- Out February 28, Queen Sono is Netflix's first original series from Africa.
- Pearl Thusi stars as Queen Sono, an accomplished spy hardened by a traumatic incident in her past.
- Obsessed with Thusi? You're not alone. Here's what you need to know about the South Africa-born actress.
James Bond has competition—and her name is Queen Sono.
Dropping on Netflix on February 28, Queen Sono follows the high stakes missions of a highly trained South African spy. Played by the magnetic South African actress Pearl Thusi, 31, Queen Sono rocks a ballgown as effortlessly as she manipulates people for state secrets.
From gadgets to bad guys, the six-episode series has the same elements of quintessential spy drama. But there's a twist: Queen Sono is set entirely on the African continent.
Spanning multiple major African cities and featuring many dialects, Queen Sono is entrenched in a refreshing cultural specificity. Viewers will hear Xhosa, Afrikaans, Zulu, and Sepitori spoken throughout the series, in addition to Russian, French, and English.
“Because we have control over the narrative, we can show [poverty] is not the only thing that’s happening in Africa. This is who we are. We don’t all look the same. As South Africans, we get to put it out there with this series. And the rest of the world gets to see it,” Thusi told Essence about Queen Sono.
Queen Sono is the crown jewel of Netflix's recent efforts toward creating more content by, and starring, African creators. “We believe Queen Sono will kick the door open for more awesome stories from this part of the world,” Kagiso Lediga, the show’s creator and director, told Quartz Africa.
Here's what you need to know about its star, nicknamed the "Real Black Pearl."
She grew up in South Africa.
Thusi was born in 1988 in the Durban township of KwaNdengezi, with the full name Sithembile Xola Pearl Thusi.
According to an interview with Okay Africa in 2018, Thusi's name "Sithembile" means "we hope" because her father was hoping for a boy when she was born. Her younger siblings, both girls, both have names related to their father's quest for a boy. "Silinde" means "we hope [for a boy]" and "Sanilisiwe," the youngest's name, means "we are happy, it's enough. We are satisfied."
Thusi has spoken publicly about her difficult upbringing, explaining that her mother, who was often abused by her father, died when Thusi was just 14. “I begged my mother to leave till the day she died. In anger I blamed her for staying,” Thusi said at an event hosted by The Mercury newspaper in 2018.
Her grief is still very much ongoing.
She got her start in pageants.
Thusi began performing at a young age, according to her interview with Okay Africa, first as a drum major and then in local pageants. In 2003, Thusi was the runner-up in the Miss Teen South Africa pageant. Only 15 years old, Thusi was the pageant's youngest contestant.
After that success, Thusi decided to keep working in entertainment. Through her jobs as a model and in commercials, she was able to financially support her family. She has since appeared in the series Zone 14, the BBC drama The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, and the soap opera Isidingo. She also hosted MTV's Behind the Story and the music program Live Amp.
You can catch her in another Netflix movie.
In 2017, Thusi starred in the rom-com Catching Feelings, which follows a marriage turned upside down by an interloper. Catching Feelings was written and directed by Kagiso Lediga, who also created Queen Sono.
The film is currently streaming on Netflix.
She starred in Quantico alongside Priyanka Chopra.
With stars hailing from India, Nigeria, the U.K., Egypt, and South Africa, Quantico boasted one of the most international casts on television during its run from 2015 to 2018. Priyanka Chopra starred as FBI agent Alex Parrish. In doing so, she became the first South Asian to lead an American network drama series.
Thusi joined the cast in its second season as Dayana Mampasi, a human rights lawyer recruited by the CIA. Dayana and Alex Parrish are roommates at training camp. After Queen Sono, catch Quantico on Netflix.
She has two daughters.
Self-nicknamed "Mama Panther," Thusi has a reputation as a fiercely proud mom. But motherhood, at first, came as a surprise.
Thusi was studying speech and drama at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg when she learned she was pregnant with her ex-boyfriend, sports anchor Walter Mokoena's, baby. Their relationship was a tumultuous one. "Our relationship was not good the whole time; there were lot of tears and pain during my pregnancy," Thusi said during an appearance on the talk show Real Talk in 2018.
As a result of the pregnancy, Thusi had to drop out of school. "It was hard. I eventually had to pick between my pregnancy and my first year. I thought since I can always repeat my first year, and will never fall pregnant 'the first time' again. I chose pregnancy," Thusi said.
Mokoena and Thusi split, and now Thusi raises their daughter alone. In 2019, Thusi announced she had adopted a daughter, Okuhlekonke, nicknamed Okuhle.
She opened up about adopting a child.
Thusi adopted her daughter, Okuhle, when she was 4-and-a-half.
However, she's not sharing details about the adoption. Instead, she'll let Okuhle do so, one day. "I have to wait for her to grow up and decide how she wants this story to be told. In 15 years' time if Okuhlekonke decides to tell you guys what happened and what's happening, then that's her choice to make," Thusi said on the Real Goboza.
Currently, she's single.
In 2018, Thusi opened up about the difficulties of dating in South Africa, where she's an A-lister.
"I struggle to get into a relationship in South Africa because I’m afraid of why somebody will be getting in a relationship with me or why I’m getting into a relationship with them. I can’t even play with someone because, for me, it’s like, who are they gonna tell, am I a trophy, and there are all these other things I need to think of," Thusi told the TouchDown podcast in 2018.
Thusi had been engaged to sports journalist Robert Marawa in 2017, but they broke up later that year.
She played a warrior princess in The Scorpion King: The Book of Souls.
Thusi channeled her inner Wonder Woman for her part in this 2018 movie, the fifth installment in the Scorpion King fantasy series.
She plays Tala, warrior princess-turned-queen.
She's actually a pretty good rapper.
Maybe she should try out for Netflix's rap competition show, Rhythm + Flow, next.
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