Fezile Thanda Mkhize (born 8 March 1991) is a South African actor, doctor, model, TV host and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Mister Supranational 2024 on July 4, 2024 in Poland. He became the first South African, the first African and consequently the first Black winner of the Mister Supranational pageant. He was previously crowned as the first runner-up at the Mister World 2019 pageant, held on August 23, 2019, in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

where he also won the continental title of Mister World Africa 2019.

Early life

Fezile, the second of three children, was born in

Oslo Beach Oslo Beach is a small coastal suburb located along the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and forms part of the coastal town of Port Shepstone. Geography Oslo Beach lies just 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Port Shepstone CBD and lies ...

, a village on the south coast of

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

. He grew up in a small town called Gamalakhe after his father died when Fezile was four years old. His mother, MaShusha Mkhize, a teacher, raised him and his two siblings. Fezile graduated with a medical degree from the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

in 2014. He later specialized in cardiothoracic surgery and currently practices at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

Career

He is known as an actor known for his roles in the South African romantic comedy television series '' Yoh! Christmas'', which premiered on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

, Adulting which premiered on

Showmax Showmax is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service that launched in South Africa on 19 August 2015. Its majority owner is MultiChoice, which owns 70% of the Showmax group, while American conglomerate NBCUniversal owns 3 ...

and the soap opera '' Generations: The Legacy''.

Pageantry

Mister World 2019

Fezile competed at the Mister World 2019 pageant, held on August 23, 2019, at the

Smart Araneta Coliseum The Araneta Coliseum, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Smart Araneta Coliseum, is an indoor multi-purpose sports arena that is part of the Araneta City in the Cubao area of Quezon City, Philippines. Nicknamed "the Big Dome" ...

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...

. Representing South Africa, he faced off against 71 other contestants. During the competition, Fezile excelled in the Sports Challenge, winning the event. He also advanced to the Top 25 in the Top Model Challenge. At the end of the event, Fezile finished as the first runner-up to Jack Heslewood from

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. However, he achieved the title of Mister World Africa 2019.

Mister Supranational 2024

In 2024, Fezile Mkhize represented South Africa at the 8th edition of the Mister Supranational pageant, held in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

on July 4 with 35 other contestants. He emerged victorious, winning the title of Mister Supranational 2024. Fezile advanced to the first cut, the Top 20 of the competition by winning the Supra Chat fast-track event. He also placed at the Top 11 of the Supra Model of the Year event. His victory marked a series of historic achievements. Fezile became the first African, the first South African, and the first Black winner of not only Mister Supranational but also any major international male beauty pageant. Additionally, South Africa's win solidified its position as the second nation, following

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, to claim titles in both the Miss and Mister Supranational pageants.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mkhize, Fezile Living people South African beauty pageant winners University of Cape Town alumni South African male models 1991 births