SINGER

Miriam Makeba

1932 - 2008

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Zenzile Miriam Makeba ( mə-KAY-bə, Xhosa: [máˈkʼêːɓà̤] ; 4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), 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. Born in Johannesburg to Swazi and Xhosa parents, Makeba was forced to find employment as a child after the death of her father. 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. Read more on Wikipedia

Her biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Miriam Makeba is the 84th most popular singer (down from 42nd in 2019), the 10th most popular biography from South Africa (down from 4th in 2019) and the most popular South African Singer.

Miriam Makeba is most famous for being a singer and songwriter. She was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and grew up in a township. She became a singer in the 1950s and eventually left her country to live in the United States. She became an international sensation in the 1960s with a song called "Pata Pata."

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Among SINGERS

Among singers, Miriam Makeba ranks 84 out of 4,381. Before her are Billie Holiday, Ice Cube, Françoise Hardy, Salvatore Adamo, Amália Rodrigues, and Sarah Vaughan. After her are Prince, Alla Pugacheva, Morrissey, France Gall, The Notorious B.I.G., and Carlos Gardel.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1932, Miriam Makeba ranks 20. Before her are Luc Montagnier, Roh Tae-woo, Abebe Bikila, Anouk Aimée, Peter O'Toole, and Sylvia Plath. After her are Fernando Botero, François Englert, Glenn Gould, Raisa Gorbacheva, Tiny Tim, and Dian Fossey. Among people deceased in 2008, Miriam Makeba ranks 17. Before her are Willis Lamb, Daniel Carleton Gajdusek, Hua Guofeng, Albert Hofmann, Irena Sendler, and Richard Widmark. After her are Mahmoud Darwish, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Sydney Pollack, Jørn Utzon, Richard Wright, and Henry Molaison.

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In South Africa

Among people born in South Africa, Miriam Makeba ranks 10 out of 454. Before her are Allan MacLeod Cormack (1924), J. M. Coetzee (1940), Nadine Gordimer (1923), Sarah Baartman (1788), F. W. de Klerk (1936), and Desmond Tutu (1931). After her are Shaka (1787), Christiaan Barnard (1922), Michael Levitt (1947), John Vorster (1915), D. F. Malan (1874), and Max Theiler (1899).

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Among SINGERS In South Africa

Among singers born in South Africa, Miriam Makeba ranks 1. After her are Dave Matthews (1967), Solomon Linda (1909), Yolandi Visser (1984), Brenda Fassie (1964), Theuns Jordaan (1971), Letta Mbulu (1942), Miriam Stockley (1962), ZP Theart (1975), Zahara (1987), Alice Phoebe Lou (1993), and Yvonne Chaka Chaka (1965).

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