I grew up on a farm in Mpumalanga, South Africa and spent most of my childhood running in wheat fields and covered in mud!
I come from a family of five. My mum, Caroline has been with the Medi-Clinic group for many years and my dad, Eric is in the milling industry having come from a farming background. I have two gorgeous younger sisters, Kim (26) and Robyn (19).
When we moved to the city (Polokwane), my mum encouraged me to do some finishing courses and enter beauty contests. I was painfully shy and she thought that this might help! It did...I completed a few finishing and modeling courses, and went on to become Miss Spring, Miss Bushveld, Miss Tropica, Miss Valentine, Miss Cameo, Miss Pietersburg and lots more!
After high school I started studying Chiropractic in Durban but due to terrible violence on campus that year and seeing a fellow student get shot and killed, I decided my life had to change course. I went on to study marketing and business management and got my diplomas in 2001.
In 2000, I was a Miss South Africa finalist and things really took off from there.
After finishing my studies I started traveling extensively for my modeling work and got to see the world! I lived in London and in Hamburg, traveled to exotic destinations such as Costa Rico, Cocos Island, The Canary Islands, Sardinia, Thailand, The Bahamas, Mauritius, Matemo Island, the USA and many more. My life has been incredible! I have met wonderful people all over the world and have been on the covers of many local and international magazines (Elle, W Magazine, Shape, Chat, Fitness, Shape, Woman and Home, Prima, Bicycling, Runner’s World, WOW, Top Sante, Tina etc). I have shot many local and international TV commercials and have shot countless clothing catalogues and advertising campaigns.
In 2005 I became a fitness athlete and began competing in fitness competitions nation wide. I was placed 4th in the internationally acclaimed Miss Fitness which was my first competition! I secured many great sponsorsips as a result and was featured in both Muscle Evolution and Fitness magazines. I am still very active and I compete in mountain and road biking, triathlons and XTerra (off-road triathlons) and running (both road and trail). I’m also a keen golfer! I enjoy sport very much and my competitive nature makes it all the more fun! I’m currently training for the ABSA Cape Epic, which is probably the greatest journey I have ever been on. I’ll be competing in smaller races throughout the next few months to add to my training.
Races I’ve done in the past include:
- The Pick n Pay Argus
- The Big 5 @ the Knysna Oyster Festival – 215km endurance race – a combination of every race they offer throughout that week
- BSG Triathlons
- The Otter Trail Run
- Double Century
- Wines 2 Whales
- Many other races like Pick n Pay Knysna 100km road bike, PPC Riebeek
Kasteel half marathon etc.
In 2007 I was chosen as the Shape Cover Look of the Year winner securing a Shape magazine cover and opening many doors for me.
I studied drama as theatre, film and television have been a part of my life since I was a little girl – ever the drama queen! J I first started acting when I was 4 years old, appearing as an angel in our village’s Nativity play! I appeared on stage in many amateur theatre productions and was a dancer for 10 years as well.
My television career started before my film career did, having presented for Groen (Kyknet), Top Billing (SABC 3), AgriTV (SABC 1), Superdance (ETV) and Wildlife Video Cast (Asia). I have also presented many corporate videos and record voice overs for both radio and film/television.
I had small roles in “Hey Boy” directed by Brendan Pollecut and “Blood Diamond” directed by Edward Zwick. It was an honour to work with Ed as he is a phenomenal Oscar winning director and I hope to work with him again one day.
My big break came in 2009 when I was cast as the leading lady for District 9 directed by Neill Blomkamp and produced by Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) which sat at number 1 at the Box Office for 3 weeks as well as taking in more than $200 000 million. We were nominated for 4 Oscars and look forward to the possibility of making the sequel. The thought of working with a genius director like Neill again excites me!
I completed my first British film in 2010 called The Sweet Shop which is a Romantic Comedy, directed by Ben Myers and produced by Bertie Stephens. I played along side great actors like Gemma Atkinson (daughter of Rowan Atkinson) and Matthew Lewis (Harry Potter).
In 2011 I took part in “Survivor Maldives – Celebs vs Plebs” and my experience can only be described as phenomenal; a once in a lifetime opportunity and the epitome of suffering! I learnt such amazing things about myself, my strength and life in general! I would do it again and again if asked!
I also took to the airwaves for a few months last year with my own radio show on 2 Oceans Vibe Radio called Vee-Entertainment! I love radio and learnt so much about this exciting media medium! I can’t wait to do more radio!
In between filming, rushing around to auditions and meetings, and recording voice overs, I MC at functions, am booked as a guest speaker and also run my own marketing and events company called Blue Fox Marketing and Media Solutions which is a dream come true! I enjoy the work thoroughly and have a great team of people I work with. I love working in the tough corporate world but entertainment is still my passion.
The world is my oyster and I can’t wait to see what’s to come...
Read more on Vanessa's website: www.vanessahaywood.com
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