Stephanie Sandows (born 29 October 1990) is a South African television presenter and actress. She is best known for playing Tsholo in the drama series MTV Shuga.
Sandows has also appeared in other films and television productions. She starred as Adult Lerato in the 2019 film Losing Lerato and as Michelle in the 2020 horror film Heks.
Stephanie Sandows
MTV SAF Co-Chair, Stephanie Sandows.
Personal Details
Name:
Stephanie Sandows
Born:
29 October 1990 (age 35 years old)
Place of birth:
Johannesburg, South Africa
Nationality:
South African
Alma mater:
University of Johannesburg
Occupation:
Actress, television presenter
Children:
Hungani Ndlovu (m. 2019; div. 2025)
Early life
Stephanie Sandows was born on 29 October 1990 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Education
Sandows holds a Master’s degree in applied linguistics, focusing on social linguistics. As part of her postgraduate studies at the University of Johannesburg, she did practical work writing subtitles for the show Scandal!
Career
During her studies, Stephanie started as an extra on the soap opera Scandal! before becoming a regular cast member, portraying Ingrid, the daughter of Wesley Thompson.
She co-hosted the e.TV Craz-e kids’ shows alongside Thulisile Phongolo and presented the children’s religious show, Bonisanani.
Stephanie played Tsholo in the web series MTV Shuga and returned for a 2019 special. She has attended MTV Shuga screenings and premieres in different countries.
She also speaks on their behalf and has been part of MTV Shuga’s plenary presentations at the International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam 2018 and the Women Deliver conference in Vancouver 2019.
In 2019, she joined the board of the international organisation, The MTV Staying Alive Foundation.
During the 2020 lockdown, she and her ex-husband Hungani released the short-film trailer for LoveLocked, co-produced by The Ndlovu’s Uncut Productions, L-Root, and Sangsang Entertainment.
She won the South African Social Media Award for Most Popular Video Series alongside Hungani in 2021 and 2022. She ventured into new career territories of content creation when she launched The Ndlovu’s Uncut YouTube channel
The Ndlovu’s Uncut Productions ‘LoveLocked’ was nominated for the Storyteller Award at the 2024 DStv Content Creator Awards.
Stephanie has founded her production house, RIN Productions. She was promoted as the co-Chairperson of the MTV Staying Alive Foundation in 2021. She has also worked as the casting director of the soap opera, Scandal!
She has also worked as a casting director for SABC’s Rented Family, KykNet’s Spoor, and the telenovela “Hope”. She is also a founding member of the non-profit organisation The Ndlovu Uncut Foundation.
Personal life
Stephanie married fellow actor Hungani Ndlovu in a private ceremony on 23 February 2019. They welcomed their daughter, Rhulani Iyana Ndlovu, in 2022.
After six years of marriage, they announced their divorce in 2025, calling it an “end of marriage, not friendship”.
Imanuweli Mzingeli joined Eyaziwa in 2026. He holds a degree in Political Science from a prestigious university. Outside of his storytelling work, he enjoys reading and video games.
