She is a perfect combination of beauty, brains, glamour, sophistication and most of all panache, she is none other than the classic Durban beauty, Kerusha Kisten…

Kerusha has won numerous beauty pageants as well as recently been chosen as one of the top 10 finalists for the Top Billing Presenter Search, writes Waheeda Peters.

At the tender age of, 19, Kerusha walked off with the crown for the Miss India Globe pageant in Los Angeles last year, was Miss Winter 2011 and has been a ramp queen ever since, winning the prestigious Miss India-KwaZulu-Natal and Miss South Asia Pageant in Durban respectively. Not only does she love dominating the catwalks but she is also an actress and writer and has mastered 15 accents for one of her talent segments at one of the competitions. This gorgeous lass has a clear-cut understanding of what she has set out to achieve in life and being a proud Funsunzi girl has made a huge difference to also allowing her to be the best she can be.

“I love Durban, it has so much to offer. It’s just such an amazing place to be every season plus the people are so friendly and inviting. Being a part of Durban makes me so friendly, vibrant and bubbly, it’s just such a warm city I wouldn’t want to be any other place than here,” she said.

Her trying out for the Top Billing search was unexpected. It was a last minute decision.
“I didn’t expect much at all. All I was hoping was for my audition to be aired on television. So I can get good exposure and to my surprise I got a phone call to say I made the top 10. It has been amazing and the competition has been tough in Durban as well as Johannesburg and Cape Town. To be a part of this is just very overwhelming for me,” said Kirsten ahead of being voted out of the show last week. The bubbly model had spent time shooting in Knysna for Top Billing and as part of her stint in the competition she had to actually do a bungee jump which for her was harder than entering a beauty pageant. And being a sporty person that she is, she handled it in her stride and is thoroughly enjoying her new love affair with the camera and hopes it becomes a permanent fixture in her life.

When asked if she considers herself as role model to young girls, Kirsten was chuffed to be given such a title. “I feel it’s a big compliment in itself, if young girls consider me then that is amazing. But I would like to think that I am as I live my life in a specific way where I try to follow morally correct ways as well as values, but most importantly you learn from mistakes because a mistake is only considered a mistake when you have learnt from it, I think that this is really important,” she added.

“For me personally, getting a call to say I was in the top 10 of Top Billing presenter search was more than I could ever have asked for and I am so grateful. Top Billing just came at the right time in my life where I felt this is an opportunity to reach the place where I want to be which is in film and TV and I am so excited about this new chapter in my life. It’s not easy because you up against nine others who are just as brilliant however everyone one of us deserve to be there and we are family. Whoever wins they will be living a dream for the nine others as well. I feel this is a great platform, I mean it’s the best lifestyle show in the country and to be a part of the crew and production team, it’s truly incredible.

Article courtesy of East Coast Radio.