Kaone Kario
Category ARTS & CULTURE
Kaone Kario facebook.com/kaone.kario
Model
Since winning the Nokia Face of Africa at age 19, Kaone Kario has risen to be among the top models in Africa.
Based in Cape Town and New York for the past ten years, Kario is currently gracing billboards and TV commercials throughout Africa as the face of Nivea.
Born and raised in Maun, the 1.74m-tall Kario says if there is one thing she is proud of, it is that “I showed my people you can have a life and career in fashion.”
Kario, who has appeared on several runaways, hit the headlines as a supermodel when she graced covers of numerous magazines like Elle, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan and Glamour. She has also modelled for big clothing stores in South Africa such as Mr Price, Edgars and Woolworths. But perhaps her fame can be best attributed to her familiar face above the Nivea logo.
With a diploma in media studies, Kario has always been passionate about TV. She recently made her debut as Leano on Ayeye — the series that took the continent by storm when it first hit DSTV in 2015.
Kario comes alive before a camera and a captive audience. Her appearances as the host of Face of Africa’s 2008 scouting show and 2010’s grand finale were testament to this. A finalist in the Top Billing Presenter Search in 2010 as well, Kario clearly demonstrated the affection not only she has for media, but the affinity that media has for her.
Kario has enjoyed the challenges and fresh experiences that life in New York affords. Her blog and Twitter account track the journey of the model’s cross-cultural professional lifestyle, including her recent comments on alcohol use. She has used her public platform to encourage young people to abstain from the negative and addictive substance.
Ironically, modelling was never Kario’s dream. “Even when I was auditioning for Face of Africa, I thought I was doing it for K-TV, because I wanted to be a presenter — not a model,” she says.
In fact, one day she plans to leave the bright lights of the Big Apple and return home to become, of all things, a farmer. In an interview with a local media house recently, Kario said she simply wants to grow her own vegetables and flowers some day in the company of family and surrounded by familiar peaceful remembrances of her childhood. Just goes to show — there’s no place like home. — CHARMAINE REVAKA