This past weekend, South Africa welcomed a new queen to take over the reins from Natasha Joubert. Mia Le Roux was recently crowned as the new Miss SA 2024, with her victory being one of the most impactful ones as she was diagnosed with profound hearing loss and was fitted with a cochlear implant to assist with her hearing at the age of one.
Although Mia’s victory was a tale of the underdog, the young model has proven that she is more than capable of occupying her new throne successfully, with inclusion being at the top of her priority list.
As she will be on our screens and in our lives more, here are some interesting facts about South Africa’s newest ambassador that you might have not known:
Sign Language is her first language
As someone hard of hearing, learning sign language was imperative for Mia as it is an effective way to communicate. Although it is more common for people’s first language to be their mother tongue, however, this is not unusual for those with hearing challenges.
Born in Free State, raised in Western Cape
Mia was born in a city in the Free State called SasolBurg, which is situated approximately an hour from Johanessburg. She then later moved to Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape where she was raised.
Passion for pageants
Although this was her first time entering Miss SA, our new queen is no stranger to the bright lights, glitz and glamour as she has a few titles to her name. She began all the way in high school when she bagged the ‘Miss Struisie’ title as well as ‘Miss Garden Route’. She also entered Miss Deaf SA where she made it to the top five.
Marketing
Before entering the Miss SA competition, the 28-year-old worked as a Marketing Manager, while also studying towards obtaining a BCom Marketing qualification at the University of South Africa (UNISA), She also worked part-time as a model, signed with Ice Models in Cape Town.
Love life
Although it is uncertain the duration of the relationship, Mia is in a relationship with fellow model Luke Tenoever, and the two share their love for each other frequently on Instagram.