Lorcia Cooper Bags Lead Role In A New Afrikaans Drama
Lorcia Cooper Bags Lead Role In A New Afrikaans Drama. Lorcia Cooper has returned to the small screen with a new role. The talented actress has been cast on a new Afrikaans drama called Paradys. The brand-new Afrikaans-language telenovela that promises rich storytelling rooted in local culture and family dynamics.
Paradys is a multi-generational family story centered on a once-promised “Coloured paradise” that never materialized. Starring Lorcia, Chantal Stanfield, and Zane Meas, the series explores legacy, belonging, and unresolved dreams with emotional depth and authenticity.
Welcome to Paradys. A town built on faith, power and broken promises. Almal soek ’n slice van Paradys… maar teen watter prys? 👀
Coming soon on @sabc2 – 23 Feb 2026 at 19:00 PM. ⏰” Paradys admin shared an epic teaser on Instagram.
Paradys premieres on Monday, 23 February 2026 at 19:00 on SABC2.
Lorcia has been in the industry for decades, and she is still going strong. When she was four years old, her parents enrolled her in a dancing class. At the age of five, she won her first competition in a provincial championships for both Ballroom and Latin American dances. Aged eight, Lorcia attended the Academy of Dance and studied dancing under choreographer Debbie Turner, who became her mentor. Later she joined the North West Arts Council’s Dance Academy. When she was 19 years old, she won the FNB Vita Best Female Dancer Award.
She later joined SABC2 channel as a host of Travel Xplorer. During this period, she took on the lead role of Cindi in the film Hey Boy (2003) directed by Andre Odendaal.
In 2008, she was appointed as one of the judges in the dancing competition, Dans! Dans! Dans! aired on ykNET. That same year, she became the choreographer and judge of the reality competition, High School Musical: Spotlight South Africa aired on M-Net.
In 2017, Lorcia appeared in the first season of Mzansi Magic’s crime drama series, Lockdown as Tyson, a lesbian inmate. That same year, she played the supporting role of Marang in the romantic comedy Zulu Wedding, a film whose plot centers on the complexities of marrying into the Zulu royal family. In March 2019, she won the Best Supporting Actress Award at the SAFTAs for her role in Season 2 of Lockdown. Lorcia was again nominated in the same category the following year, but did not win. In September 2020, she appeared in the Mzansi drama series Housekeepers in the role Mkhonto.
In 2024, Lorcia appeared in the role of Detective Morapadi in the Showmax crime series Red Ink. In December 2024, she appeared in Neelan & Kevin, a South African comedy action film.
