Miss South Africa 2025 Top 10 finalists announced

by | Sep 16, 2025 | Press Release | 0 comments

Johannesburg, South Africa. 16 September 2025. The spotlight is on the ten finalists selected for Miss South Africa 2025. One will be crowned on 25 October 2025, at the Sun Bet Arena at Times Square, Pretoria.

This year, the Miss South Africa Organisation has reimagined what it means to wear the crown. The woman to be crowned Miss South Africa 2025 will use her platform to create lasting and meaningful impact.

The shortlisting for the Top 10, overseen by a firm of well-known auditors, was led by:

  • Devi Sankaree Govender, a renowned South African journalist, television presenter and a former Miss South Africa judge;
  • Ndavi Nokeri, model, entrepreneur and education equity activist who was crowned Miss South Africa 2022 and placed in the Top 16 when she represented South Africa at Miss Universe that year;
  • Liezel van der Westhuizen, a certified neuroscience and mental fitness/ executive business coach; TV/radio presenter, and endurance athlete who empowers leaders, and audiences to ‘stand tall with resilience and confidence’.

Devi evaluated contestants’ drive and boldness to bring about social change together with their authenticity and sense of humour; Ndavi wanted someone with a broad understanding of South Africa’s landscape while Liezel prioritised resilience and grit.

They found all those characteristics in the chosen ten.

Of this cohort, three have entered the competition before with one being a Top 10 finalist in 2022 and the other making it to the finals in 2019.

 

Most of the contestants, bar two from the Western Cape, now live and work in Gauteng. All ten women have dedicated themselves to uplifting the communities they live in.

 

Their advocacy campaigns include bridging the gap between access and opportunity, addressing the debilitating effects of extreme poverty, bringing young people across the digital divide or showing young, unemployed South Africans that with the right tools and mind sets, they have global access to work.

 

Beautiful, articulate and determined to be of service to the communities they have committed to help, this year’s Miss South Africa Top 10 exude confidence and compassion as they begin their journey to the crown.

 

Here they are:

 

Nelly Mashile, 28, from Daveyton, Benoni, (now living in Boksburg) is a doctor and a surgeon, having earned her first medical degree in Cuba and, in 2022, her surgery degree from Wits University. Nelly unsuccessfully entered Miss South Africa in 2023 but reapplied because, “as someone from a very disadvantaged background, getting an education on a housekeeper’s salary, I carry the responsibility to represent kids from similar backgrounds.”

Her advocacy initiative Ignite Unite, focuses on bridging the gap between access and opportunity, empowering young people to reach their full potential.

Her Motto: Dream big; Reality will be bigger.

 

Lebo Msimanga 27, from Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal (now living in Midrand, Johannesburg) holds a BCom in Economics and Marketing from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and works as a client manager and professional model. Through her legacy project, The Lebo Leads Foundation, she helps young people cultivate leadership skills. She also volunteers with Rivers Foundation, preparing sandwiches to feed hungry children at underprivileged schools.

Her Motto: Stick to the plan not your mood.

 

Qhawekazi Mazaleni, 24, from Gonubie, East London, (now living in Sundowner, Randburg) holds a Speech, Language and Hearing Therapy degree from Stellenbosch University and is doing Master of Arts in Speech-Language Pathology through the University of Pretoria with a focus on Autism. Making a difference in her community is important and her biggest contribution has been through her therapeutic work in “bridging cultural and linguistic gaps in speech therapy and being informed of our political, economic and social worlds.”

Her Motto: It’s only embarrassing if you’re embarrassed. Don’t be afraid to be seen trying.

 

 

Luyanda Zuma, 23, from Pietermaritzburg, Kwazulu-Natal (now living in Waterfall, Johannesburg) was a Top 10 finalist in Miss South Africa 2022. The actress and model – she has a Bachelor in Live Performance from AFDA – understands that wearing the crown means being of service. To this end she has committed to uplifting communities and creating lasting impact. Through her newly established media house LeNZ Media she wants to contribute to African storytelling and open doors for new graduates. Through her child and youth development-focused Nonhlelo Foundation, she spends time in orphanages.

Her Motto: You are never too young to lead.

 

Nthabiseng Kgasi, 30, from Soweto, Gauteng (now living in Bryanston) is a Marketing Manager who wants to help bridge the digital divide for people in underserved communities. One of her conditions for joining the telecommunications company she is employed at was that she works on empowering projects – such as the platform to give young entrepreneurs a space to grow their businesses using the company’s resource libraries.

She holds Bachelors and Honours degrees in Marketing and Communications in Media from Monash University. In addition to her corporate role, Nthabiseng runs a small social media management company helping businesses build and grow their digital presence.

Her Motto: Let your “why” guide you every step of the way.

 

 

Karabo Mareka, 28, from Alexandra, Gauteng is a flight attendant with United Airlines and currently lives in Virginia in the United States. She says she entered the Miss SA competition to be a “beacon of hope for young South Africans who, like me, are unable to further their education due to financial constraints.” By representing her township Alexandra on a global scale, she says she shows young people every day that no matter where you come from, you can access opportunities by thinking creatively, encouraging them to seek global opportunities and create a life of their own.

Her Motto: You will never know unless you try. What do you have to lose?

 

 

Ghee-Ann Rademan, 23, from the Northern Suburbs, Cape Town, Western Cape holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Industrial Psychology from Stellenbosch University (2024) and registered as a Mental Health Professional before launching her own online counselling platform for young girls and adult women. She says she entered Miss SA because of the power of this platform which she wants to use to amplify her voice to reach more women in the country and play an active role in teaching women about their minds so they may find healing and empowerment within.

Her Motto: Here to love and to serve.

 

 

 

Bridgette Jones, 28, From Bridgetown, Athlone, Cape Town is a flight attendant, studying Management online through the German International University of Applied Sciences. Her goal is to gain global experience academically and professionally so she can create and collaborate with anyone, regardless of where they are in the world.

Entering Miss South Africa 2025 was, she says, her the next logical step in living a life she loves and winning the title would help her achieve her goal of creating a compassionate footprint.

Her Motto: No one gets left behind!

 

 

Zanele Phakathi, 27, from Soweto, Gauteng (she lives in Pretoria), has an advanced diploma degree in Business Information Technology from the University of Johannesburg, and works with the Enterprise Architecture team at the Public Investment Corporation. She is also the founder of Diamonds Model Academy – where she mentors and trains young models – and Za Power House Foundation, where she runs community programmes focused on education and youth empowerment. She wants to expand her Empower Ed campaign nationally, ensuring that every child, especially from disadvantaged backgrounds, has access to career guidance and digital skills.

Her Motto: God’s timing is perfect.

 

Gizelle Venske, 27, from Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng (now living in Lynwood, Pretoria) is a qualified Chartered Accountant. She holds a BCom Accounting Sciences degree from the University of Pretoria and finished her 3-year audit articles at Deloitte this year. She was then seconded to do a three month stint as an auditor at Deloitte, Sydney, Australia. She has since started a new role as a Business Development Manager at a Global Indirect Tax firm. Her advocacy comes through her role as an auditor – she is in a unique position to uphold ethical financial practices within the private and public sectors. On a personal level, she mentors peers on essential skills like budgeting, building a credit score, understanding interest, and using e-filing for tax returns.

Her Motto: A woman who follows the crowd is likely to go no further than the crowd, but a woman who follows her own footsteps is likely to find herself in places no one else has ever been.

 

 

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