Not everyone can say they love their job, worse if they have two. For Leah Janine Marville, an international model, pageant title-holder, TV host/producer, and philanthropist, what's not to like? She gets to travel to exotic locations around the globe and meet interesting and influential personalities. When she is not rubbing shoulders with the hip and famous, she makes meaningful contributions to the lives of children affected by HIV/AIDS through her charitable efforts.
This woman of many talents was born on November 13th 1985 to Don Marville and Heather Gibson on the scenic Caribbean island of Barbados. Leah attended Erdiston Primary and Queens College high school, where and Rihanna and Leah were both charges of Leah's cousin Shontelle in the school's cadet corps.
Her journey to fame more than likely started during her childhood as she was creatively inclined and engaged in several activities; however, two events were pivotal in steering her towards the success she enjoys today. First, she was spotted by Saint International CEO Dewight Peters who encouraged her to take part in the Fashion Face of the Caribbean competition where she placed third. The other was meeting with the producers of the show Wicked Style at the BET awards in 2006.
After her Fashion Face debut, Leah was signed to South Africa's Base Model Management. It was there in 2008, while watching her fellow Barbadian Natalie Griffith place in the top 15 at the Miss World pageant, that Leah decided to enter her local pageant. Not only did she win the title of Miss Barbados World 2009, she won "Most Photogenic" and "Beauty With a Purpose".
She returned to South Africa to represent her country at the 59th staging of Miss World. Although she did not win (she placed 17th), Leah was voted People's Choice and as the highest placed Caribbean national she received the Caribbean Continental Queen of Beauty award. She is the first Barbadian to win both titles. Leah was voted Sexiest Woman Alive (2009) by the pageant world's premiere online magazine: GlobalBeauties.com. The Sexiest Woman is chosen from all the ladies (a total of 440) that entered the Big 5 pageants (Miss World, Miss Universe, Miss Earth, Miss Tourism Queen & Miss International). She also won the title of Sexiest in the Caribbean and she placed 9th for the title of Miss Grand Slam.
By the time she won her titles, Leah had joined the BET family as a guest host on BET J's Wicked Style in 2008, and then as main host and even co-producer. Leah now hosts and produces a new Caribbean lifestyle show on BET Centric (BET J & VH1 Soul) called SPLASH! She is executive producer of her own TV series, , Passport 246, aired on CBC TV8 (Barbados) which follows her life as a model and television personality. Leah has also produced and directed Young Exec s a show similar to The Apprentice where Richard Haynes (CEO of South Central Entertainment is the show's 'Donald Trump'. Leah is a TV favorite in Barbados and the region, but she is just as loved and acclaimed for her charity work on HIV/AIDS.
Entered as her Beauty with a Purpose project, The Love Campaign placed third in said category at the 2009 Miss World Pageant which was viewed by over 1 billion people world-wide. The campaign's slogan is "Don't Judge, Just Love: Abandon the Stigma." Leah has earned 2 national youth awards (Banyan and Humanitarian) for her work with The Love Campaign, which is officially endorsed by Prime Minister of Barbados David Thompson, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Youth, Sports & Culture. Having lost her father at the age of 11 her need to help children comes from a genuine place and the accolades are very much deserved. Over US$80,000 in cash and food donations have been raised so far for the the HIV food Bank and the National HIV commission school assistance programme. The Love Campaign has partnered with several Caribbean HIV charity organizations (Year of the child-Dominica, Martha's Home-Jamaica) and also an international group from the US which adopted the name for their own efforts in Kenya. Celebrities who have endorsed The Love Campaign include: Wyclef Jean, Eve, Kelly Rowland, Boyz II Men, Marlon Wayans, Usain Bolt and Beenie Man. Reggae-soul singer Cezar Cunningham, sang the campaign's theme song "These Three Letters" . In 2010 Leah launched The Love Campaign School Tour, through which entertainers travel across Barbados to secondary schools promoting the message of healthy lifestyles through music and under the theme "Respect Yaself".
At age 24, Leah Marville is undoubtedly Barbados' most successful model. She is signed to several agencies across the globe: Base Model Management in South Africa, East West Models in Germany and another in London. She also has modeling interests in Athens and China. Leah is one of the faces for Mega skin care line line NIVEA (print, billboard, TV &Internet) and has also done campaigns for Dunhill cigarettes and the American Swiss jewelry line. She has graced the pages of several major international magazines such as Elle, Cosmo, Marie Claire, Jamaque and She Caribbean. Leah has also walked at some of the region's premiere fashion events including Barbados Fashion Week, Style Week Jamaica and Dominicana Moda.
