Biography

March 4, 1932 · Prospect Township, near Johannesburg, South Africa

November 10, 2008 · Castel Volturno, Campania, Italy (heart attack)

Zensile Makeba Qgwashu Nguvama Yiketheli Nxgowa Bantana Balomzi Xa Ufnu Ubajabulisa Ubaphekeli Mbiza Yotshwala Sithi Xa Saku Qgiba Ukutja Sithathe Izitsha Sizi Khabe Singama Lawu Singama Qgwashu Singama Nqamla Nqgithi

First African woman to win a Grammy.

Her real name, as she clarifies in the 29 February 1960 issue of Time magazine is: Zensile Makeba Qgwashu Nguvama Yiketheli Nxgowa Bantana Balomzi Xa Ufnu Ubajabulisa Ubaphekeli Mbiza Yotshwala Sithi Xa Saku Qgiba Ukutja Sithathe Izitsha Sizi Khabe Singama Lawu Singama Qgwashu Singama Nqamla Nqgithi. "The reason for its length, " Ms. Makeba writes, "is that every child takes the first name of all his male ancestors. Often following the first name is a descriptive word or two, telling about the character of ther person, making a true African name somewhat like a story." (Letter reprinted in the 9 March 1998 issue of Time.)

American-born (with one Jamaican parent) folk singer/activist. Harry Belafonte first saw her in the independent film Come Back, Africa (1959) and arranged for both her U.S. concert debut and a recording contract with RCA Victor. An album they recorded together, "An Evening with Belefonte/Makeba" (RCA Victor: 1965), went on to win a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Recording. Other U.S. albums, on RCA and Reprise, include "Miriam Makeba," "The Voice of Africa," "In Concert at Philharmonic Hall," and "Pata Pata." She was married to musician Hugh Masekela and activist Stokely Carmichael (later Kwame Ture).

A Johannesburg club singer who became an important voice for the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, she paid a high price for her activism. While she was out of the country, the government revoked her passport, so she could not attend her mother's funeral.

She was a UN representative for Guinea, for which she was presented with the Dag Hammarskjöld Peace Prize in 1986.