Seven-year-old Linani Potwana taking over the world through her modelling

At the age of seven, most of us were concerned with what was in our lunchbox or what time our favourite cartoon would be coming on.

Not for Linani Potwana, who is taking over the world as a model.

The South African, based in China, has, in a short period of time, walked in prestigious fashion events such as Paris Fashion Week Kids Unit for Dior, Silk Road International Fashion Week 2023, China Fashion Week AW2025 and Shanghai Children’s Fashion Week 2025 for brands including Lucky Seven and MS Fashion Concept.

@ziyandaandlinani Replying to @user7978813391782 Thank you so much 👏👏👏🤏🏽🤏🏽 Linani has really improved with her props 👏👏👏🔥🔥🔥🔥 #fyp #linani #foryoupage #foryou #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp ♬ Come Check This (Quickie Edit) – FETISH

“I don’t get nervous because I believe in myself that I can do this,” Linani tells The Citizen.

In addition to her modelling, Linani also enjoys dancing, painting, swimming and vlogging. “The thing I most like is to sing,” she says.

“And drawing actually, like that’s the most important thing for my life right now,” adds the young lady.

Linani was recently bestowed the title of Champion at the International Professional Certification Association (IPA) All-Star Coronation Contest held in China.

She felt confident of winning before the competition started.

@ziyandaandlinani #fyp #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp #foryou #foryoupage #linani ♬ Come Check This (Quickie Edit) – FETISH

“Everyone was good… I knew that I was gonna win, I didn’t know I was gonna win the championship. I didn’t care if I was going to win the crown, but I just wanted to have the trophy in my hand, that was the thing that I most wanted to do,” says the confident competitor.

She was crowned Mini Miss Africa South Africa Eastern Cape this year, placing as second runner-up at the national finals.

She says she entered the Eastern Cape competition, her first-ever competition, feeling calm about whether she would win or not.

“I felt like okay… if I don’t win it’s okay, it’s okay, I’m still trying. But when they called out my name, I was like I really need to cry.”

“Being with South African girls made me feel like… I miss my people and I get to speak Xhosa and I feel that feeling that I had when I was small.”

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Life in China

Her mother, who is also her manager, Ziyanda, first moved to China in 2019 for work, with her daughter joining her four years later.

“I had to leave Linani behind because at that time it was my first time coming to China and I didn’t know anything. I didn’t want to bring a child to a place I’m not familiar with,” Ziyanda tells The Citizen.

Ziyanda raises Linani as a single parent in Beijing, but says they are fortunate to live in such a big city with many South Africans.

@linanipotwana 😂😂 one thing about imenu izokbhida 😂😂#johannesburg #fypシ #viral ♬ original sound – Ziyanda&Linani

“I have a community of South Africans, whereby if I feel like she’s losing her SA roots, I know I can refill from our South African friends. I surround Linani with her uncles and her aunts which are my South African friends,” says Ziyanda.

They also attend South African-themed events like braais.

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Not taking away her childhood

Despite Linani’s success, she’s still a child, and Ziyanda balances her schoolwork with the work she does on the side.

According to Ziyanda, Linani’s schedule from Monday to Friday is dominated by school, which runs from 7:30am until 6pm.

@linanipotwana Replying to @lysiarodriguez20 Her second week was amazing she was the star of the week 🤩 and she got to choose a gift from the teachers gift box 😍🤩 She told everyone we met during the weekend about it 😂 It made her so happy 😍🤩 #Linani #foryourpage #FirstMonthInChina #viral #LinanisChineseJourney #Beijing #China ♬ original sound – Ziyanda&Linani

“So with that kind of schedule, I try to allow her to come back home, play with dolls, and everything she wants to do during the week, I allow her to be a child. When she’s preparing for competition, once or twice in a week she gets to practice. It becomes a bit hectic,” she says.

The mother says Linani’s modelling gigs tend to happen once every two months. “It’s not a day-to-day thing, it’s not a week-by-week thing. I try my best to not get her fully booked, I really don’t like that.”

@linanipotwana Can’t get over this experience 🤩😍🥺😩😩😩#fypシ #viral #hongkong #disneyland #kidstiktok ♬ Disney-style fanfare-style BGM – harryfaoki

Ziyanda adds that she sometimes declines some of the wishes of Linani’s agency for her to hit the runway.

“I still need her to be a child, Linani is in grade two. She still needs to be focused on maths, school and all. On weekends when she’s not working, she has extra classes for dancing and piano, but we allow her to be a kid… sleep in and wake up at 12 midday if she’s tired. If she wants to go on a playdate with a friend, sleepovers… I don’t want to take away childhood from her.”