Meriam Kaxuxwena’s Takeover

You may love her or hate her but one thing’s for certain – Meriam Kaxuxwena is here to stay. The leggy model is continuing to make waves with her globe-trotting lifestyle which is amusing some but drawing the ire and jealousy of others.

She has for the past few weeks been residing in London where she is not only networking for modelling and pageant gigs but also taking time out to relax and have some summer fun as seen by her recent social media posts – clad in a tiny bikini, champagne in hand, having the time of her life on a yacht.

While she’s living the life many dream of, Meriam had humble beginnings from her upbringing at the Helao Nafidi town in the northern region of Ohangwena.

By the tender age of six, Meriam moved to the southern town of Gibeon where she stayed in the Gibeon Primary School hostel while completing her primary schooling. “I was a hyperactive child. I had an endless supply of energy, that’s what everyone said. I’m still a child myself, the memories are fresh in my head. I had a glorious childhood.”

As a child, Meriam loved dancing, modelling and running. “I was well known at school. The whole school called me Chicken because of my surname Kaxuxwena.

I was also a tomboy.

I looked like a boy and sometimes pupils and teachers used to be confused as to whether I was a girl or boy.

I was so ugly, everyone made fun of me because of my looks and skinny legs,” she says in characteristic casual humour.

By the age of nine, Meriam moved to Windhoek and there she took her love for dancing to a whole new level when she created a dance group called ‘Sister Nana’.

The group specialised in kwasa-kwasa dance routines and they used their singing and dancing to get recognition. She continued her primary schooling at the Tobias Hainyeko Primary School which became her third primary school.

In 2006, Meriam started high school at Augustineum Secondary School and by then, she was slowly growing into herself and beginning to transform into the woman that she is today.

“I won Miss Augustineum in 2007 and represented my school in national high school pageants,” she says proudly.

Not settling for the beauty pageant image, Meriam joined student leadership as an LRC member.

Unlike many Namibian women in the same industry, Meriam works as a full-time model and regularly takes part in beauty pageants.

Her break came from a simple model casting which opened doors for her to walk more and more runways over time.

She names her celebrity lookalike Naomi Campbell as her inspiration.

“She started modelling at the age of 15, I started my modelling career at the age of 14 and I have always been watching her on TV and in magazines.

I told myself I just want to be like her. I look up to her, she’s a role model even until today as one of the world’s most renowned supermodels.”

It comes as no surprise that Meriam prefers the sparkling tiaras and sashes of pageants over the runway.

“I prefer pageants. To be honest, I gained confidence and communication skills when I started taking part in pageants. Trust me, if you don’t have confidence, enter pageants and you will develop confidence and carry yourself with pride.”

Although she does both, pageants are what she concentrates on and the friendships she builds though her participation in these events are what she cherishes most.

Big Dreams

This might be thanks to her latest signing with an Italian-based agent who will be responsible for booking modelling gigs after her Miss Hope International contract ends.

For now, Meriam has been filming a commercial for her MK Lingerie line and is awaiting upcoming participation in the New Silk Road Model Look competition in China taking place in August and September.

This means that her much promised lingerie and bikini show, which was to take place in August, will be postponed.

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