# Sandra Prinsloo > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sandra_Prinsloo > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sandra_Prinsloo.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandra_Prinsloo > Source revision: 1331447513 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|South African actress (born 1947)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}} {{Use South African English|date=August 2012}} {{Infobox person | name = Sandra Prinsloo | birth_name = | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1947|9|15|df=y}} | birth_place = [Union of South Africa](/source/Union_of_South_Africa) | death_date = | death_place = | resting_place = | occupation = Actress | known_for = Her role as Kate Thompson in The Gods Must Be Crazy | education = | alma_mater = [University of Pretoria](/source/University_of_Pretoria) | parents = | children = | family = }} '''Sandra Prinsloo''' (born 15 September 1947), also known as '''Sandra Prinzlow''', is a South African actress best known internationally for her role as Kate Thompson in the 1980 film ''[The Gods Must Be Crazy](/source/The_Gods_Must_Be_Crazy)''. Prinsloo has also appeared in numerous South African [television](/source/television), film, and [stage](/source/Theatre) productions. ==Early life and career== Prinsloo has stated that she never expected to become an actress.[http://www.news24.com/Archives/City-Press/Behind-the-Icon-Sandra-Prinsloo-Leading-lady-20150430 "Behind the Icon – Leading Lady: Sandra Prinsloo"]. News 24. 21 December 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2015. "I was a ballet dancer from a very early age and I remember that I occasionally ushered at the Breytenbach Theatre in Pretoria when I was in high school. That’s the first time I came into contact with professional stage acting, but I never thought I’d be an actress . . . . I think I was far too shy in those days to ever think I could be an actress. So it wasn’t like I had this great big burning passion to become an actress, not at all. I preferred an academic life, in a way. When I went to university, I thought that was going to be what I was going to do". Prinsloo matriculated from the [Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool](/source/Afrikaanse_Ho%C3%ABr_Meisieskool) and then completed her B.A. honours in drama at the [University of Pretoria](/source/University_of_Pretoria). Soon after, she became a member of the Performing Arts Council Transvaal acting company. "One night we were performing and it was as if something absolutely magical happened. It was as if a golden net was cast down. Everything was magical that evening and everybody felt it in the cast ... It was something enchanting that happens in the exchange of the energy between the audience and the actors". Prinsloo has said that after that night, she realised that acting was her calling. ==Film career== In addition to her well-known role in ''The Gods Must Be Crazy,'' Prinsloo has had major roles in ''[Target of an Assassin](/source/Target_of_an_Assassin)'' (1979), ''[Quest for Love](/source/Quest_for_Love_(1988_film))'' (1988), ''Die Prins van Pretoria'' (1992), ''[Soweto Green](/source/Soweto_Green)'' (1995), '''n Paw Paw Vir My Darling'' (2015), ''Twee Grade van Moord'' (2016).[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0697865 Sandra Prinsloo]. Internet Movie Database (IMDB). Retrieved 31 May 2015. ==Television career== Prinsloo was in the original cast of ''[Egoli: Place of Gold](/source/Egoli%3A_Place_of_Gold),'' South Africa's first soap opera.[http://teeveetee.blogspot.com/2010/01/breaking-sandra-prinsloo-back-in-egoli.html] "Breaking: Sandra Prinsloo back in ''Egoli."'' ''TV with Thinus: News & Analysis on South Africa Television,'' 15 January 2010. Retrieved 1 September 2014. For many years, she hosted her own talk show, ''RaakPraat met Sandra,'' on South Africa television.[http://www.mediaupdate.co.za/?IDStory=4742] "RaakPraat met Sandra – New on SABC2." ''Media Update,'' 13 November 2007. Retrieved 1 September 2014.[http://www.tvsa.co.za/shows/viewshowseasons.aspx?showId=134&season=1] "RaakPraat met Sandra." ''TVSA: The South African TV Authority.'' Retrieved 1 September 2014. She has also conducted a series of interviews with personalities and celebrities for South African TV, ''Sandra Op 'n Drafstap.''[http://www.iol.co.za/tonight/news/local/the-prinsloo-phenomenon-1.1442092 "The Prinsloo Phenomenon"]. ''Tonight'' (South Africa). 18 December 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2015. Prinsloo has acted in a number of South African television series and movies throughout her career, including ''Erfsondes'' (2012); ''Hartland'' (2011); ''Known Gods'' (2005); ''Saints, Sinners, and Settlers'' (1999); and ''Konings'' (1991) among others. ==Theatre career== {{Update|date=January 2020}} Prinsloo has performed in more than 100 different productions, often playing leading roles in works by South African and international dramatists. In 1985, Prinsloo and fellow actor [John Kani](/source/John_Kani) caused a South African audience [walk-out](/source/walk-out) when performing the play ''[Miss Julie](/source/Miss_Julie)'' by [August Strindberg](/source/August_Strindberg)."Walkout over Black-White Love Scene". ''Courier-Mail'' (Australia). 8 March 1985. Retrieved 2 September 2014 from Lexis-Nexis database. In the title role, Prinsloo played a white woman seducing a black man. The play marked the first on-stage occurrence of a black man kissing a white woman under the [Apartheid](/source/History_of_South_Africa_in_the_apartheid_era) regime.[http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2005/s1366564.htm] O'Brien, Kerry. "The 7:30 Report: Kani explores a post-apartheid world on stage." Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 11 May 2005. Retrieved 1 September 2014. The play's producer, Bobby Heaney, speculated that the walk-out was "part of a well planned campaign by conservative whites". Both Kani and Prinsloo had to be escorted into the parking lot after each performance of ''Miss Julie,'' as there was fear that the actors would be attacked by "enraged right-wingers".Smith, Janet. "[http://www.iol.co.za/the-star/kani-s-king-lear-moment-1.1469333 Kani's King Lear moment]". ''The Star'' (Johannesburg). 13 February 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2015. Prinsloo reportedly received obscene hate mail and both received death threats. When interviewed in 2014 for the ''21 Icons Project'', a series of short films about South Africans "who have shaped the world around them",[http://21icons.com/about-the-project/ "About the Project"]. 21 Icons. Retrieved 6 June 2015. Prinsloo commented that "I thought [the play] would cause a stir, but I didn't think it would cause a minor revolution. People were very small-minded and I suppose you live in a bit of a fool's paradise when you’re an actor". The actors later performed the play at the [Edinburgh Festival](/source/Edinburgh_Festival).[https://www.csmonitor.com/1985/0905/ljulie.html] Andreae, Christopher. "Black/white version of 'Miss Julie' puts a spin on Strindberg's 1888 drama." ''Christian Science Monitor,'' 5 September 1985. Retrieved 1 September 2014. In 1986, Heaney directed a TV movie of the play for Swedish and Finnish television, which starred both Prinsloo and Kani. Prinsloo returned to the Edinburgh Festival in 2012 with ''The Sewing Machine,'' an English-language translation of the Afrikaans-language play, ''Die Naaimasjien.'' In the 2000s, Prinsloo appeared on the South African stage in productions of ''Oskar en die Pienk Tannie; Janneman; Nag, Ma (Night Mother);'' and ''Liefde, Anna.'' In October 2015, Prinsloo portrayed South African journalist, [Jani Allan](/source/Jani_Allan) in ''Jani'' at the [Aardklop](/source/Aardklop) festival.{{cite web |last1=Malan |first1=Mariana |title=Eenmanstuk oor Jani Allan se lewe |url=http://www.netwerk24.com/vermaak/2015-07-23-eenmanstuk-oor-jani-allan-se-lewe |lang=af |trans-title=One-man play about Jani Allan's life Prinsloo is 'perfect narrator' |publisher=Beeld |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150806023717/http://www.netwerk24.com/vermaak/2015-07-23-eenmanstuk-oor-jani-allan-se-lewe |archive-date=August 6, 2015 |date=July 23, 2015 |url-status=dead}} ==Awards== In 2013, Prinsloo received the ACT Lifetime Achievement Award for Theatre.[http://www.iol.co.za/tonight/news/local/celebrating-artists-who-touch-our-lives-1.1609223 "Celebrating artists who touch our lives"]. ''Tonight'' (South Africa). 