Mampho Palesa Brescia (Sotho pronunciation: [ˈmɑːmpʰɒ pɑlesɑ]; Italian: [ˈbreʃʃa] ) (born December 8, 1977) is a South African actress, television presenter and voice-over artist. Popularly known for acting in the television drama series Jacob's Cross and Isibaya.
Her performance as Iris Zungu in Isibaya earned her two nominations for outstanding female villain and outstanding supporting actress at the Royalty Soapie Awards in 2015. In 2021, she was nominated for an international award at the Africa Choice Awards for the category of Next Rated actress of the year.
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Early life
Mampho Palesa Brescia (née Molete) was born on December 8, 1977, in the Soweto township of Johannesburg, South Africa to Thomas Segonetso Molete and Augustine Ntsope Molete (née Kolobe). Her interest in films started when she was a child, during her father's tradition of watching historical films every Sunday. She joined school plays from the age of seven and performed in theatre until she finished university.
She completed a degree in International Relations and political science at University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, and an honours degree in Japanese Studies at Soka University in Japan. She worked as a correspondence journalist for the Japanese newspaper Mainichi. Her understanding of Japanese culture and fluency in the language contributed to her appointment as South Africa's first brand ambassador for Japan in 2018.
Personal life
Brescia married Nicola Brescia in 2005. They have a daughter, Rainn Madison Nthatuwa Brescia, born in 2013.
