It is, officially and sort of literally, Rolene Strauss’ world. The rest of us are just living in it.
This 22-year old from South Africa was crowned Miss World over the weekend in London, beating out 121 fellow contestants for the honor.
The daughter of a doctor and nurse, Strauss is a fourth-year medical student and the first Miss World titleholder from South Africa in 40 years.
What else should one know about Rolene Strauss?
She refers to herself as a “test tube baby” because her parents struggled to conceive for many years.
“After five long years (and most of their savings), I popped out of a test tube,” she writes on her website. “A year after my birth my brother was, like my mom says, “sent from heaven.”
Strauss has dreamed of being a doctor since she was a toddler.
“Everyone in my town called me Little Dr. Strauss,” she says. “Because I was always the little curly-headed girl running around behind my dad in the hospital.”
She speaks fluent English and Afrikaans.
She’s single, saying in a TV interview earlier this year:
“I definitely don’t have a public relationship. You know, as a Miss South Africa people look up to you and see you as an independent, strong woman. That’s the picture I’d like to show people out there and I think it’s difficult to be in a relationship because of your busy schedule.”
Oh, and she’s gorgeous! But you probably knew that already from the photo above.