SINGER

Miriam Makeba

1932 - 2008

Photo of Miriam Makeba

Icon of person Miriam Makeba

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. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Miriam Makeba has received more than 3,089,170 page views. Her biography is available in 78 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 73 in 2019). Miriam Makeba is the 42nd most popular singer (up from 80th in 2019), the 4th most popular biography from South Africa (up from 11th 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."

Memorability Metrics

  • 3.1M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 70.30

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 78

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 7.58

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.57

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among SINGERS

Among singers, Miriam Makeba ranks 42 out of 4,381. Before her are Barry White, Albano Carrisi, Amanda Lear, Barbra Streisand, Plácido Domingo, and Joe Cocker. After her are James Brown, 50 Cent, Agnetha Fältskog, Jacques Brel, Ozzy Osbourne, and Joe Dassin.

Most Popular Singers in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1932, Miriam Makeba ranks 15. Before her are Johnny Cash, John Williams, Abebe Bikila, Peter O'Toole, Cesare Maldini, and Luc Montagnier. After her are Fernando Botero, Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary, Víctor Jara, Anouk Aimée, Sylvia Plath, and François Englert. Among people deceased in 2008, Miriam Makeba ranks 13. Before her are Samuel P. Huntington, Chinghiz Aitmatov, Albert Hofmann, Irena Sendler, Charlton Heston, and Arthur C. Clarke. After her are Mahmoud Darwish, Hua Guofeng, Willis Lamb, Richard Widmark, Richard Wright, and Sydney Pollack.

Others Born in 1932

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Others Deceased in 2008

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In South Africa

Among people born in South Africa, Miriam Makeba ranks 4 out of 454. Before her are Nelson Mandela (1918), J. R. R. Tolkien (1892), and Elon Musk (1971). After her are Sarah Baartman (1788), J. M. Coetzee (1940), F. W. de Klerk (1936), Nadine Gordimer (1923), Shaka (1787), Desmond Tutu (1931), Christiaan Barnard (1922), and Cyril Ramaphosa (1952).

Others born in South Africa

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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), ZP Theart (1975), Letta Mbulu (1942), Miriam Stockley (1962), Zahara (1987), Shaun Morgan (1978), and Bok van Blerk (1978).

South African born Singers

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