Happy birthday, Ma Brrr!

A STAR IS BORN: 

Brenda Fassie was born in Cape Town's Langa township, the youngest of nine children. 

At the age of 16, she left her home to travel to Soweto in Johannesburg - to seek fame as a singer.

ALSO READ: Fans on Brenda Fassie's legacy

Fassie was discovered a year later by producer and talent scout Koloi Lebona, and went on to perform in a band - Brenda & the Big Dudes - with whom she cut her first single, Weekend Special. 

The catchy tune turned young Fassie into an overnight sensation, cementing her status as an Afro-pop diva.

Affectionately known as the "Madonna of the townships",  Fassie rose to musical heights in the 1980's in the midst of apartheid - by being unapologetic about her music and her individuality.

Hits like Vulindlela and Black President would catapult the young star to global stardom, leading to her record company, EMI, calling her a "once-in-a-generation artist" and a "true idol."

Fassie would go on to release 12 studio albums in her lifetime - leaving behind a musical legacy for generations to come.

DEATH: 

Despite her unquestionable talent and numerous accolades, Fassie's turbulent personal life provided plenty of tabloid fodder.  

Her death in 2004 from a cocaine overdose - which left her in a coma for 13 days - came as no shock to her friends, family or fans. 

Frequent stints to rehab for drug and alcohol addiction, debt, divorce, and a highly-publicized lesbian tryst - characterized the life of the singer before her death at the age of 39.

It was reported that visitors to her hospital bed before she died included former president Nelson Mandela, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, and President Thabo Mbeki. 

Fassie's only child, Bongani, paid tribute to his beloved mother at her funeral in Cape Town in May 2004. 

“I know that Brenda Nokuzola Majoni Fassie was a great loss to all of us locally and globally, but the one thing she told me was to spread love, strive for better things and to have confidence in myself no matter what people say,” he said.

BRENDA FASSIE'S LEGACY:

In the same year of her death, Fassie was voted 17th in a list of Top 10 Great South Africans.

 In 2005, she was awarded a SAMA lifetime achievement award - posthumously. 

In March 2006, a life-size bronze statue of Fassie was erected in her honour outside the Bassline music venue in Johannesburg's Newtown art district.

Whether you loved her or hated her, there was no denying that Brenda Fassie was as unique as her unmistakable voice.

WATCH: Brenda Fassie performs for President Nelson Mandela

On Thursday, South Africans took to social media to pay tribute to "the girl with the golden voice" - whose musical legacy still lives on in the hearts of her millions of fans.