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When actress Benu Mabhena smiles, her rare beauty brightens the room. The Blood Diamond (2006) actress has a deep love for life and values the opportunities acting brings her.
During the filming of the critically acclaimed movie, Benu and co-star Jennifer Connelly volunteered at an orphanage in Mozambique on their days off—an experience Benu considers one of her most unforgettable.
The determined actress—whose surname Mabhena is a Zulu totem meaning "speed," symbolized by the cheetah—spent much of her life on the move, living in exile. Benu’s heritage traces back to the Ndebele Tribe, with roots in the Zulu culture. Her parents and five brothers were born in Zimbabwe, while Benu and her sister were born in London. After four years in London, the family returned to Zimbabwe for two years, then lived in Botswana for a year, followed by several years in South Africa. They moved between Botswana, South Africa, and Lesotho before finally receiving asylum in the United States, settling in San Francisco, where Benu spent her teenage years.
From an early age, Benu aspired to be an actress. At eight, she enjoyed telling stories and doing impressions—a habit that annoyed her sister but delighted her mother. A seventh-grade trip to see a stage production of "Les Miserables" inspired her deeply.
In high school, Benu wrote and performed poetry. Though influenced by poets like Robert Frost, she sought something more. Encouraged by a teacher, she began working with monologues and discovered the excitement of performing them before an audience. She was also active in the school choir, which toured schools and churches nationwide, and later joined a drama group.
After high school, Benu attended Diablo Valley College, where she engaged in community theater, acted in student films, and wrote and recorded songs. However, acting remained her greatest passion.
Upon earning an Associate Degree in Education from Diablo, Benu moved to Southern California, clear about her career goals.
Soon after arriving in Hollywood, she auditioned and won the role of Jassie Vandy, Djimon Hounsou's wife, in Warner Bros. Pictures' Blood Diamond (2006). The film received fourteen nominations, including five Academy Awards, winning five, and achieving both box office success and international recognition.
Benu guest-starred in "Jazz Man" on the innovative web series "Night Walkers" for KoldCast TV and starred in the American Film Institute’s Princess (2006). She also appeared as herself in Life on the Edge: A Global Crisis (2008). Benu currently lives in Los Angeles.
