The Order of Ikhamanga in Silver

Ms Lillian Dube Awarded for:

Her excellent contribution to the performing arts and raising awareness in women’s health issues through storytelling. Her creative ways of dealing with serious subjects through humour have been healing the nation.

Profile of Ms Lillian Dube

Ms Lillian Dube is a 72-year-old veteran actress with a bubbly personality, renowned for her role as the matriarch and matron Sister Bettina in the health communications drama Soul City. Her work carries a message that mirrors social ills in various communities.

She started her acting career in the 1980s and has excelled in capturing the audiences with her many characters – from comedic to serious delivery of the message.

In 2007, Dube survived a serious battle with cancer. This escalated her community involvement in raising awareness through ‘Celebrities for Good Causes’, where she galvanises celebrities from the arts, sports and other fields to come together in an effort to draw attention to issues that negatively impact the lives of children, women and youth within communities.

Dube has formed strategic alliances with organisations involved in these areas, and celebrity power will be used to champion these causes in a meaningful and sustainable manner, thus making a difference in the lives of South Africans through the active promotion of these good causes and projects.

She also established a casting company, Lillian Dube Casting Agency, in Johannesburg. She nurtures the talents of young people and encourages them to chase their dreams.

In 2014, Dube was honoured with a Lifetime Achiever Award from the Theatre Guild. She starred in Curl Up and Dye, a theatre production that toured Scotland and Germany in 2009.