Young actress and plus-size model set to make her mark

Bianca McLean will be representing South Africa at an arts competition in Orlando, Florida (USA) in July.

The 17-year-old West Rand born actress has been scouted by international scout, Kim Myers, and will showcase her skills at the prestigious arts festival. This is exciting news for Bianca whose passion for the performing arts dates back to her childhood.

“From a very young age I loved performing. My parents joke that my career in acting started the moment I uttered my first words. In Grade 8 I was accepted into the Christian School of Arts in Randburg as a musical theatre major. There I put in the hard hours to develop my skills,” she said.

Bianca is currently completing her matric at Andrews Academy in Randburg and is also a senior student in performing arts at Stageworx. She has earned numerous accolades for acting as well as two diplomas from the National Eisteddfod Academy. The actress believes in the richness of South African stories and incorporates them into her art. She maintains that performing arts, like medicine, is healing.

“I remember giving theatrical pieces a South African flare before performing them to my parents. There’s nothing quite like Romeo and Juliet set in the Cape flats. The joyous reactions I got from my parents ignited my passion for drama. My father was a great storyteller and would always tell me stories when driving me to school. I would then perform these to my fellow pupils with great gusto.”

Bianca is also a budding plus-size model. In Orlando, she will also compete against other talented young plus-size models in a modelling competition. In recent years, the South African plus-size modelling industry has grown exponentially. This is great news for fuller-figured women who also dream of becoming models. Although the industry is growing relatively slower than in Western countries, Bianca believes that prospects for local models seem equally promising.

“The local industry for plus-size models is not as big as it is in America, but we are steadily growing and gaining popularity. I still believe the plus-size industry still only showcases hourglass-shaped models and I hope this can change as the industry grows,” she said.

Confronted by some prejudices and societal perceptions about weight herself, the model and actress feels that more needs to be done to create positive body activism for women.

“I am considered a plus-size model even though I am of a healthy weight. There is a stigma that comes with the term ‘plus size’. The whole of society’s perceptions and especially that put forward by the modelling world need to change! In my opinion plus-size models should be considered the norm, while what we consider normal runway models should be called petite-figure models instead of these unobtainable standards being considered normal for young girls. It has been said a million times that we shouldn’t believe what we see in the media because of deceiving lighting and Photoshop, and I could not agree more. Positive body activists are becoming more common, although they are still few and far between,” she concluded.

Bianca hopes to use her talents to inspire girls in her community as well as those who aspire to become models.

Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.

For free daily local news on the West Rand, also visit our sister newspaper websites Randfontein Herald, Krugersdorp News and Get It Joburg West Magazine

Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to let your voice be heard!