Mia le Roux was crowned Miss South Africa 2024 on 10 August 2024, the first differently abled person to wear the crown.

Le Roux was born in the Free State on 27 June 1995 and was raised in Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape in South Africa.

She attended Oudtshoorn Junior Primary School and completed her high school studies at Oudtshoorn High School. Mia has a nutrition certificate from the Sport Science Institute of South Africa as well as an exercise specialist diploma from eta College. At the time of her crowning, she was working as a marketing manager for a start up company and studying for a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing part time at Unisa.

Le Roux is one of two children – she has an older brother Schalk. She credits her parents Schalk and Liesel le Roux for teaching her resilience: “They have instilled within me a deep sense of ‘sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me’.”

Says le Roux: “I have made it my mission to spread awareness and educate wherever I am able about the challenges faced by the deaf. We are not in need of sympathy; being deaf does not affect our intelligence and capability. We just need a little bit of help in terms of accessibility and inclusivity such as subtitles on TV shows, advertisements and sign interpreters at live shows. I aspire to eventually help provide cochlear implants to those who cannot afford it and give them the same gift my community has given me.”

The reigning Miss South Africa lists the qualities she believes women should possess in order to make a difference as resilience, a gentle perseverance, courage and to always be unfailingly kind without ever forgetting her roots. She names her local female role models as former Miss South Africa title holders Shudufhadzo Musida and Zozibini Tunzi (also Miss Universe) because they dared to be different and did it with grace. Her international role model is Bethany Hamilton who broke barriers in surfing after losing her arm during a shark attack.

Mia le Roux Movement

The Miss South Africa Organisation provides those who wear the crown with a powerful platform to advocate for change.

Reigning Miss South Africa Mia le Roux entered the competition as she felt the platform would give her – a deaf woman with a cochlear implant – the opportunity to represent a community which is often ignored.

This led her to start the Mia le Roux Movement, a platform dedicated to advocating for the estimated four million deaf individuals in this country, while also raising awareness of all forms of exclusion. From raising funds for life-changing cochlear implants to encouraging the use of closed captions on national broadcasts, her mission is to break barriers for all who are excluded.

Her campaign is already making a difference in the lives of ordinary South Africans.

Mia has already secured partnerships with both the Dis-Chem Foundation and the B4i Academy; the first will see cochlear implants given to hearing impaired individuals who cannot afford the life-altering device while the latter offers tailored training programmes, ensuring that those with disabilities acquire the skills necessary to thrive in today’s economy.