Beauty and the Bester: History and Key Facts

Beauty and the Bester is a 2025 three-part true crime documentary series that explores the story of convicted South African murderer and rapist Thabo Bester, who faked his death and escaped from prison in 2022, and his relationship with the celebrity doctor Nandipha Magudumana, who allegedly became involved in the escape. It was produced by Storyscope, and released on Netflix on 12 September 2025.

The docu-series delves into themes of crime, deception, prison breaks, and the ties between Magudumana and Bester, drawing comparisons to stories like Bonnie and Clyde. It received mixed reviews from critics and media outlets, who mostly praised its authenticity. Beauty and the Bester is second documentary on the subject, following Showmax's Tracking Thabo Bester, which was released in 2024. Magudumana is currently incarcerated at the Bizzah Makhate Correctional Centre, a women-only prison, in Kroonstad, Free State. Bester is held in C-Max, a maximum-security division at Kgosi Mampuru prison in Pretoria.

Source and attribution

Text excerpted from Beauty and the Bester by Wikipedia contributors, available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0. The extract is abridged and formatting has been adjusted; the adapted text on this page is shared under the same licence. Revision history.