Rolene Strauss (born 22 April 1992) is a South African beauty queen who won Miss South Africa 2014 and was later crowned Miss World 2014. She is the third South African woman to be crowned

Miss World Miss World is the oldest existing international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant. Along with Miss Universe, Mi ...

, after Penelope Anne Coelen in 1958 and Anneline Kriel in 1974. Strauss is currently the chairperson of the non-profit organisation The Strauss Foundation.

Personal life

Strauss was a medical student at the

University of the Free State The University of the Free State (; Sotho language, Sesotho: ''Yunivesithi ya Freistata'') is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State (province), Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It wa ...

. She was born in Volksrust,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, to Theresa, a nurse, and Hennie Strauss, a doctor. She is a test tube baby. In her own words "I'm a test tube baby and I believe my passion for health was born with me". Strauss became engaged to D'Niel Strauss (no relation) in December 2014. They were later married on 6 February 2016, at the Laurent Wedding venue in

Somerset West Somerset West () is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. Organisationally and administratively it is included in the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality (South Africa), metropolitan municipality Eastern Suburbs zone (formerly called ...

. Their first child, a son, was born in January 2017. In February 2020, she gave birth to her second son. Rolene Strauss is a devout Christian.

Pageantry

Strauss won her first title at age 15, when she won the Elite Model Look South Africa competition in 2007. Strauss later placed in the top 5 of Miss South Africa 2011, where Melinda Bam became the winner. She returned three years later to compete, representing

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

, and was crowned Miss South Africa 2014. As Miss South Africa 2014, Strauss was expected to compete at both Miss Universe 2014 and Miss World 2014. Strauss competed in the Miss World 2014 contest in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and during the final question and answer round, Strauss was asked - “Why should you be the next Miss World?” to which Strauss responded by stating: She was eventually crowned as Miss World 2014 at the end of the event, becoming the third

n to Miss World since the pageant's inception in 1951. Because of this, she could not compete at Miss Universe 2014. Ziphozakhe Zokufa, her first runner-up, stepped in as Miss South Africa 2014 and represented the country at the Miss Universe 2014 competition. After being crowned Miss World 2014, Strauss began her responsibilities as

and has since travelled to

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

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 ...

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 ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

amongst other countries to fulfil her various obligations in the role. Strauss was invited as a judge in Miss World 2018, becoming the first and so far the only Miss World from the 2010s to become a judge in a Miss World finals.

References

External links

Miss World 2014 Winner
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Strauss, Rolene 1992 births 21st-century South African non-fiction writers 21st-century South African philanthropists 21st-century South African women writers Living people Miss World winners Miss World 2014 delegates Miss South Africa winners People from Mbombela South African beauty pageant winners South African women non-fiction writers South African women philanthropists Stellenbosch University alumni University of the Free State alumni White South African people 21st-century women philanthropists South African Christians