Here is the legendary Cynthia Shange, the first Black model who represented South Africa at Miss World.
Most people may not know the history of pageantry in Mzansi, but it would be nice for them to at least know the first Black model to represent South Africa at Miss World. Cynthia Shange was the first Black model to do that in 1972. This makes her an icon in the pageant world. She began her modeling career in 1970, two years before she appeared at Miss World.
Here are some of the things you should know about her.
While Cynthia Shange was South Africa’s first Black model to represent the country at Miss World, she was not the current Miss South Africa at the time. Jacqui Mofokeng was the first Black woman to be crowned Miss South Africa, and that happened in 1993. Cynthia’s journey was a bit different. She won Miss Natal at the time and was later crowned Miss Africa South.
That made her eligible to compete in the Miss World pageant as Miss Africa South. According to reports, there were only two beauty titles in SA at the time, due to Apartheid. She later married Derrick Thema, a professional soccer player and journalist. They have four children together.
