Willemien "Minki" van der Westhuizen (born 26 February 1984) is a South African model and

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for ...

Early life

Van der Westhuizen was born in Durbanville near

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 ...

to an

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from Free Burghers, predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: ...

family and attended Stellenberg High School in nearby Bellville.

Career

Modelling

Van der Westhuizen started modelling at the age of 16. In her final year of high school in 2002, she was selected for an international campaign by the fashion label

Guess A guess (or an act of guessing) is a swift conclusion drawn from data directly at hand, and held as probable or tentative, while the person making the guess (the guesser) admittedly lacks material for a greater degree of certainty. A guess is als ...

. She is represented by Max Models in

. She was featured in the 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2007 Swimwear editions of the South African ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' magazine and on the cover of '' GQ''. She was ranked #24 on '' Maxims ''Hot 100'' list for 2003 and voted the winner of the ''FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World'' poll by South African '' FHM'' readers in 2004. In 2003, she was voted the most popular

pin-up girl A pin-up model (known as a pin-up girl for a female and less commonly male pin-up for a male) is a model whose mass-produced pictures see widespread appeal as part of popular culture. Pin-up models were variously glamour models, fashion models ...

by US troops serving in the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

Television

Van der Westhuizen appeared in the M-Net televised special of the 2006 South African ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimwear edition shoot. In 2007, she was a featured personality on the

e.tv e.tv (commonly referred to on-air as e) is the first and only privately owned free-to-air television station in South Africa. It is the fifth terrestrial television channel in the country, following three channels that are operated by the sta ...

documentary series ''Behind the Name''. She became a presenter on the SABC 2

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 ...

magazine programme ''Pasella'' in May 2007.

Film

Van der Westhuizen played the role of Mimi in the 2007 South African comedy film '' Big Fellas''.

Personal life

Van der Westhuizen dated Graeme Smith, the captain of the

South Africa national cricket team The South Africa national cricket team, also known as the Proteas, represents South Africa in men's international cricket and is administered by Cricket South Africa (CSA). South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council (I ...

, from 2004 to 2006. She married Stellenbosch businessman Constant Visser in September 2007. In November 2009, her publicist confirmed the couple had decided to divorce. She began dating

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

rugby player

Ernst Joubert Ernst Joubert (born 5 August 1980 in Ceres, Western Cape) is a former South African rugby union player. He played at Number Eight for Saracens in the Aviva Premiership from 2009 to 2015 and was the vice captain of the team. He retired from all r ...

in August 2010, they married in June 2012. The couple have three daughters, Katerien (born in July 2013), Elise (born August 2014), and Elsa (born March 2018).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van der Westhuizen, Minki 1984 births Living people Afrikaner people South African female models South African film actresses South African television personalities South African television presenters South African people of Dutch descent South African women television presenters