“We’re definitely not the African Kardashians,” says one of the women.
The family of former South African President Nelson Mandela is about to get real in a TV way.
Deadline is reporting that Mandela’s three grown grandchildren Dorothy Adjoa Amuah, Zaziwe Dlamini-Manaway and Swati Dlamini will star in a reality TV show set to air in 2012.
“We’re definitely not the African Kardashians,” one of the women remarked.
All three ladies grew up in the United States but returned to South Africa for business and family reasons. Dlamini-Manaway, 34, is the matriarch of the group; she has a 10-year-old son and two-year-old daughter and is expecting her third child in January. She’s also involved in a family business: Mandela Dlamini Associates and hopes to start a clothing line. Single mother Dlamini, 32, is getting back into the career world and plans to start a foundation to benefit the housing, education and medical sectors. And 27-year-old Amuah is in the luxury brands business, has a law degree and an MBA.
“The show will be about lives as young, Black women.… We’re not wearing ‘I’m a Mandela’ T-shirts,” Swati said during a news conference.
The filmmakers promise the reality series will simultaneously honor the Mandela legacy and strike bold new ground. “It’s not going to detract from the dignity of Nelson Mandela,” says American producer Rick Leed. And series director Graeme Swanepoel adds, “This is about three women breaking away from the Mandela legacy to find their own feet.”
(Photo: Foto24/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
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