Sonja Adonis’s love for pageantries has given her the strength to continue flourishing and overcoming odds. She spoke to SMF News’s Tapiwanashe Zaranyika about her journey in pageantries.
Local beauty queen, Sonja Adonis, hopes to continue to work towards helping others in her community. PHOTO: Tapiwanashe Zaranyika
“You are never too old to do anything,” says Sonja Adonis, Cloetesville’s own pageant queen.
At 53, Adonis is breaking stigmas, as this mother and grandmother continues to compete in pageantries. “When I am on stage, I feel like I can do anything, and I do not feel like I am over 50 years old,” says Adonis, who was born in Stellenbosch on 17 February 1970, attended Pieter Langeveldt Primary School and was raised by a single parent.
She currently competes in the category for people over 50, defying society’s perceptions about the age at which one can continue to work as a model, says Leticia Petersen, Adonis’s sister, in an interview with SMF News.
“People are amazed when they see me perform, and shocked when they learn my age,” says Adonis.
The journey of resilience
“Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would have a career in beauty pageants. I think it all happened by chance,” says Adonis.
She has been competing in beauty pageants and church fundraising pageants since she was seven years old.
According to Adonis, her mother had always supported her dream to pursue a career in the beauty industry.
“Our mother always said Sonja was her model because she loved playing dress up,” recalls Petersen.
Adonis won her first regional pageant title Miss Blake in 1988, when she was 18. The judges at the pageant were looking for candidates who showed an interest in rugby and knew the ins and outs of the sport. They were also looking for someone who was friendly, humble and who was able to represent a rugby club.
In 1989, Adonis went to Bloemfontein in her capacity as Miss Blake to go and draw the names of the rugby teams who were going to face off against each other in friendly matches. It was in the same year that she entered the regional Miss Rapport pageant, sponsored by the Afrikaans Sunday paper Rapport.
That year, she was crowned Miss Rapport, she says.
“Being crowned Miss Rapport was a huge surprise, as I was initially the runner-up,” says Adonis. The judges were looking for someone tall, and Adonis being short, was the first runner-up, but the heels on her shoes and her personality won her the title, she says.
Sonja Adonis started doing modelling work when she was seven. Today, at 53, she continues with her career in pageantries. “My titles remind me of how much I have grown as a model and as a community leader,” she says. PHOTO: Tapiwanashe Zaranyika
Giving back to the community
During the Covid-19 lockdown, Adonis started the Creative Aftercare School Program, where they teach children about modelling and self-love.
The program offers meals after lessons, ensuring that children have access to much-needed nourishment, says Adonis. Through the Creative Aftercare School Kids Program, Adonis started the annual Miss and Mr. Creche titles, which allow young children to participate in beauty pageants and gain self-confidence in the process.
Adonis uses her experience from being in beauty pageants to empower young women in her community, by equipping them with skills such as sewing, hair, beauty and makeup.
“Sonja is very loving and caring and she is available for people,” Francis Katts, chairperson of Young Ideas Elderly Club tells SMF News. Adonis has been involved in a lot of community work, says Katts.
Adonis often lends a helping hand at the elderly person club, treating them to snacks, offering them massages, and hosting beauty pageants, she says.
Losing a loved one
In August 2022, Adonis’s husband Llewellyn Adonis, passed away from a heart attack, a week before Adonis was set to go and compete in Cape Town for the Miss Magnificent Woman Icon International Elite (MWI) title. She had met him in 1988, and the two of them were married for 26 years.
“The day before my husband passed away, we had our own mini pageant show. It was as if he knew that his time was near,” she says.
Her sons were her biggest supporters; they encouraged her to go and compete in Cape Town after burying their father, she says.
Adonis credits her faith in God for her strength and resilience through that difficult time. “God gives the toughest battles and challenges to his best warriors,” she says, adding that her faith has helped her stay strong during times of grief.
“My biggest supporters are my family, especially my sons, as they stood by me during the lowest moments in my life,” says Sonja Adonis, photographed here with her son, Riyaad. PHOTO: Tapiwanashe Zaranyika
Fighting spirit
Adonis’s dedication in beauty pageants has taken her to different parts of South Africa, including Cape Town, and Johannesburg. She will be traveling to the United States, Las Vegas in August of this year, to go and take part in the over 50 year category for the Miss MWI International Elite title.
But her participation in pageantries at her age has not been an easy journey. She has received negative remarks and comments from people in her community who feel that she should retire from pageantries and spend her time with her grandchildren, she says.
She will however continue to do what she enjoys, and will continue to do what she can to make a difference in her community, she says.