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Bridget Masinga | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1981-02-26)26 February 1981 (age 44) Durban,Kwazulu-Natal (South Africa |
| Nationality | South African |
| Education |
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| Occupation(s) | Fashion Model, Actress, Television and Radio Personality |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Parent(s) | Elvis Jabulani Masinga and Patricia Zodwa Roberson |
Bridget Masinga (born 26 February 1981) is a South African actress, television and radio personality, fashion model andphilanthropist. She placed 3rd in the 2002Miss South Africa pageant and is known for her roles on the South African television showsGenerations andBay of Plenty, as well as for her work on radio. She hosts theWorkzone 1 with Bridget Masinga onJacaranda FM (formerlyJacaranda 94.2).
Bridget Masinga was born and raised inDurban,South Africa – to Elvis Jabulani Masinga and Patricia Zodwa Roberson, who divorced relatively early in her childhood.[1] She is one of the first people to attend Addington Primary after they opened their doors tonon-white. She attended Ridge Park College – the school from which she would later matriculate. She mentions, regarding her time in school, "I was a prefect in Grade 12 and part of the drama club, though I used to dodge sports all the time."
Upon completion of hermatric year, Masinga studiedMedia Studies at Boston Media House, until she had to stop studying due tofinancial distress.
In the year 1997, at the age of 16, Masinga signed withFork Models. She has appeared inDurban Fashion Week and campaigns forMTNAfrica, EdgarsSouth Africa andLevi's Jeans.
In 2002 Masinga competed in theMiss South Africa pageant and placed 3rd. She cites her participation in the pageant as the start of her career as well as what would go on to be a long-standing relationship with M-Net.
2003 - 2005
Upon completion of theMiss South Africa reality show, Masinga relocated toJohannesburg, where she continued to work withM-Net. Although she unsuccessfully auditioned to present the first season ofIdols South Africa; the producer of the televisedvocal contest (Gavin Wratten, who also happened to have directed the Miss South Africa pageant) told Masinga about a future project by the name ofGo! - ayouth-focused television channel that was set to be broadcast onDStv. Masinga stayed with the channel from 2003 up until 2006. While at Go! she hosted two music formatted shows: Beatlab (2003-2005) and Selekta (2004-2005).
2006
After appearing onGo! for a number of years, in 2006 Masinga landed the role of Zoe on the iconic South African television seriesGenerations (which aired weekday nights onSABC 1).
In the same year she co-presentedTemptation SA, alongside James Lennox (a game show which aired onM-Net and was directed, again, by Gavin Wratten). She also made a cameo appearance one.tv’sBackstage - another hit South African television series.
2007 – 2008
In 2007, Masinga signed on to star as Theresa Nyawose on the television series,Bay of Plenty - which aired onSABC 1 in 2008. The series ran for one season and went on to do well for the channel; with the show being awardedEnsemble Cast at the 2008South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAS).
2009 - 2012
After appearing onBay of Plenty - in 2009, Masinga began hostingTheM-Net Movie Show (directed byElana Afrika – Bredenkamp, it aired as a weekly special on the M-Net Movies Channel). In the same year Masinga, simultaneously joined both theSuperSport team as well as M-Net’sAll Access; continuing to work with both channels well into 2012.
Between the years 2011 and 2012 – Masinga hosted the 1st and 2nd season ofThe Road to Miss SA (a reality television series that was aired on Mzansi Magic.)
2013
Masinga landed a featured role in the first season of Mzansi Magic’sRockville (in 2013) - where she played a young prostitute. In the same year, she also made a cameo appearance inIsibaya (another series which aired on Mzansi Magic) as an attorney, Ms. Masinga.
2015
In 2015 – Masinga competed (as one of the tencelebrity contestants) on the eighth season, of (the popular South African version of the televisedBallroom dance competition)Strictly Come Dancing - which aired Friday nights onSABC 3.
2005 – 2010
In the year 2005 (at the age of 24) Masinga joinedYFM, hostingThe Elevator – a graveyard slot that was broadcast on weekday mornings before the breakfast show. In 2007, she began presentingBridget on Y – which was broadcast on weekends from 12PM – 3PM.
She describes her weekend slot, "Bridget on Y was a music driven, magazine formatted, lifestyle show; where Saturdays were dedicated to entertainment and Sundays were about aspirational content."
Regarding the show, Masinga cites the featureYoung, Black and Fabulous (during which she would introduce listeners to young dynamic black South Africans) as a favourite. In 2010, she made the decision to leaveYFM – explaining that the desire to focus on furthering her studies, and developing a production company, led to the decision.
2011
Masinga returned to radio in 2011, presenting revolving slots (weekend mornings from 4AM – 7AM and Sunday evenings from 9PM – 12PM) on947 (formerly 94.7 Highveld Stereo).
2015
From August 2015 - August 2016, Masinga hosted theWorkzone 1 with Bridget Masinga onJacaranda FM (formerlyJacaranda 94.2).[2]
After the shooting forRockville andIsibaya was completed, Masinga made the decision to take a hiatus from all work obligations, in order to dedicate her time towards the development of her production house – Bridget Productions. The company is aimed at producingdocumentary content that focuses on telling African stories (work that is written, produced and directed by African talents) and since its registration in 2012, has worked with the likes ofMandla Mandela.
Masinga is also pursuing aBachelor of Arts;Government, Admin and Development from theUniversity of South Africa (UNISA).
Masinga appeared in the 2006 inauguralMarie Claire:The Naked Issue – targeted at raising awareness about theHIV/AIDS pandemic in South Africa. Thereafter in 2009, she was named the celebrity face of Organic Root Stimulator (for which she remain the ambassador until 2012). In 2011 she was also announced as the ambassador forVaseline B3 lotion (2011 - 2012).
Aside from her work on television and radio, Masinga is also aMaster of Ceremonies; having hosted the week-longDemocratic Celebrations of the South AfricanEmbassy, which took place inBeijing (2007), theCalvin KleinSA Launch and the Design Indaba (2010), the Africa Fashion International (AFI) Awards and theHisense Africa Launch (2011), the Grand Design Expo and theSouth African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAS) (2012). She has also worked withSasol, Total andAngloGold Ashanti.
Masinga has worked withnon–profit organisations such as theNelson Mandela Children's Fund,Joburg Child Welfare and the Reach for a Dream Foundation. In 2012, she founded the Jane’s Daughters Foundation, a non-profit organisation aimed at enhancing the lives of female children throughmentorship programmes, as well as financial and other lifestyle aids. The organisation is mainly focused on child-headed andsingle parent households, participating in collaborations with theDurban Children’s Home and Joburg Child Welfare.