Reeva Rebecca Steenkamp (; 19 August 1983 – 14 February 2013) was a South African model and paralegal. She modeled for ''

FHM ''FHM'' (For Him Magazine) is a British multinational men's lifestyle magazine that was published in several countries. Its master edition contained features such as the ''FHM'' 100 Sexiest Women in the World, which has featured models, actres ...

'' magazine and was the first face of Avon cosmetics in South Africa. Steenkamp once worked as the live roaming presenter for FashionTV in South Africa and starred in television advertisements for

Toyota Land Cruiser The (also sometimes spelled as LandCruiser) is a series of four-wheel drive vehicles produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. It is Toyota's longest running series of models. , the sales of the Land Cruiser totalled more than ...

, Clover "The One",

Redds Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquati ...

and Aldor Pin Pop. She was a celebrity contestant on the

BBC Lifestyle BBC Lifestyle is an international television channel wholly owned by BBC Studios. The channel provides six programming strands: Food, Home & Design, Fashion & Style, Health, Parenting, and Personal Development. On 1 August 2019, BBC Lifestyle a ...

show ''Baking Made Easy'' in 2012 and on '' Tropika Island of Treasure'' season 5 which aired on

SABC 3 SABC 3 (stylised as S3) is a South African free-to-air public television network owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). It carries programming in English and, few in other South African languages. It has a number of its own re ...

in February 2013. On

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, thr ...

2013, Steenkamp was shot dead by her boyfriend, Oscar Pistorius, at his home in Pretoria. He stated that he thought Steenkamp was an intruder hiding in the bathroom. Pistorius was found guilty of

culpable homicide Culpable homicide is a categorisation of certain offences in various jurisdictions within the Commonwealth of Nations which involves the illegal killing of a person either with or without an intention to kill depending upon how a particular j ...

at a first trial, and was sentenced to five years in prison. On 3 December 2015, the

Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), formerly known as the Appellate Division, is an appellate court in South Africa. It is located in Bloemfontein, the "judicial capital" of South Africa. History On the creation of the Union of South Africa f ...

overturned this conviction and instead convicted Pistorius of murder. He was sentenced to six years in prison, which was later increased to 13 years and 5 months by the Court of Appeal.

Early life

Steenkamp was born 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 ...

to parents Barry Steenkamp, a

horse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...

, and his second wife, June (née Marshall, previously Cowburn), who was born in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

, England. She had two older half-siblings from her father and mother's respective previous marriages, Adam Steenkamp and Simone Cowburn. The family later moved to Port Elizabeth, where she attended St Dominic's Priory School. After school she studied law at the University of Port Elizabeth, which became a part of

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Nelson Mandela University (formerly known as ''Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU)'' ) and before that - the University of Port Elizabeth (UPE), the Port Elizabeth Technikon and Vista University's Port Elizabeth campus. This South Afr ...

, where she graduated with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

degree in 2005.

Career

After university Steenkamp worked as a paralegal and as a model. She applied to the bar in late 2011 and hoped to be a qualified legal advocate by the age of 30.

Modeling

Steenkamp began modelling at the age of 14. She was a finalist in the Weekend Post Faces of the Future competition in 2004 and in the Herald Miss Port Elizabeth contest in 2005. She appeared in ''

'' magazine as a model and cover girl and was the first face of Avon cosmetics in South Africa. She also modeled for the jewelry company Sivana Diamonds. She was ranked #40 in the ''FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World'' poll of South African FHM readers in 2011 and #45 in 2012. Her style icon was Marc Jacobs. She was a celebrity face of the Spirit Day anti-bullying campaign in 2012.

Television

Steenkamp once worked as the live roaming presenter for FashionTV in South Africa. She starred in television advertisements for a range of products, including

, Clover "The One",

and Aldor Pin Pop. She featured as a celebrity contestant on the

show ''Baking Made Easy'' in 2012. At the time of her death, Steenkamp was signed up to appear on season five of the reality TV program '' Tropika Island of Treasure'' and had filmed the series episodes on location in Jamaica. The screening of the series began airing as scheduled on 16 February 2013, two days after her death. The first episode of the series was dedicated to Steenkamp and was preceded by a video tribute to her.

