IT'S 19 AUGUST 1983 and a couple have just welcomed a daughter into the world - a baby they dared to dream they'd have.
Barry and June Steenkamp already have a child each from their previous marriages - a daughter, Simone, for June and a son, Adam, for Barry.
They thought they might have left it a bit late for another baby but here she is, a healthy little girl they've already decided to call Rebecca.
But after Barry sees his daughter, he has another suggestion for a name: Reeva. It means "to bind together" in biblical Hebrew and it was perfect - shed be the seal on her parents' commitment and would go into the world with a strong and unusual name.
The baby is christened Reeva Rebecca and she grows into a model child, exceeding in everything she puts her mind to. At St Dominic's Priory School in what was then Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha), she's a hardworking learner who excels at extra-murals - especially horse riding, her first love.
"People assume I'm one of those princess types but the only Barbie I had growing up was the one with a horse, Reeva would tell FHM magazine in 2012.
Yet in her teenage years she becomes interested in modelling too, and with her dazzling smile and air of charming innocence, she makes an immediate impact.
"She was 15 and a very young 15," Barbara Robertson, the editor of a local newspaper that hosted a modelling contest where Reeva made her debut, told The Guardian years later.
"She was innocent, down to earth - one of those girls who had the It factor. She was a little bit Kate Moss in her early career."
But Reeva also wants to make sure she has a career she can benefit from for life. After school she enrols for a law degree at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and graduates in 2005.
この記事は YOU South Africa の 11 January 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は YOU South Africa の 11 January 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
DIDDY'S DISGRACE
A video showing singer Cassie being attacked by Sean Diddy Combs reveals the disturbing reality of their relationship
THE BABY-FACED ASSASSIN
Manchester City’s Phil Foden is fast becoming one of the top talents in the English Premier League
OODLES OF POODLES
Kaz’s latest dog show triumph is the culmination of years as one of the world’s top trainers of the breed
MY LIFE IS PURE HELL
A reader wrote to YOU recounting her harrowing experience of living with a narcissist for decades. Pieter Van Zyl relays her story
THE LOTTO CURSE
Over the years Andy Carter has helped 2 000 lottery winners adapt to life as newly minted millionaires. Here he shares the worst mistakes he’s seen people make and reveals why instead of being a passport to freedom, a jackpot win can actually make things far more complicated
IT'S NOT YOU IT'S ADHD
We ask experts to explain the rise in late diagnosis of the condition in women
BITTER SWEET
Arina was diagnosed with cancer while carrying her miracle baby and made the tough choice to start chemo while pregnant
SHE'S GOT THE POWER
Monica Lewinsky was on suicide watch after the humiliating Bill Clinton scandal, but she has now turned her life around and become a force to be reckoned with
IT'S ALL OVER!
For 26 years she was the Bok coach’s support system on the side lines – travelling with him for work, taking care of the kids and celebrating his world cup victories. Now Rassie and Nicolene have divorced
JUST NO WAY THIS IS GOING TO WORK!
Separate houses, time apart, fundamental differences – fears are mount for Ben and Jen’s marriage