Born on 16 August 1969,[1] Dlakude matriculated at Mjokwane Senior Secondary School in Komatipoort in the former Eastern Transvaal.
[2] She joined the National Assembly on 9 February 2010, filling the casual vacancy caused by Nomatyala Hangana's resignation.
[4] On 20 June 2013, the ANC announced that Dlakude would take office as Deputy Chief Whip of the Majority Party; she deputised Stone Sizani, who was also newly appointed, and replaced Mmamoloko Kubayi, who had been acting in the position.
[12] John Steenhuisen, the leader of the opposition Democratic Alliance, said that he thought the ANC "missed a trick in Doris Dlakude... who would have made an excellent chief whip".
[13] She is married to Vusi Dlakude, who appeared in the Nkomazi Magistrate's Court on a perjury charge, accused of faking a hijacking, in January 2018.