Model with birthmark makes waves
Kgothatso Dithebe is shaking up the modelling world with her unique feature: a prominent facial birthmark
SHE was called “two-tone” and “zebra” and bullied mercilessly as a child. For years the mark that spread across the left side of her face defined her life and turned her into a defensive and angry girl. To Kgothatso Dithebe, her birthmark was a curse and she tried everything she could to hide her face from the world.
But those days are over. The 22-yearold is now a sought-after model, her face a source of pride and the standout feature that sets her apart from the rest of the pack.
Beautiful, slender and elegant, she credits Canadian model Winnie Harlow – who has the skin condition vitiligo – for being her main source of inspiration, helping her to embrace her face and teaching her how to love herself the way she is.
Now a law student at the University of South Africa as well as a successful model, Kgothi is living a full, happy life – but memories of her miserable childhood in Pretoria still linger.
“When I look back, my face almost destroyed my life,” she tells YOU. “People made fun of me and I was bullied so much and called so many hurtful names.”
She also had to endure a different kind of attention whenever she went to visit her grandmother’s village of Magogoe in Mahikeng, North West.
“People said I had a magic face,” she recalls. “They called it ‘the lucky scar’ and thought if they touched it they’d win the lottery. But it’s just a birthmark.”
Like many kids living with something that makes them “different”, young Kgothi found school close to torture.
“I built an imaginary wall to protect myself. Even if someone just tried to greet me, I’d think they were going to attack me and I’d become aggressive to defend myself.
“I always felt like I needed to explain myself and why my face was the way it was. I became tired of people wanting to ‘cure me’ and give me solutions to try to fix my face.”
Kgothi’s saving grace was her family. Her parents, Maruma and Cynthia (both police officers), and younger brother, Thapelo (11), rallied around her, making sure she felt their unconditional love and support.
“My mom’s sister, Masego, also has a birthmark on her face so at home I was never made to feel different,” Kgothi says.
“I always got compliments about my looks. It was only when I stepped outside my house that people would point fingers and gossip about me, which really affected my confidence.”
LIKE so many other young girls, Kgothi loved looking at pictures and videos of models – especially British supermodel Naomi Campbell – and would dream about appearing in fashion shows and sashaying down the catwalk.
Yet she didn’t really believe she had what it took to make a living from her looks.
“I wanted to enter Miss South Africa once but I didn’t because I thought I was ugly,” she says. “Beauty pageants were only for beautiful girls with clear skin.”
But encouraged by her family she eventually decided to give her dream a try and signed up with a modelling agency.
“The agent told me I had the height and the looks but they advised me to cover my birthmark with make-up every time I went to a casting,” she recalls. “And so that’s what I did.”
She often got callbacks for a fashion shoot but if she didn’t have time to cover her mark beforehand she was told to go home “because I didn’t look the same”.
“I tried everything to wash off this mark and hide it – face scrubs, make-up, everything. I’d even colour the blonde patches of my hair black, but after a few days the original colour would come back.”
After trying almost everything, the stress became too much. “It became so bad I stopped modelling for three years and focused on getting a law degree,” she says.
KGOTHI found hope and inspiration from someone with a similar tale to tell. In 2014 she was reading a magazine when she came across pictures of Winnie (22) who’s become one of the most recognisable faces in fashion precisely because of her perceived facial imperfections.
She too ran the gauntlet of bullying. From the age of four, Winnie’s vitiligo produced pale patches on her dark skin around her mouth, hands, knees and torso and her school days were close to nightmarish.
Despite all this she entered the reality TV show America’s Next Top Model and was soon making waves in the fashion world.
“I don’t have a skin condition, I have a birthmark,” Kgothi notes. “But the idea that Winnie Harlow made it as a famous model looking the way she does gave me hope.
“After seeing Winnie I took a picture of myself without make-up and posted it on social media. The reaction from people was phenomenal – it was so positive and really boosted my confidence.
“For the first time in a long while people told me I was beautiful. And I felt it.”
With her increased self-esteem and a growing social media following, the stage for Kgothi’s success was set.
And sure enough, she was soon snapped up by international agency Ice Models.
“That gave me even more courage to face the world,” she says.
“I started giving motivational talks at my church, talking to kids who’d been through the same humiliation I had and were discriminated against for the way they looked.
“From being sad and shy, now I love the attention. I love modelling, walking on the ramp and knowing no one looks like me and I’m different.”
She’s modelled for the likes of fashion designers Nandi Madida and Gert-Johan Coetzee at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, and now her sights are set beyond South Africa’s shores.
“My goal is to be a world-renowned model, to travel to places like New York, Milan and Paris,” says Kgothi, who lives in Clarina, Pretoria.
She initially wanted to be a police officer like her parents but her mom encouraged her to study law instead.
“She said it was less dangerous,” Kgothi tells us. “Studying law is a lot of work but I love it.”
She’s also using her experience to confront the issue of bullying and abuse and wants to become a role model to kids who have issues with their looks.
“Parents also need to encourage their children to love themselves and teach them values to prepare them when they go outside, especially young girls,” she says.
“They need to help their kids use their perceived imperfection to their advantage. Once you accept yourself, it’s easier for people to accept you.”
As well as helping those forced to confront their differences, Kgothi – who’s single and focused on her modelling career and studies – hopes to send a message to everyone that we should all embrace one another.
After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder – and when it comes to a woman like Kgothi, it’s indeed quite a thing to behold. S