Jo-Ann Cindy Strauss (born 3 February 1981 in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

) is a South African model, public speaker and businesswoman. In 2001, she represented her country as

Miss South Africa Miss South Africa is a national beauty pageant in South Africa that selects South African representatives to compete in two of the Big Four international beauty pageants, Miss World and Miss Universe, and also selects another representative ...

at the

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

pageant in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

as well as at the Miss World pageant hosted at Sun City in her home country in 2001. She was featured in the 2001 music video of the Irish pop group

Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporarily di ...

's single "

When You're Looking Like That "When You're Looking Like That" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife from their second studio album, '' Coast to Coast'' (2000). It was released on 3 September 2001 as the sixth and final single from the album in Australia, Asia, Latin America, ...

Career

Strauss obtained her bachelor's degree at the

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...

. During her reigning year as Miss South Africa, she started her media career with the

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

TV magazine programme ''Pasella'' before anchoring the English lifestyle magazine show '' Top Billing (TV show)'', for which she has interviewed the likes of Charlize Theron, Antonio Banderas and George Clooney. She featured as

cover girl A cover girl is a woman whose photograph features on the front cover of a magazine. She may be a model, celebrity or entertainer. The term would generally not be used to describe a casual, once-off appearance by a person on the cover of a maga ...

for many South African magazines. A year after Strauss was crowned Miss South Africa, she took part in the first and only celebrity version of Celebrity Big Brother (South African TV series), where she finished runner-up. In 2010, Jo-Ann presented the opening ceremony for the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

in South Africa for the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

television network

ZDF ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...

along with

Thomas Gottschalk Thomas Johannes Gottschalk (born 18 May 1950) is a German radio and television host and entertainer. He is best known for hosting '' Wetten, dass..?'', for many years Europe's biggest television show, which he steered to huge success in Germany, ...

in a live broadcast from

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

on 10 June.

Social Projects

In 2008, Strauss spearheaded the Princess Project to give deserving young ladies the chance to go to their "Matric Balls" or "Proms" in designer dresses previously owned by South Africa's top celebrities. The idea behind her initiative was born of the fact that she herself went to her Matric Dance in a "previously-loved" designer dress which she bought with her mother at a second-hand store. Strauss is one of South Africa's most respected media personalities and uses her profile and influence to help various initiatives. Her Princess Project has been supported by many South African and now international stars and has given dresses to over 80 young ladies thus far with the help of SA's top magazines YOU, Huisgenoot and Drum as well as ''Top Billing''. She partnered with the International Fashion Sale in 2010 and reached even more deserving young ladies in SA. Similar initiatives exist around the world, enabling young girls to feel like modern princesses. In 2014, Strauss was appointed a Celebrity Advocate for international child rights organization, the United Nations Children's Fund (

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...

) in South Africa.

Awards and achievements

*Top Achiever in Class of "1995" *Awarded the ''Duku Duku''-Award for style *Crowned Miss South Africa 2000.

References

External links

Official Web Site

Abridged German version in PDF-format
(178 KB) *
International Fashion Sale

Top Billing Official Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strauss, Jo-Ann 1981 births Living people Miss South Africa winners Miss Universe 2001 contestants Miss World 2001 delegates People from Cape Town South African businesspeople South African female models South African television personalities Stellenbosch University alumni UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors