On February 9th, 1999, Lerato Nxumalo was born. She was raised in the KwaMashu neighborhood of Durban, South Africa’s KwaZulu Natal Province. From her stepmother, Lerato has eight siblings seven girls and one boy.
Even though her parents are Zulu, only her late grandmother, her father’s mother, gave her a Sotho name.
When her mother was unable to give her the name she had intended for Nompumelelo, she gave it to Lerato’s younger sister.