episode of the e.tv reality competition series Family Feud South Africa which aired on 20 September, 2020 (Season 1, Episode 25). The series later aired on Netflix as well.
The following year she landed a gig as a co-host of the SABC3 daytime talk show Trending SA, joining the cast for Season 6 with MaBlerh, Mo Flava and Luthando "Lootlove" Shosha.
She also had a recurring role (as Kelz) on the Showmax comedy series Tali's Baby Diary, starring Julia Anastasopoulos (also known as Suzelle DIY).
Lesego landed her first starring acting role in television when she was cast as Zaza Moloi in the SABC1 telenovela uBettina Wethu, based on the international series Ugly Betty.
The series premiered on 5 April, 2021.