[1] She was a singer in both her school and church choirs, and was a member of the acclaimed Amangeyami group.
She agreed and was subsequently recruited into his new female group, the Mahotella Queens[1] alongside fellow group members Hilda Tloubatla, Mildred Mangxola, Juliet Mazamisa and Ethel Mngomezulu.
In 1983, the five original Queens (Tloubatla, Mbadu, Mangxola, Mazamisa and Mngomezulu) were reunited with Mahlathini and the Makgona Tsohle Band.
Due to the success of Paul Simon's Graceland 1986 album and tour (in which he collaborated with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Stimela and others), South African music was in demand.
Mbadu died in hospital in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni due to kidney failure on 31 August 2021, aged 76.