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Multi-lingual and relatable: 10 memorable roles played by late Meme Ditshego
The death of veteran actor Meme Ditshego left the country in a sombre mood on Thursday as many, in tribute, spoke of her kind heart and her ability to bring relatable characters to life.
The actor died on the evening of 25 June 2025, aged 60.
Like many of the stars of her generation in the acting industry, Ditshego started her career in township theatre. Born in 1965, the actor paid her dues on theatre stages in plays such as Antigone in the 80's and participated in school theatre outreach programmes.
Her TV debut arrived in 1997 through SABC 2's Afrikaans drama series Sterk Skemer, where she played the role of Elsie. The actor would go on to deliver performances that transcended language, race or culture.
Though many may know Ditshego for her role as overbearing mother Josephine Ratau on SABC 2's Ga Re Dumele, the actor has also appeared in multiple popular productions that aired on SABC, Netflix, Showmax, DsTV, Etv, and many other platforms.
Ditshego played Josephine for six years, earning her a Best Actress Golden Horn trophy at the South African Film and TV Awards (Saftas) in 2012 and a nomination for a Safta in the same category in 2014.
The multilingual thespian is among the actors who were well-rounded in their skills because though Ditshego excelled in comedic roles, thanks to her great comedic timing and natural delivery of punchlines, she delivered in an equally believable manner when bringing more serious characters to life.
The actor lived a relatively private life but never failed to bring her A-game regarding her craft.
Even if Josephine, her super popular character, failed to grab your attention, you've probably seen Ditshego in her element as one or two of the roles below:
Here are her top 10 roles played by Ditshego - in no particular order:
Josephine in Ga Re Dumele
Joyce Mlambo in The Coconuts
Ma Thandi in Soul Buddyz
Elsie in Sterk Skemer
Gladys in Jozi-H
Ausi Ntsoaki in Muvhango
Patricia on Skeem Saam
Evelina in 7de Laan
Dr Machaka in Broken Vows
Mam' Daphne in Love, Sex and 30 Candles.
