Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini more commonly known by her professional moniker Doja Cat, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. The superstar was born and bred in Los Angeles California and began making and releasing music on the music platform SoundCloud when she was just a teenager. Her songs quickly landed in the right place and at the age of 17 Doja Cat signed her first joint record deal with RCA Records and Kemosabe and went on to release her debut EP titled Purr! In 2014.
What many people may not know is that the rapper is half American and half South African and that Doja Cat’s father is one of the famous faces to have graced Mzanzi screens.
Here is everything you need to know about Doja Cat’s father.
Who Are Doja Cat’s Parents?
Doja Cat was born to a family of artistic and creative individuals, and shortly after she was born, she went to live in New York city with her maternal grandmother, a Jewish architect and painter until she was eight years old. Doja Cat's father is none other than Dumisani Dlamini who played the famous character Crocodile in both the Broadway original and the 1992 movie Sarafina. Her mother is a Jewish-American graphic designer.
Born and raised in Durban, Dumisani Dlamini completed most of his education in South Africa before moving to America to further his career as an actor. As an actor on Broadway, living in New York, Doja Cat’s father met her mother and The two creatives shared a brief but passionate romance that led to the birth of Doja. However, shortly after Doja was born when she was still a baby, the actor moved back to South Africa to pursue his acting career and as a result of ‘homesickness’.
Picture source: @dojacat Instagram
Does Doja Cat Have A Relationship With Her Father?
During a conversation interview with legendary actress Whoopie Goldberg, Doja stated that although she knows who her father is and sees he is active on Instagram, she does not have a relationship with her father and has never even met him.
Picture source: @dojacat Instagram
Doja Cat’s father was quick to refute and deny the claims and went on to state that the two have a "healthy" relationship and it was in fact her management team that had tried to block all his attempts to contact his daughter in fear that they might lose her.
What Does Doja Cat’s Father Do?
After moving back to South Africa, Dumisani continued to pursue his career in the entertainment industry. The actor has played several different roles in iNumber Number, The Seven of Daran: Battle of Pareo Rock, Love and Kwaito, Project MorningStar, and 21st Street. He has also produced several movies such as Drum, Homecoming, and Of Journey, Home and Treasure and been nominated for the Best Supporting Actor in a TV Series award at the Golden Horn Awards.
