Zenzile Miriam Makeba, nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including Afropop, jazz, and world music, she was an advocate against apartheid and white-minority government in South Africa.
She had a brief and allegedly abusive first marriage at the age of 17, gave birth to her only child in 1950, and survived breast cancer. Her vocal talent had been recognized when she was a child, and she began singing professionally in the 1950s, with the Cuban Brothers, the Manhattan Brothers, and an all-woman group, the Skylarks, performing a mixture of jazz, traditional African melodies, and Western popular music.
Who is Miriam Makeba’s husband Sonny Pillay?
While living in England, Miriam Makeba married Sonny Pillay, a South African balladeer of Indian heritage; the couple split up shortly after. Sonny Pillay wasn’t popular like his wife at the time, and due to this, not much is known about him.
