PE beauty vies for R1-million prize in TV show

By Shaanaaz de Jager

FORMER  Weekend Post Faces of the Future finalist  has landed the chance of a lifetime to compete for R1-million in South Africa’s reality TV game show ‘Tropika Island of Treasure’ in Jamaica.

The 29-year-old - was named in the FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World poll  for the past two years - said she was "so excited” about competing in the show in November.

Steenkamp has spent time on various islands during her modelling career, and described Jamaica  as one of the most beautiful places in the world.

The former St Dominic’s Priory School pupil was in the city to visit her parents, Barry and June, and was thrilled to be back home.

"Home has a way of grounding a person,” she said.

Currently riding the wave of success, Steenkamp was made a Legacy Lifestyle ambassador two months ago and promotes the brand around SA.

She  graduated from NMMU in 2005 with an LLB, and even though her plans included being an advocate by the age of 30,  she’s still ambitious and hopes to finish her masters degree in law.

"At the end of last year I made an application to the Bar. It was a nerve-wracking experience. As I walked out I got the call for the FHM shoot as well as two others. I made a decision to take the modelling shoots. I believe in destiny and faith.”

Steenkamp - who has been modelling since she was 14  -  burst onto the scene in 2005 when she was named a finalist in the then Weekend Post Faces of the Future competition in 2004. A year later she was also a finalist in the Herald Miss Port Elizabeth competition.

"No matter what I do in Johannesburg or Cape Town I always like to come home.”

Should she win, she plans to "invest money in property and spend the rest on a really luxurious island holiday”.

She said modelling was hard work and that it  was important not to get sidetracked by the glitz and glamour of the industry.

"If you want to succeed as a model, you have to treat it like it’s a nine-to-five job. At the beginning you will want to party and hang out but remember -  if you don’t show up for a shoot, someone will take your place.”

Other celebrities who will be joining Steenkamp on the show are hip-hop giant AKA, Miss RGB (The Real Goboza) and ‘Zone 14’s’ sweetheart Pearl Thusi, Mario "Hot Abs” Ogle, teen queen, actress and TV presenter Phuti Khomo, and ‘Isidingo’ star Jay Anstey, and rapper Da L.E.S.

The show is still looking for seven contestants from the public.  Entries close on  September 30.

The fifth season of ‘Tropika’ will air in February next year.

This is a shortened version of an article that appeared in the print edition of the Weekend Post on Saturday, September 8, 2012.