Rolene Strauss
Rolene Strauss | |
|---|---|
| Born | Rolene Strauss 22 April 1992 |
| Alma mater | University of the Free State |
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) |
| Beauty pageant titleholder | |
| Title | Miss World 2014, Miss South Africa 2014 |
| Hair color | Brown |
| Eye color | Blue/Green |
| Major competition(s) | Miss South Africa 2011 (Top 5) Miss South Africa 2014 (Winner) Miss World 2014 (Winner) |
Rolene Strauss (born 22 April 1992) is a South African beauty queen who was crowned Miss South Africa 2014, and in December the same year won Miss World 2014 in London. She is the second South African woman to won Miss World pageant.
Early life
At an early age of 8, Rolene Strauss witnessed the crowning of Miss SA in the year 2000, when Jo-Ann Strauss won the title. The two are not related to each other - they coincidentally share the same surname. She dreamed of winning the title one day, and scooped the title herself in March 2014.
Rolene is a medical student and is currently studying towards her degree at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, but is originally from Volksrust, Mpumalanga.[1] Upon winning the Miss SA title, Rolene put her studies on hold to pursue her reign. Under the supervision of the new Miss SA Executive and former Miss South Africa Melinda Bam, Rolene will now get the opportunity of representing South Africa at Miss Universe and/or Miss World. If the two pageants are held concurrently or very close together, Rolene will have to decide which pageant she would like to attend and her runner-up, Ziphozakhe Zokufa will then represent the rainbow nation at the alternate pageant.
Pageantry
Elite Model Look South Africa 2007 (WINNER)
When Rolene was just 15 years old, she competed in and won the national selection for the Elite Model Look International. She is the youngest winner nationally and beat 11 other contestants vying for the same title.
Elite Model Look 2007 (Top 15)
Rolene placed in The Top 15 of the Elite Model Look International 2007 after competing with 55 contestants. That year, the winner was Belgian model Jennifer Messelier, followed by Dutch model Ymre Stiekema and Czech model Hana Jirickova. Notable contestants from the Elite Model look include Cindy Crawford, Stephanie Seymour and Gisele Bündchen. None of these women won in the year they competed, but still attained critical and international success.[2]
Miss South Africa 2011 (TOP 5)
Rolene placed in the Top 5 of Miss South Africa 2011 when Melinda Bam became the new titleholder of Miss SA 2011. She was just 19 at the time.[3]
Miss South Africa 2014 (WINNER)
Rolene returned two years later to compete in the 2013 Pageant and was crowned as Miss South Africa 2014 representing the Free State city of Bloemfontein on March 30, 2014 at a glittering ceremony held at the Sun City Super Bowl, South Africa.[4]
Miss World 2014 (WINNER)
Rolene won the Miss World 2014 title on December 14, 2014 the pageant was held in the Excel Arena in London, UK.[5] This was South Africas third Miss World win, and the first "Big Four"-pageant since Miss World 1974.[6]
Weight Gain and preparation for International Pageants
In early-August 2014, Rolene received heavy criticism for her weight gain.[7] This subsequently led to Sun International issuing a press statement that Rolene would only begin her fitness regimen for the international pageants in mid-August.[8] Rolene has teamed up with supplement-giant USN, as well as Virgin Active for her strenuous 12-week body transformation, which is scheduled to end just in time for Miss World 2014.
References
- ^ "Profile". facebook.com. 2014.
- ^ "Elite Model Look". Retrieved 16 November 2014.
- ^ "Eye For Beauty: Miss South Africa 2011: Telecast Review". Retrieved 16 November 2014.
- ^ "And Miss South Africa 2014". misssa.co.za. 2014.
- ^ "Miss World 2014 Winner Is Miss South Africa, Rolene Strauss—See Photos and Find Out Who Else Make the Top 10!". E! Online. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
- ^ Eyewitness News. "Miss SA Rolene Strauss crowned Miss World 2014". Retrieved 14 December 2014.
- ^ "Rolene Strauss body is in DANGER!". Retrieved 16 November 2014.
- ^ "Timeline Photos - Miss South Africa - Facebook". Retrieved 16 November 2014.