So she's Beauty With a Purpose, how about Brains and Beauty? Leah holds a bachelor's degree in Law (honours) from the University of the West Indies Cavehill. It was she who first started at the Human rights council of Jamaica, and had the opportunity of interview Morgan and Pratt the inmates who sentences were commuted to life imprisonment after a landmark privy council ruling that said inmates couldn't be on death row for more than 5 years. They define Caribbean law when it comes to death row. While pursuing her legal career in Jamaica, Leah also interned at prominent entertainment law firm Gordon McGrath. A freelance journalist, Leah has been published in Barbados Advocate, Jamaica Observer and Jamaica Gleaner.
Globe-Trotter, Children-Lover, Beauty With a Purpose-er (tryin' to rhyme...LOL) Leah Marville you are officially The Lime Certified!
Leah at Dominicana ModaQ&A
1. You have traveled a lot since your Miss Barbados win and your new gig as host of SPLASH!. Any memorable experience you would like to share?
While on a catamaran in Dominica for a Splash feature on Year of the child, we had set out with the intention of participating in a whale watching experience which ended up not revealing any whales but equally delightful hundreds of dolphins! I’d never seen a dolphin before and it was absolutely breathtaking to see not just one but hundreds of them moving together in schools much like synchronized swimmers as if in a water ballet.
2. What’s your most recent splurge?
I just bought new furniture for my house.
3. Has dating become easier or harder since winning your title?
I have not been dating or trying to date.
4. Do you have a guilty pleasure?
Oh yes! Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate! I will drive distances at 2 am in the morning to get one.:), and to think, I'm supposedly lactose intolerant.
5. Do you have a good luck charm?
Not particularly. I usually say a prayer.
6. If you had to find a needle in a haystack how would you do it?
My first thought would be to hire a group of people to assist! I’d probably start at the top and work my way down, one straw at a time. Most things in life mimic this situation, the formula is the same.
7. What do you like the most about your Bajan heritage?
The most intriguing aspect of Bajan heritage is our importance and attention to academia. many other island cultures stress the creative. The island has a long list of academic achievers. The island offered free education from the day we gained independence in 1966 and Barbadians now have a reputation of highly educated individuals. As such, Barbadians are very driven, intellectually humourous and academically competitive.
8.If you could describe yourself as a household appliance what would you be and why?
I'd love to be one that could never grow outdated, one that is as standard as a spoon, always having having relevance and never require the need for electricity as my relevance should never be determined by an external input. As to the name of that appliance, it continues to elude me...have they made it yet...lol
9. Describe your perfect day?
I’d wake up in Cape Town, have breakfast on the balcony overlooking the Camps Bay, complete with Table Mountain looming behind me.Then, take a trip to the grape vineyards with a group of friends and watch a romantic comedy in the evening. Next, I'd entertain the thought of dinner, coupled with great conversation with a special somebody, on the docks at the Victoria Waterfront under the African Sky. And finally, go to sleep with the knowledge that I can wake up and do it all over again the following day.
10. What is your favorite:
Workout – yoga
Childhood book – Anne of Green Gables
Skin Care trick – hmm…I don’t have one of these
Fashion Week – Style Week Jamaica
Desert – Aside from Cadbury Chocolate, it would have to be a Strawberry Cheesecake!
Leah (in green) at Miss World 2009
Sexiest Woman Alive!!!Go With Your Gut
11. Rooftop or basement?
Rooftop
12. Coffee or chocolate?
Chocolate, of course!
13. Knowledge or wisdom?
Hmm, my first thought was why not both. I’d prefer a balance of the two, knowledge without the guidance of wisdom, is counter productive.
14. Dogs or cats?
Dogs! Love them!
15. Board games or movies?
Movies
Leah working for SPLASH on location in Dominica (my island pretty doh???)
Leah hard at work interviewing Wyclef Jean at the 2009 BET Awards.Finish It
16. My phone bills are too high. Need to fix that!
17. If I could compete in the X-Games I’d be a motorbike stunt rider!! That would be very uncharacteristic of me. Love it!
18. Condoms seem to be taboo in recent times and as such has become one of the mandates of my charity the Love Campaign; to ensure that the message about its use is reinforced.
19. On a Friday morning at 11:30 am of any given week, you could find me in a different country. Last week Friday I was in St.Lucia, the Friday before that Dominica, The Friday before that Trinidad... you catch my drift..this Friday its looking like New York
20. Leah Marville would like you to learn more about her and her charity The Love Campaign; visit www.leahmarvilleonline.com ;-)...i couldn't help this one lol
Click HERE to read Leah's responses questions based on the theme "Stars On The Rise."
Leah Marville on Facebook
Leah Marville Official Website
Please support Leah's The Love Campaign
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