Bio
Vicky Kente is a South African actress, producer and entrepreneur best known for her starring role as Ntombi Mabunda, the first wife in a polygamous marriage, in the Mzansi Magic sitcom The Mayor.
The niece of the late playwright Gibson Kente, Vicky started her acting career in the Western Cape at the Nico Malan Theatre, doing mostly stage productions.
In 1994 she moved to Johannesburg and landed a role as an immigration officer on the M-Net soapie Egoli. In the same year she was asked by playwright Charles Fourie to be part of the cast of Vrygrond, which was sponsored by the ATKV and which was invited to most major Afrikaans festivals.
She has qualifications in Drama (UCT) and Communications (UNISA).
Vicky has also performed in musicals like Jesus Christ Superstar and international film productions like Born Free. She worked with David Poole as a choreographer for five years during her stay in Cape Town, performing and teaching dance in Guguletu and Nyanga.
She was also a presenter for a few productions on the SABC.
In 1996, after performing in Soul Buddyz under the direction of Bobby Heaney, he invited her to be a partner in a joint venture. This was the beginning of a long producing relationship with Bobby Heaney Productions and later Imani Media. Together they have produced Mass Choir Festivals for SABC2 and SABC3, The Write Stuff, Van der Walt's Fault and Erfsondes 1-3.
In 2001 she was invited to Canada by 4Square Production to workshop a joint venture. The meeting culminated in an AIDS documentary, which was broadcast on SABC Africa. She also co-produced a documentary with the same production company called Water! Water. This production was shot in Canada, Namibia.
In 2010 she appeared in Intersexions for Curious Pictures and played a lead in the sitcom Thysnywerheid, directed by Cobus Rossouw.
Films she has acted in include Born Free: A New Adventure, Winnie Mandela, Little One and Treurgrond. She also guest starred in the kykNET drama series Hartland and was a recurring guest star on the SABC2 soapie 7de Laan, making her first appearance in March 2012.
Vicky has her own production company, Kente Media Productions, with which she produces documentaries and corporate videos for blue chip companies. The company has won tenders to do events for government and blue chip companies in South Africa, Canada, United Kingdom and the United States. She was also a producer of the 2010 comedy show Rasdien, featuring comedian Joey Rasdien.
These include the first and second Multi-Choice Vuka Awards; the inauguration of Tito Mboweni, Kennedy Memorial Road Show in Africa and New York, the International Water Affairs conference, The Tenth Anniversary of the Tutu Foundation and the re-launch of the Big Hole in Kimberley for De Beers in 2006.
Vicky has also done adverts for Unilever and many other companies for television. She is also a motivational speaker and MC.
She speaks six languages and has done voice overs in four of the languages. These languages are Xhosa, English, Afrikaans, Zulu, siSwati and Sesotho.
In 2015 she landed her first starring role in television in the Mzansi Magic sitcom The Mayor, after the role was vacated by Thembi Mtshali-Jones.