Muthoni Gathecha Biography
Muthoni Gathecha is an actress from Kenya who is known for her starring in several local television series such as ‘Kona’. She is also an MC and public speaker. Muthoni joined the acting world at the age of 50. Prior to that, she had had a career as a school principal, an education administrator and a psychologist. On ‘Kona’, an Africa Magic Entertainment’s TV series, she played the character of Ayira Oyange, a matriarchal figure. This marked her debut in acting and introduction to fame.
Muthoni Gathecha Age
The ‘Skandals kibao’ actress is 58 years old as of April 8, 2020. She was born in 1962.
Muthoni Gathecha Children
Mama digital is a mother of three. She was married to her children’s father but the two are divorced. During one of her speeches on “Engage Talk,” Ms. Gathecha described her marriage as having been abusive, leading to her leaving the marriage after 13 years. Her three children are all grown-up; Mchizi Gaza being the first born, a musician and rap artist. The second-born is a fashion designer known as Rowzah and the third and last-born is known as Mizen.
Muthoni Gathecha Acting Career
Muthoni began acting in 2013 when she appeared on a Kenyan telenovela known as ‘Kona’ in the role of Ariya Oyange, one of the protagonists on the series. Other known names on this series include Janet Sision, Nini Wacera and Lwanda Jawar. Muthoni’s next role began in 2014 in another Kenyan dramedy, Pray & Prey, that aired on NTV from 2014 to 2015. She had the role of the main antagonist, Margaret, an overprotective and evil mother.
In 2015, she landed another role in the soap opera Skandals kibao on a role that displays her as a loving mother (mama) of two girls portrayed by Avril as Karen and Janet Sision as Christine, the elder daughter. Apart from television series roles, Muthoni has been on the cast of several films produced and aired on the Africa Magic Original Films Franchise. They include: Get Me a Job, Shortlist, The Next Dean, Close-Knit Group, I Do, and The Black Wedding.
Talking about her acting career, Gathecha highlighted that one of her most challenging role was in the film ‘The Black Wedding’ where she acted as a deranged, disconnected and desolate woman. This she attributed to the difficulty of getting into character and instances of taking her character home with her.
Muthoni Gathecha Films/Movies
♦ 2018 – Rafiki
♦ 2018 – Disconnect
♦ Shortlist: as Mrs Ukwaju, a wife and mother struggling to keep her family together under the iron rule of her husband
♦ 2014 – Close-Knit Group: as Mama Wendy, a wealthy widow and busy body who is the life of the neighborhood.
♦ 2014 – Get Me a Job: as Mrs Komeni, a malicious, conniving, selfish and self-serving cougar who believes the world revolves around her.
♦ 2014 – The Black Wedding: as Aunty, a deranged, disconnected and desolate woman who is not in touch with reality
♦ 2014 – The Next Dean: as Dr Kabiru, a university Vice Chancellor dealing with the political and social issues on a campus setting.
♦ I Do: as Victoria who is a mother to her one and only child. She is possessive of her child and would do absolutely anything for the good of her family.
Muthoni Gathecha life prior to acting
After completing her primary and secondary school education, Ms. Gathecha joined university to study teaching. She graduated and began her teaching career, shortly becoming a school principal by the age of 30. She then joined the tertiary education system leading to her last formal job as an Academic Registrar in-charge of Research Academic and Student Affairs in one of the country’s private universities. She also describes herself as a psychologist by training from the United State International University (USIU).
After 25 years being in the education industry, she says that she needed a change in routine. She went back to university to study for a Masters degree. After her Masters study and thinking of what she would want to be involved in, she decided to reach a larger audience and touch people’s lives, thus, she auditioned for acting on MNET, dare I say at the age of 50. That is when she got a role on the series ‘Kona’.