Dineo Ranaka (born 16 December 1983) is a South African radio personality, television presenter, actress, DJ, and TV producer. Dineo is a seasoned and experienced radio broadcaster. She started her career at 5FM in 2003 presenting The Fanta World Chart Show with Brown Sugar,[1] then moved to YFM, Highveld Stereo,[2] Metro FM, and Cliff Central. She was the co-host and producer of the YFM drive time show the Essential Rush. Upon her return from a long break she joined Metro FM to host a mid-morning show The Bridge,[3] and shortly after, the Metro FM Top 40.[4] She is the current main anchor of Kaya 959’s breakfast show. Dineo became successful in presenting the Breakfast show. It was her rapid success on her Weekend Breakfast Show that made her the perfect candidate to take over from Chilli M’s show, which aired daily between 15:00 and 18:00 weekdays, thereafter replacing the popular Vukani “Chilli M” Masinga who left the show. She then proved the critics wrong and in less than a year, grew the stations listener-ship in the 3-6pm time slot to 750 000 from the previous listener-ship of 600 000. Dineo hosted the “Dineo Live on Drive” show, making her YFM’s first female afternoon drive time jock and is reckoned to be the only female afternoon drive time Radio DJ in the country. Due to her show’s success she won the favor of clients such as Love Life, Sanlam, Samsung, Motorola, Vodacom, Cadbury and Levis, just to name a few, requesting that she specifically run and drive their on-air campaigns. During 2010 e.tv launched their lifestyle and music entertainment show aimed at the youth called Club 808 “Make Some Noise”. It featured presenters Dineo Ranaka and Mo flava.in August 2010 During August 2010, Club 808 executive producer Zam Nkosi said: “The show will be fresh, very contemporary, fun, flirty and lightly irreverent, with the tongue firmly in cheek. It will certainly not take itself seriously.”.[13] The show currently airs on Etv. In April 2014, she was a roaster at the Comedy Central Africa’s Roast of Kenny Kunene.[14] She also acted on Hustle, a South African TV series, in 2016. In 2019, she announced her new venture as a house and hip-hop DJ. In 2020, through her production company, she produced Mzali Wami,[15] a drama series which aired on Mzansi Magic and Showmax. She owns cosmetic range LuvDrBeauty which launched 16 December 2020. On an episode of Podcast and Chill with MacG, MacG announced that Dineo will be hosting her new podcast slot under the Podcast and Chill Network called ‘Dineo On Sex and Stuff’. The show will be aired every Tuesday at 3 PM. This opportunity arose just as she parted ways with Kaya FM. Dineo (meaning “gifts”) was born in Diepkloof’s Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, in South Africa. Dineo was educated at Unisa.[16] She is the sister of South African actress Manaka Ranaka. Dineo reportedly spent three days in the Life Fourways Hospital after she was admitted for a brain-related chronic illness caused by stress and hypertension. On Thursday 24 February 2011, Dineo was admitted and discharged after two days of treatment following her diagnosis of hypothyroidism,[22] a brain shrinkage, and temporal lobe epilepsy. It is reported that she was never in rehab, she was in the Life Fourways hospital. Dineo states that she was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 2004 and that her condition was under control until the J&B Met. She has since become an advocate for mental health.
