MISS SA TOP 16 (PHOTO: SUPPLIED TO DRUM)
Cape Town – The Miss South Africa 2019 top 16 finalists have been announced, and here they are.
Miss South Africa 2019 will take place on 9 August at Sun International’s flagship venue, the Sun Arena at Time Square, Pretoria.
Tamaryn Green will crown her successor at this year’s event, which will broadcast live on M-Net and Mzanzi Magic.TV personality Bonang Matheba is back to host the Miss South Africa pageant once again, and House of BNG has been announced as the official celebration partner.ALSO READ: Instagram compares Tamaryn Green to Miss Universe Philippines calling them lookalikes
Meet the Top 16 in the running to take the coveted crown:
1. Beulah Baduza from Hatfield, Pretoria, is a 23-year old student studying for an LLB degree at the University of Pretoria. She lists her six role models as being her mother, Naomi Campbell, Michelle Obama, Beyonce, Winnie Mandela and Serena Williams.
2. 21-year-old Chuma Matsaluka hails from Nyanga, Cape Town, and is currently in her third year in Humanities, majoring in anthropology, industrial sociology and political studies at the University of Cape Town.
Describing herself as assertive, intelligent and compassionate, Chuma says people would be surprised to know that is very talkative.
3. Originally from Umhlanga in KZN, Danielle Wallace moved to Cape Town in June this year. She enjoys running, hiking and being outdoors, but she does confess that she loves nothing better than staying in her PJs all day watching Netflix.
4. Eloïse van der Westhuizen is from Panorama, Cape Town, and is a merchandise planner in Parow.
A fan of MasterChef Australia, Game of Thrones and Survivor SA, her favourite meal is pulled lamb tagliatelle pasta which she’d love to share with her crush, Ryan Reynolds.
5. BA Law Graduate (Cum Laude) and currently in her first year of her LLB, 22-year old Errin Brits lives in Randpark Ridge, Johannesburg. At the gym she listens to hip-hop but when relaxing enjoys Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Hozier and Steve Aoki.
6. Keabetswe Kanyane hails from Mobapane, Pretoria, where she works as an analyst and project coordinator. A real gym bunny, she also enjoys hosting, cooking and planning game nights.
7. Kgothatso Dithebe lives in Centurion, Pretoria, and is currently in her second year studying for an LLB Law Degree with the University of South Africa.
She admires former Miss SA and Miss World Rolene Strauss whose grit and determination is something she strongly believes in.
8. Lisa Stoffela, 26, is currently based in Morningside, Johannesburg, but originally comes from Margate in Kwazulu-Natal. She has two older sisters, Tabisa (30) and Yum-Yum (29), who was named after the peanut butter, and would love to meet the actress Viola Davis because she is fierce and unafraid to take risks.
9. Port Elizabeth born and raised, 24-year old Loren Leigh Jenneker lives in Centurion, Pretoria, and is a full-time student doing a B.Com degree in Finance at the University of Johannesburg.
An avid reader – currently reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho – she also collects book donations and tutors children who are not at the required reading level.
10. Noluthando Bennett hails from Kagiso, Krugersdorp and is a freelance junior technical sound assistant and an events manager assistant. Previous Miss SA, who has inspired her is Jacqui Mofokeng “because she broke barriers and showed every young black woman that it’s possible to be crowned Miss SA.”
11. Nompumelelo Maduna, 24, from Rockville, Soweto, graduated with a B. Tech Marketing Management from the University of Johannesburg and currently works at a financial institution as a private banker.
She keeps fit and active by playing netball and golf and is a trainer at The Model Academy teaching catwalk, confidence building and etiquette.
12. Entrepreneur and model, Sasha-Lee Olivier (26) is currently pursuing a double major in marketing and psychology at Wits University. A former Miss SA that inspires her is Amy Kleinhans-Curd, who in 1992 “displayed courage in choosing not to carry the old South African flag.”
13. Sibabalwe (Siba) Gcilitshana is from a village called Blythswood, close to the town of Nqamakwe in the Eastern Cape, but is now based in Bellville in Cape Town.
Siba loves singing, meditating, hiking, cooking, travelling, catching up with current affairs, self-care, spending time with her family, reading and catching up with her favourite TV series Killing Eve.
14. 23-year-old Xia Narain comes from Chatsworth, KwaZulu Natal and is a model affiliated to Topco model agency in Cape Town, Edit Models in Turkey and Models International in Durban.
Her role models include Madiba, Princess Diana, Oprah, Ellen De Generes and Sushmita Senn, Miss Universe 1994 and a Bollywood actress.
15. Zanele Phakathi, 20, from Soweto in Gauteng is a first-year Business Information Technology student at the University of Johannesburg and a model at Boss Models.
She has won more than 70 pageant titles, the first being Little Miss Dobsonville in 2011.
16. Zozibini Tunzi currently resides in Gardens, Cape Town but her home is Tsolo, eSdwadweni in the Eastern Cape.
She has three sisters, who she counts as her best friends and she would love to meet Caster Semenya to learn more from women like her “because they know what it takes to live an impactful life.”
