Born in Lodwar, Turkana District on January 14th 1984, Nancy Ajuma Nasenyana’s first foray into modelling was her participation in the Miss Tourism Kenya competition in 2003 where she was crowned Miss Nairobi. It was through this pageant that she came to the attention of Lyndsey McIntyre of leading Kenyan model agency Surazuri, who immediately spotted her international potential.
Soon afterwards, Gamma photo agency came to Kenya to do a story on Surazuri and were so taken with the beauty of Ajuma that she became the main feature of the story which later ran in the French magazine Gala. The pictures taken on this shoot were to provide the basis of Ajuma’s portfolio and these were duly presented to Ford Models who immediately agreed that she should be the Kenyan entrant to the Ford Supermodel of the World Competition 2003.
Every year the Ford Supermodel finals brings together amateur models and their agents from over 40 countries to compete for contracts worth between $100,000 and US$250,000. Model scouts from all over the world attend the event looking for fresh talent and the international press coverage is huge. Lyndsey McIntyre holds the license for this event for the East African region.
In November 2003, Ajuma traveled to Europe to join Ford Models Paris and begin to build her portfolio prior to the Supermodel finals in New York in January 2004. Her first show was for Lacoste. Surazuri soon had her signed with top agencies in London, Italy, Austria, Spain, Ireland, Canada and Sweden.
Finally, January 20th arrived and Ajuma glided down the catwalk in New York to rapturous applause from both the audience and the press. She made modelling history when she became the first black model to win a contract in an international modelling competition (not specifically for black models) and soon begun the work of earning the USD50,000 income that she has been guaranteed by Ford.
Ajuma participated at New York Fashion Week alongside Naomi Campbell and Alek Wek for designers such as Baby Phat and Carlos Mienes before travelling to Milan to model for fashion houses such as Ungaro during Italian Fashion Week. Paris was the final destination during the winter show season and she particularly struck Vivienne Westwood who made her the lead model in her show.
Since then, Ajuma has continued with her hectic schedule and has shot several magazine editorials and covers, a video for Lacoste and a catalogue for Issey Miyake.
In July 2004 she travelled back to Kenya as the lead model of Kenya Fashion Week. She was a sensation on the ramp and as a result was asked to shoot covers and editorials for several magazines including Msafiri and the newly launched Drum. At Kenya Fashion Week she also wowed South African producer Jan Malan who immediately invited her to Cape Town Fashion Week where she was a huge success.
Back in Kenya, she also landed a role in an independent movie shot in Turkana in September 2004 which went on to win a prize as best Art House Film at the New York Film Festival. Thereafter she flew back to Europe with her first booking being the fashion week in Madrid. To the pride of Kenyans, Ajuma was presented with the L’Oreal prize of Euros 6,000 for the Best Model of Spanish Week in an elegant ceremony presided over by International singer and actress, Natalie Imbruglia.
Milan and Paris fashion weeks followed and then it was off to Tokyo for a month long stint on Japanese ramps. Ajuma has now settled in London where she is signed with top UK agency – Models 1. In 2005 she has participated in the fashion weeks in Paris, Milan and Spain and spent several weeks in New York where she shot several magazine editorials. One of these was with Gilles Bensimon (the photographer credited with ‘making’ Elle McPherson) for Elle.
Back in London, she has most recently done six shows for Graduate Fashion Week, a L’Óreal show and a MAC cosmetics presentation.
In October 2005, following the European Fashion Weeks, she is expected back in Kenya to take part in Kenya Fashion Week and judge the Ford Models Supermodel of East Africa finals.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Ajuma’s mother, Maria, was the first woman of her generation in the Turkana area to receive an education and she went on to open and run the Women’s Centre in Lodwar. Her grandfather is an ex-administration policeman who keeps two homes – a small house in Lodwar and a Turkana traditional homestead some 15 minutes drive from the town. He has three wives and 25 children and many dozens of grandchildren, including Ajuma.
Ajuma was educated at Greensteads and Greenacres, two excellent boarding schools outside Nairobi, which follow the British system. Her education was sponsored together with other young girls from Lodwar by the Womens Centre. After school she went into training for 400 metre and 800 metre track running and in 2002 she won the World Junior Championship National Trials and was third in the World Championship National trials. Her best times are 400 mt – 54 seconds, 800 mt – 2.07 seconds.
Ajuma is highly intelligent, charming and ambitious and it is these qualities that make her such a successful model as well as her slim toned body and fantastic bone structure.
