Doja Cat’s creative and performing talents are undeniable. And those who have discovered her music recently wonder if her talent is genetic. Doja does come from an artistic family, but she’s definitely her own person. Past racism allegations against the “Juicy” singer have resurfaced, which has led to her denying those claims and affirming the biracial heritage she inherited from her parents. The Internet is now more curious about Doja Cat’s parents and her relationship with them.
Doja Cat’s Father Worked with Whoopi Goldberg
Doja Cat was born Amalaratna Zandile Dlamini on October 21, 1995 in Tarzana, California. Her mother, Deborah Elizabeth Sawyer, is Jewish-American and her father, Dumisani Dlamini is from South Africa, and reportedly of Zulu ethnicity.
Young Amala lived in New York and California while being raised by her single mother. Dlamini was reportedly not part of his daughter’s life for the most part.
Dlamini is a talented actor, film producer, musician, and dancer in his home country and has performed on Broadway. He is most famous for working alongside Whoopi Goldberg in 1992’s Sarafina film. He later reprised his character of Crocodile in the Broadway production.
God is great
Posted by Dumisani Dlamini on Sunday, August 19, 2018
After touring with the Sarafina stage production, he decided to live in the U.S., where he met Sawyer in the ‘90s. They have two daughters together.
Dlamini said that he became homesick after living and performing in the U.S. for over 15 years and wanted to return to South Africa. He wanted to take Sawyer and their daughters with him, but it didn’t work out and he returned alone.
Doja Cat said in 2019 that she had never met her father. Though she did say he comments often on her Instagram posts. Dlamini countered her claims, saying they have a healthy father-daughter relationship.
In April 2020, a video of Doja meeting Whoopi Goldberg was a hot topic on the Internet. Their encounter led to them chatting about Doja Cat’s estranged father. When the video went viral, her fans appealed to Dlamini to make more of an effort to meet his daughter.
But it doesn’t seem that the “Mooo!” rapper has any ill feelings towards her dad. When her mother showed her clips of her father performing, Doja expressed her admiration for his talent.
Doja Cat is currently embroiled in racism allegations. She has denied those accusations and expressed her pride in her South African roots.
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Doja Cat’s Mother Is an Artist
Something the controversial artist gushes about is her artistic family. Besides her father being a multi-hyphenate entertainer, her mother is an artist.
Deborah Sawyer went from painter to visual artist to digital graphic artist to clothing designer. She was born in the UK, grew up in Canada, and now has her career based in New York.
Posted by Deborah C. Sawyer on Thursday, June 30, 2016
Sawyer raised her daughters by herself after Dlamini returned to South Africa. But unlike him, she hasn’t spoken about Doja’s estrangement from Dlamini.
She graduated from The College of New Jersey in Ewing with a BFA in Studio Art in 1993 and went on to acquire her MFA in painting from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn in 1995.
With a wide area of experience that covers painting, sculpting, and everything in between, Sawyer has held exhibitions and interned at art galleries. Doja Cat said that her mother’s latest career focus is designing a clothing line.
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