Personal life

Steenkamp was a keen horse rider until she broke her back in a fall in her early 20s and had to learn to walk again. On the South African celebrity circuit she was a regular

A-list An A-list actor is a major movie star, or one of the most bankable actors in a film industry. The A-list is part of a larger guide called ''The Hot List'', which ranks the bankability of 1,400 movie actors worldwide, and has become an industry ...

guest at red carpet events and a noted socialite on the

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 ...

party scene. Steenkamp had been dating Oscar Pistorius, a South African Olympic and Paralympic runner, since November 2012. She had previously dated

Springbok The springbok (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is a medium-sized antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus ''Antidorcas'', this bovid was first described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm ...

rugby player

Francois Hougaard Francois Hougaard (born 6 April 1988) is a South African professional rugby union rugby player. His primary position is scrum-half, but also can play on the wing. Club career Hougaard played for Western Province in 2007 before joining the Blu ...

Death

2013, Steenkamp's boyfriend Oscar Pistorius fired four shots through the door of a locked bathroom cubicle in his Pretoria home, three of which struck Steenkamp who was on the other side. Immediately following this Pistorius proceeded to break down the bathroom door with a cricket bat to reach Steenkamp. He attempted to render emergency medical assistance and called for help. One of the first responders to the scene was a neighbor, doctor Johan Stipp, who did a jaw-lift-maneuver on Steenkamp in an attempt to open her airway. In his analysis of the situation he noted that she had no peripheral pulse, showed no sign of breathing-movements, and that her pupils were fixed, dilated. It was apparent that she had been mortally wounded. Her body was cremated at Victoria Park crematorium in Port Elizabeth on 19 February 2013 and the service was conducted by Pastor Kurt Sutton of the Oasis Family Church in Port Elizabeth. Pistorius was arrested and charged with murder. Pistorius admitted that he shot Steenkamp, but said he believed he was shooting an intruder. On 12 September 2014, he was found not guilty of murder, but guilty of culpable homicide in the case. On 21 October 2014, he was sentenced to five years in jail, but only served 10 months. In December 2015, the Supreme Court of Appeals overturned the culpable homicide verdict and found Pistorius guilty of murder. On 6 July 2016, Judge Masipa sentenced Pistorius to six years in prison for murder, despite South Africa carrying a minimum sentence of 15 years for this offence. On 24 November 2017, the Court of Appeal extended Oscar Pistorius's jail term to 13 years and five months with the possibility of parole from 2023.

Media-coverage after death

Steenkamp and Anene Booysen, both young South African women killed in 2013, were named SA Persons of the year 2013 by the ''

Daily Maverick ''Daily Maverick'' is a South African daily online publication and weekly print newspaper, with offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Its readership is spread across South Africa and the world, with approximately 8 million readers per month. I ...

''. In February 2014,

eNCA eNCA, also known as eNews Channel Africa, is a 24-hour television news broadcaster owned by e.tv that focuses on South African, African stories and events. The broadcaster became South Africa's first and most watched 24-hour news service af ...

broadcast a half-hour documentary special about Steenkamp's life titled ''Reeva: The Model You Thought You Knew''. On 12 September 2014,

broadcast an episode of '' Special Assignment'' titled ''Oscar Pistorius: The Verdict''. The program highlighted the

missing white woman syndrome Missing white woman syndrome is a term which is used by social scientists and media commentators in reference to the media coverage, especially on television, of missing-person cases involving young, attractive, white, upper middle class women ...

media phenomenon in South Africa, given the disproportionate coverage of the trial and the

Leigh Matthews Leigh Raymond Matthews (born 1 March 1952) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and coached and the . Squat, short-legged and barrel-chested, Matthews earned the ic ...

murder trial with the coverage relating to the deaths of the black women Zanele Khumalo and Betty Ketani in similar circumstances and time.

References

External links

Reeva Steenkamp Death
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steenkamp, Reeva 1983 births 2013 deaths 2013 murders in South Africa Deaths by firearm in South Africa Female murder victims South African murder-victims Nelson Mandela University alumni People from Cape Town People from Port Elizabeth People murdered in South Africa Reality television participants South African female models South African people of Dutch descent Afrikaner people White South African people South African people of English descent South African people of German descent Violence against women in South Africa Paralegals