[1][2] Catharina Magdalena Cronjé was born on 29 October 1943[3] in Pretoria, but she grew up in Schweizer-Reneke in the former Transvaal (now part of North West province).
[1] Cronjé taught at schools in Johannesburg and Pretoria before moving to Phalaborwa in present-day Limpopo, where she enrolled in a correspondence journalism course and worked for a local newspaper.
[1] After her son was born, Cronjé retired from teaching to study law full-time through the University of South Africa.
[5] In the 2009 general election, Cronjé was re-elected to the provincial legislature and was additionally appointed MEC for Finance by Premier Zweli Mkhize.
[7] However, after the election, Mchunu did not reappoint Cronjé to the Executive Council; she was replaced as Finance MEC by Belinda Scott.