Bio
Mampho Brescia is a South African actress, television presenter and voice artist best known for her role as Zanele, the lover of the title character in the M-Net drama series Jacob's Cross.
Born in Johannesburg and raised in Soweto, Brescia attended school in Johannesburg and later earned a degree in International Relations from Wits University.
She began her television career in 1998, presenting the show Reality Check. Her first acting role in television was a guest starring role as Mbali in the SABC1 soapie Generations, in 2002.
The following year she was a news presenter for AfriSat, a satellite television channel featuring actuality programmes and African news.
In 2004, Brescia was an on-site live presenter for the game show Imali Mania on SABC1. She also filmed nine weeks of inserts for the M-Net advertorial series Nokia Challenge and appeared in a commercial for Telkom.
In 2005 she was a freelance presenter for DStv's The Home Channel, while doing corporate videos for the Department of Tourism and Standard Bank.
She made a guest appearance in the SABC3 soapie Isidingo in 2006, and appeared in the German feature film Traum Hotel. She also began filming the first season of the M-Net Original Productions drama series Jacob's Cross.
Jacob's Cross premiered on DStv's M-Net Series channel on Thursday 25 January 2007, and the following day premiered on M-Net. It was the first time that a local drama series had aired on M-Net Series before airing on M-Net.
The second season also aired on M-Net Series first, once again premiering a day before starting on M-Net, on 26 July 2007. The second season ran until 18 October that year (and 19 October on M-Net).
Brescia also appeared in a variety of television commercials that year, and was a presenter and voiceover artist for the SABC1 religion show Spirit Sundae.
She played another guest role on Isidingo in 2008 (the role of Batsi, a lawyer), and appeared in the feature film District 9. She also did a number of voiceovers for DStv.
The third season of Jacob's Cross - in which she reprised her leading role of Zanele - premieres on M-Net on 4 June 2008, and ran until 27 August 2008. The show was moved from M-Net Series to M-Net after the channel decided it needed "a wider audience".
Brescia is married and lives in Johannesburg. She is fluent in English and Sotho, and also speaks Japanese and Zulu. She enjoys playing squash and going to gym.
She also has a starring role as Iris Zungu, the calculating and manipulative 'city wife' of Mpiyakhe, in the Mzansi Magic telenovela-turned-soap-opera isiBaya.