Upile uThixo Bongco (born October 5, 1996) is a South African actress, director, writer and voice-over artist. Most know Upile from her etv’s Scandal role as Poloko.
However, more recently, she got the role of Ntando on Isphetho: Destiny. And, in this article, we will look into 15 Facts you need to know about her. So, read till the end for more.
Profile Summary of Upile Uthixo Bongco
Full name: Upile Uthixo Bongco
Date of birth: October 5, 1996 (28 years)
Place of birth: Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Education: B. Hons. in Drama and Psychology (2018)
Height: 1.55m
Occupation: Actress, Teacher, Director, Writer and Voice-over artist
Known for: Ntando from Isiphetho: The Destiny; Poloko from etv’s Scandal
Instagram: @upile_uthixo
Nationality: South African
1. Where is Upile Uthixo Bongco from?
Upile Uthixo Bongco is a South African-born actress from Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape. She is of Xhosa ethnicity but is also fluent in English, IsiZulu, and Afrikaans.
Although not much is known about her upbringing, we do know she did Afrikaans in school and grew up in the Eastern Cape. She has a sister who studied medicine and is currently a doctor.
2. How old is Upile Uthixo Bongco?
According to her official information, Upile Bongco was born October 5, 1996. So, as of 2024, she is 28 years old. The actress still looks very young for her age, with some thinking she’s at least 24 or 23 years old. Furthermore, the actresses has played roles a bit younger than her age before. But she can nail a broad range of ages.
3. What’s her education?
Well, like most actors, she went to school for it. However, her degree was a double major in Drama and Psychology. She graduated in 2018 from the University of Rhodes. After that, she participated in theatre plays, trying to build her CV and resume.
4. How did she fall in love with acting?
Upile fell in love with acting from the age of 6, participating in plays. And when she got into high school,. She chose drama as a subject from 10th grade until her matriculation.
Furthermore, Upile is a good singer and says her mother encouraged her to sing from an early age. However, she doesn’t want to pursue music just yet.
5. Where did Upile Uthixo Bongco get her education?
As aforementioned, she studied at Rhodes University. While she played many roles there, she credits the play Inyanga as her turning point in how she looked at directing. That was one of the earliest plays she had directed. She graduated in 2018 with a B.Honsdegree in Drama and Psychology.
6. Her first big role was on etv’s Scandal as Poloko
While most don’t know this, 2022 was her best year in acting, as she got the role of Poloko on etv’s Scandal. She played the role alongside Wandile Molebatsi, who played her brother Duma on the series. This role led to her big role nearly 2 years later on another etv series, Isiphetho: Destiny.
According to Bongco, she described her experience on Scandal as a “Wonder”. And said that she had a lot to learn about television acting. Furthermore, she also learned a lot from the big names she got to interact with on the show. Bongco also won a Naledi Award for her work. She also appeared as a Cameo on Durban Gen.
7. Her directing experience
Upile has been deemed an intense director. Because she pushes her cast to do their best and holds them to a very high standard. One of her plays took her 5 weeks to write and work on. Furthermore, she said the play was inspired by her ancestors.
8. Upile is a traditional healer
Speaking of spirituality,. Upile Uthixo Bongco has said that she has a calling of healing and dreams. She has written certain plays from dreams she had, which she believes were given to her by the ancestors.
So, she has embraced her calling and consults her ancestors before working on things or after working on them. However, we are uncertain if she herself is a practicing healer commercially.
9. She’s also a teacher
Upile was a teacher at one point in Makhanda, Eastern Cape. She enjoyed teaching and learned a lot from it. Furthermore, she has promised to go back to teaching at some point. Moreover, she believed that she would make it out of town and progress in her career.
10. How tall is Upile Uthixo Bongco?
She is 1.55 meters tall, according to her official CVs from her agencies. However, you can hardly see that because of her confidence and excellence. The actress has done so much and her journey is still ongoing.
11. Is she married?
As of 2024, Upile is not known to be married. However, she has shared hints of either being bisexual or simply supporting it. So, until we know for sure, it’s possible that the actress is bisexual.
12. What’s her lifestyle?
As aforementioned, Upile Bongco is a spiritual person. So, she prefers to choose her peace and spread positivity into the world. Furthermore, Upile loves traveling and taking pictures of her happiest moments. She also loves sharing time with her friends when she’s not working.
13. What is her role on Destiny?
Upile uThixo Bongco plays the role of Ntando on Isiphetho: Destiny. Her character is described as a village girl from Mzimhlophe, Eastern Cape. She lost her husband in a death which his family now blames her for. Bongco is one of the leading characters on the show and is bound to leave a strong impression on those who watch it.
14. What’s her net worth?
While her actual networth is unknown,. It is estimated to be around $250,000 to $350,000 as of 2024. However, we believe it could be much Higher than that considering her current duration in the industry. The actress is also believed to earn anywhere from R60,000 to R80,000 on Isiphetho: Destiny as of 2024.
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15. How can one contact her?
You can find Uthixo Bongco from her Instagram account, @Upile_Uthixo. She has over 21.1k followers on Instagram. Furthermore, she has an abandoned Facebook account with over 4,000 followers. You can also reach Bongco on her email account at luphibongco@gmail.com
