Bio
Busi Lurayi was a South African actress best known for her starring role as Phumzile on the SABC1 sitcom City Ses'la (from 2005-2006 and again in 2010) and its spin-off series Ses'Top La.
She was also known for her starring role in two seasons of the Netflix miniseries How to Ruin Christmas, where she played prodigal daughter Tumi Sello, the rebellious black sheep of her dysfunctional family.
In 2006 she won the inaugural SAFTA (South African Film and Television Awards) for Best Supporting Actress in a TV Comedy, for her role as Phumzile. She won the same category for the role in 2011.
Busi left City Ses'la after the first season (she was replaced by Thuli Thabethe) to join the cast of the ITV drama series Wild At Heart starring Amanda Holden of Kiss Me Kate fame, about a British family who relocate to a game reserve in South Africa.
Busi played Thandi, a teacher who home schools the children, in the second season of the show. She is billed as a supporting cast member.
She returned to the role of Phumzile for City Ses'la's fourth and final season in 2010. Her character then got a spin-off series, Ses'Top La, which premiered in 2012.
In May 2006 she made a guest appearance on the medical drama series ER, playing the role of Sittina in the episode entitled "There Are No Angels Here" (Season 12, Episode 20).
Between 2008 and 2011 she played the starring role of Winnie Molepo, a lawyer who works for the Sokhulu brothers, in the SABC1 drama series Sokhulu & Partners.
In 2010 she joined the SABC1 drama series Home Affairs for Season 4, in the role of Mpume, competitor to the longtime series character Vuyokazi, played by Brenda Ngxoli.
In November 2011 she joined the cast of the SABC1 soapie Generations in the role of Swazi Lukhele, a socialite wife who was married to David Lukhele but in the process of divorcing him.
In 2012 she was a main cast member of the Mzansi Magic sitcom S.I.E.S., playing the head of the incompetent government department of Social Impact and Empowerment Strategy.
In 2013 she was the host of the M-Net game show Million Rand Money Drop and in 2014 she reprised her role as Phumzile in Season 2 of Ses'Top La.
In 2017 she played the recurring role of Nkuli in Season 2 of the Mzansi Magic prison drama Lockdown and in 2020 she starred as Dr Lungile Asumadu in the SABC2 medical drama series Vutha.
In 2021 she won a Best Actress SAFTA for her role as Tumi in How to Ruin Christmas.
Busi died of unknown causes on Sunday 10 July, 2022.
Busi Lurayi with Amanda Holden in Wild At Heart
