Famous people who grew up or lived in and around Johannesburg

Desmond Tutu1960–1986

📍 Vilakazi Street, Orlando West, Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa

I grew up in Klerksdorp in the western Transvaal, but it was Soweto — specifically the small house on Vilakazi Street in Orlando West where I lived with Leah and our children — that was my…

Ernie Els1969–1989

📍 Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa

Ernie Els was born in Johannesburg in October 1969 and grew up in Kempton Park, a suburb on the East Rand near what is now O.R. Tambo airport, in a sporty Afrikaans family. His father…

Gary Player1935–1953

📍 Johannesburg, South Africa

Gary Player was born in Johannesburg in November 1935, the youngest of three children of Harry Player, a gold miner who spent most of his working life far underground, and Muriel. The…

Nelson Mandela1946–1962

📍 8115 Vilakazi Street, Orlando West, Soweto, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

I moved to 8115 Vilakazi Street in 1946, the year I joined the ANC Youth League. The house was modest — a matchbox house, the government called such things, as if to emphasise how little…

Nkosi Johnson1989–2001

📍 Soweto, Johannesburg, Gauteng 1818, South Africa

I was born Xolani Nkosi Johnson in 1989 in Johannesburg, South Africa, HIV-positive from birth. My mother Daphne was HIV-positive and died when I was twelve. I was raised by Gail Johnson, a…