Amy Kleinhans

Amy Kleinhans

Beauty pageant titleholder
Born	Amy Kleinhans
Other names	Amy Kleinhans-Curd
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Hair color	Black
Eye color	Brown
Title(s)	Miss South Africa 1992
Major competition(s)	Miss South Africa 1991 (1st runner-up) Miss South Africa 1992 (Winner) Miss World 1992 (4th runner-up) (Miss World Africa)

Amy Kleinhans-Curd (born 1968) is a South African beauty queen who was Miss South Africa 1992,^[1] the first non-white winner in the history of South Africa. She placed fourth runner-up to Miss World as Miss World Africa on 12 December 1992.

Miss South Africa

As a 23-year-old mixed-race woman, she competed for the first time in 1991 and placed second. She competed the following year and defeated 11 other contestants for the title of Miss South Africa 1992, the first time ever a non-white was crowned in the history of Miss South Africa.^[1]

Her first runner-up was also non-white, black woman Augustine Masilela of Soweto, who would be a Top 10 semifinalist at Miss Universe 1995.

Kleinhans would crown her successor a year later, Palesa Jacqui Mofokeng, who would be the first black Miss South Africa ever and second non-white to capture the crown.^[2]

Miss World 1992

As the official representative of her country to the 1992 Miss World pageant held in Sun City, South Africa on 12 December, she became Miss World Africa and 4th runner-up to eventual winner Julia Kourotchkina of Russia.

During the pageant participants paraded with the flag of their country. Amy refused to walk with the flag of then apartheid South Africa. She chose instead to walk with a white flag, symbolising peace. After the event she received a phone call from Nelson Mandela thanking her for making that decision.^[3]

The dress she wore while participating in the pageant, a white and gold Stefania Morland design with elaborate ostrich feather details, is on exhibition at the CP Nel Museum in Oudtshoorn.

Personal life

Amy Kleinhans is now the mother of 4 children.

References

1. "Non-white woman is Miss South Africa". The Times-News (Hendersonville, North Carolina). 2 August 1992. Retrieved 2010-09-22.
2. "Pageant victory is a first for blacks". The Gainesville Sun (Gainesville, Florida). 9 August 1993. Retrieved 2010-09-22.
3. Bell, Kim. "Beauty Through the Ages: Amy Kleinhans-Curd (1992)". Longevity Live. Retrieved 30 September 2014.