Bio
Thandi Puren is a South African actress and voice artist best known to television viewers for her starring role as FJ in the SABC2 comedy series Die Vlieënde Springbokkie.
She is also known for her roles as Ruda in 7de Laan and as Olivia Higginson in Sober Companion.
Thandi matriculated from the National School of the Arts in 1993, with distinction in Drama, English and Afrikaans. She went on to further her studies at AFDA, where she won numerous awards for acting.
In theatre, she has acted in numerous productions directed by Deon Opperman, including Bad Habits, Equus, Cyrano de Bergerac, Requiem, Masterclass and The Sound of Music.
Other theatre productions she has appeared in include Spring Awakening, Tail Between the Legs, Dick Talk, Closer, Got It Maid and Tewe.
Thandi starred in the Darrell Roodt horror film Siembamba (also known as The Lullaby), in 2017. She also had a role in the comedy film Straight Outta Benoni.
Other films she has acted in include Dead Easy, Racing Stripes, The Message, The Furnace, Fishers of Men, Badia and Red Meat.
In television, Thandi has had guest turns on series such as the SABC3 comedy series Sorted, the SABC2 police drama Zero Tolerance, the SABC2 drama series The Res and the kykNET soapie Binnelanders.
In 2016 she played the recurring role of Olivia Higginson in the dark comedy-drama series Sober Companion on SABC3, making her first appearance in Season 1, Episode 1 (which aired on 4 July, 2016).
The following year she began playing the recurring guest role of Ruda in the SABC2 soapie 7de Laan, making her first appearance on 9 October, 2017.
In 2018 she landed her first starring role in television in the SABC2 comedy series Die Vlieënde Springbokkie (The Flying Springbok), playing the role of FJ, the captain of the spaceship. The series follows a group of mismatched South Africans stuck on a spaceship, on a quest to find a new planet.