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Pearl Thusi

Pearl Thusi

Actor · Born May 13, 1988 (38) · Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Sithembile Xola Pearl Thusi (born 13 May 1988) is a South African actress, model, and presenter. She is known for her roles as Patricia Kopong in the BBC/HBO comedy-drama series The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Dayana Mampasi in the ABC thriller Quantico, and Samkelo in the romance film Catching Feelings. In 2020, she starred in the titular role of Netflix's first African original series, Queen Sono.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
May 13, 1988 (38)
From
Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Works as
Actor
Titles
10 on MovieCove · 12 credits in all

What are Pearl Thusi's films like?

Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Power and Morality.

What they feel like to watch

their average across 6 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category

A split, not a type: Grounded 3 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 2

Gentle 0 · Charged 4 · Intense 2

Steady 1 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 1

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 1

Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 1

Casual 3 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0

A split, not a type: Easy watch 3 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 1

Resolved 5 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

4 analyzed roles
Mentor
1 of 4
Ally
1 of 4
Hero
1 of 4
Threshold guardian
1 of 4

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
7
Thrilling
4
Melancholic
3
Absurd
2
Bittersweet
2
Other
2

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy2
  • Bittersweet2
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous3

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Pearl Thusi's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Netflix (4).

Subscription and free streaming for Pearl Thusi's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

12 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • Destroying Desmond (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

    as Buhle

  • Beauty and the Bester(2025)

    Show Actor

    Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all shows
  • Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films
  • Queen Sono(2020)

    Show 6 episodes · as Queen Sono

    Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all shows
  • Bulletproof 2(2020)

    as Jo

    Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all films
  • Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all films
  • Catching Feelings(2017)

    as Sam

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
  • Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
  • Einfach Rosa – Wolken über Kapstadt (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    as Nandi

  • Tremors 5: Bloodlines(2015)

    as Dr. Nandi Montabu

    Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films
  • Quantico(2015)

    Show 22 episodes · as Dayana Mampasi

    Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all shows
  • The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency(2008)

    Show 1 episode · as Patricia Kopong

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all shows

Career shape

Star power in the 86th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 11 titles from 2009 to 2026; peak year 2015.

Film career

20092026

Peak 2015 · at the high point of their film career. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting11 of 11: 11 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score24th

By decade

2000s1 · acting2010s6 · acting2020s4 · acting

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Pearl Thusi's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 17th percentile, the median of all 6; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 20th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

20thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Approval · how many liked their films

18thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Reach · how many have seen their films

74thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Midcredits score across 10 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up1
  • 50th to 74th1
  • 25th to 49th2
  • Below 25th6

Reviewers score the acting 54/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles; fans 72, detractors 26. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Pearl Thusi's work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films
Sex & Nudity3 titlesmedian 31 · mildMedian of all films: 32

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.

Who does Pearl Thusi work with?

People who share at least 2 of Pearl Thusi's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Don Michael Paul shares the most, 3.

Directors

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles