Top 10 Unbelievable Facts about Reeva Steenkamp

Reeva Steenkamp on an undated handout released by Capacity Relations on Feb 14, 2013,By Today Online, Fair use, Wikipedia

Top 10 Unbelievable Facts about Reeva Steenkamp

Reeva Steenkamp was a South African model and paralegal. She modeled for FHM magazine and was the first face of Avon cosmetics in South Africa. Steenkamp once worked as the live roaming presenter for Fashion Tv in South Africa and starred in television advertisements for Toyota Land Cruiser, Clover “The One”, Redds, and Aldor Pin Pop. She was a celebrity contestant on the BBC Lifestyle show Baking Made Easy in 2012 and on Tropika Island of Treasure season 5 which aired on SABC 3 in February 2013.

On Valentine’s Day 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. He was sentenced to six years in prison, which was later increased to 13 years and 5 months by the Court of Appeal.

1. She worked as a paralegal

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

A paralegal is a professional who performs tasks that require knowledge of legal concepts but not the full expertise of a lawyer. The market for paralegals is broad, including consultancies, and companies that have legal departments or that perform legislation compliance activities in areas such as environment, labor, intellectual property, and tax. Legal offices and public bodies also have many paralegals in support activities although they do not yet use the correct name of the profession  

2. She started her modeling career at a young age

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

3. She was a celebrity face of the Spirit Day anti-bullying campaign 

Reeva Steenkamp on an undated handout released by Capacity Relations on Feb 14, 2013,By Today Online, Fair use, Wikipedia

In 2012 she became a celebrity face of the spirit Day anti-bullying campaign. Spirit Day is an annual LGBTQ awareness day observed on the third Thursday in October. It was started in 2010 by Canadian teenager Brittany McMillan, it was initially created in response to a rash of widely publicized bullying-related suicides of gay school students in 2010. It was Promoted by GLAAD, observers wear the color purple as a visible sign of support for LGBTQ youth and against bullying during National Bullying Prevention Month, well as to honor LGBTQ victims of suicide.

4. She also worked as a Fashion Tv presenter

Steenkamp also worked as the live roaming presenter for Fashion TV. She starred in television advertisements for a range of products, including Toyota Land Cruiser, Clover “The One”, Redds, and Aldor Pin Pop. She featured as a celebrity contestant on the BBC Lifestyle show Baking Made Easy in 2012.

5. She was featured on season five of the reality Tv program Tropika Island of Treasure

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.

6. She was shot by her boyfriend

On Valentine’s Day 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 at a first trial and was sentenced to five years in prison. On 3 December 2015, the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa 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.

7. She was named SA persons  of the year by the Daily Maverick 

Daily Maverick is an online daily newspaper that named  Steenkamp and Anene Booysen after they were both killed in 2013.  Anene Booysen died from her injuries in hospital six hours later after she was gang-raped while Steenkamp was shot by her boyfriend after being misidentified as an intruder.

8. Steenkamp and Oscar’s relationship was Volatile

Reeva Steenkamp on an undated handout released by Capacity Relations on Feb 14, 2013,By Today Online, Fair use, Wikipedia

One thing to know about Steenkamp’s relationship with Oscar is that it wasn’t very long, it was just three months and later she was murdered since they had begun dating in Nov. 2012. It was said their relationship was unpleasant from the start, with Pistorius’ ex-girlfriend Samantha Taylor claiming that the model was the reason for their split. It was therefore volatile and short-lived. During Pistorius’ court case the text messages revealed that Steenkamp had told him that she was scared of him. In one message, she wrote that she was “scared of him sometimes and how you snap at me and of how you will react to me.” In another, she mentioned being “attacked” by Pistorius and referred to him as “the one person I deserve protection from,”

9. She was raised in Port Elizabeth South Africa

Reeva was born in Cape Town but grew up in Port Elizabeth with her parents. She studied at Port Elizabeth  School. She was known as a smart scholar and talented athlete. She was competing in sports like hockey and swimming. She was also known for being vibrant, friendly, diligent, and motivated.

 10. She was scheduled to give a speech at Johannesburg school the day she was shot by her boyfriend

Steenkamp was scheduled to give a speech about domestic violence at Johannesburg school on the day that her boyfriend shot her. Her Publicist who was Sarita Tomlinson had a copy of the speech and she described the speech saying that it was about empowerment and inspiration and what inspires you, and how to follow your dreams.