Miss South Africa 2021, Lalela Mswane (born 27 March 1997), is a South African model and beauty pageant winner. She will represent South Africa at the Miss Universe competition in Israel in 2021 as Miss South Africa.
Mswane was born in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal, near the town of Richards Bay. She is the third kid in a family of three, with an older brother and sister. Her father died in 2010, and her mother Hleliselwe was a homemaker and an accounts clerk. Mswane enrolled in the University of Pretoria after completing her secondary education at Pro Arte Alphen Park in 2015, and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree.
Mswane worked as a professional model for the South African modeling organization Alushi Models before becoming Miss South Africa.
Mswane began her pageant career by competing in the Matric Experience 2015 pageant, where she came in second place.
Mswane was named one of the 30 women shortlisted for the Miss South Africa 2021 competition on July 6, 2021. She was named one of the ten semifinalists that advanced to the televised finals on August 3rd, after a second round of interviews and public vote.
The Miss South Africa 2021 finals were held on October 16 at the Grand West Arena in Cape Town. Mswane got to the final five after competing in the swimsuit and evening gown rounds of the competition. She went on to compete in the question and answer phase, where she was named one of three finalists before being awarded Miss South Africa 2021. Mswane won R1 million, a one-year living in a fully equipped apartment in Sandton, a one-year lease on a Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and the opportunity to represent South Africa at the forthcoming Miss Universe 2021 competition in December as Miss South Africa.