19 November 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2015. The awards are offered annually by the Arts and Culture Trust (ACT) of South Africa in order to "honour arts professionals whose extraordinary careers have had a profound and lasting impact on arts, culture and heritage, and whose lifetime achievements have contributed significantly to the enrichment of cultural life in South Africa". In 2014, Prinsloo was the recipient of a national order by the South African government, the [Order of Ikhamanga](/source/Order_of_Ikhamanga) in silver, for those whose outstanding work has benefited South Africa.[http://citizen.co.za/166939/zuma-presents-national-orders-pretoria/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903165257/http://citizen.co.za/166939/zuma-presents-national-orders-pretoria/|date=3 September 2014}} "Zuma presents National Orders in Pretoria." ''The Citizen,'' 28 April 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2014. National orders are bestowed on South Africa's Freedom Day. The orders celebrate human achievement in various fields, honouring men and women who have left definitive footprints in both the struggle for liberation and in building a better South Africa.{{cite web |url=http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/c7ea300043cb1fec98d19af0c0fe2c4c/Zuma-bestows-53-luminaries-with-National-Orders-20142704 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-09-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924114743/http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/c7ea300043cb1fec98d19af0c0fe2c4c/Zuma-bestows-53-luminaries-with-National-Orders-20142704 |archive-date=24 September 2015 }} Diphoko, Montlenyane. "Zuma bestows 53 luminaries with National Orders." ''SABC News,'' 27 April 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2014. In 2018, Prinsloo was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the [Naledi Theatre Awards](/source/Naledi_Theatre_Awards).[http://www.artsvark.co.za/complete-list-of-winners-in-2018-naledi-theatre-awards/ "Complete list of winners in 2018 Naledi Theatre Awards"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017055330/http://artsvark.co.za/complete-list-of-winners-in-2018-naledi-theatre-awards/ |date=17 October 2020 }}. ''Artsvark'', 19 June 2018. The awards are offered annually by the Naledi Theatre Awards Committee. ==Education== Prinsloo matriculated from the Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool. She holds the degree B.A. (Honours) from the University of Pretoria.{{Cite web |title=whoswhosa.co.za |url=http://www.whoswhosa.co.za/sandra-prinsloo-5555 |access-date=2025-10-28 |website=www.whoswhosa.co.za}} ==Partial filmography== {{colbegin}} *''A Kind of Madness'' (2025) * ''The Seagull (Die Seemeeu)'' (2019) * ''Twee Grade van Moord'' (2016) * '''n Paw-Paw vir My Darling'' (2015) * ''Soweto Green'' (1995) * ''The Prince of Pretoria'' (1993) * ''In the Name of Blood'' (1990) * ''[Quest for Love](/source/Quest_for_Love_(1988))'' (1988) * ''[Thieves of Fortune](/source/Thieves_of_Fortune)'' (1988) * ''Jewel of the Gods'' (1989) * ''The Outcast'' (1984) * ''Claws'' (1982) * ''[The Gods Must Be Crazy](/source/The_Gods_Must_Be_Crazy)'' (1980) * ''Listen to My Story'' (1976) * ''[Target of an Assassin](/source/Target_of_an_Assassin)'' (1976) * ''[No Gold for a Dead Diver](/source/No_Gold_for_a_Dead_Diver)'' (1974) – as Sandra Prinzlow * ''[Love Nights in the Taiga](/source/Love_Nights_in_the_Taiga)'' (1967) {{colend}} ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *{{IMDb name}} {{portal|South Africa}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Prinsloo, Sandra}} Category:Opposition to apartheid in South Africa Category:South African film actresses Category:Afrikaner people Category:South African people of Dutch descent Category:University of Pretoria alumni Category:Living people Category:1947 births Category:South African television actresses Category:20th-century South African actresses Category:Recipients of the Order of Ikhamanga --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sandra Prinsloo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandra_Prinsloo) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandra_Prinsloo?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.