Former Miss Kenya: I have no qualms about my weight

When she was crowned Miss Kenya in 2004, Juliet Achieng’ had all the requirements of a model plus more — perfect slender figure, signature short captivating hairdo and the face to match. Though she still has the looks ten years down the line, a lot has changed.

She is now a plus size woman and is comfortable in her skin. The former model had been behind the scenes for sometime and when she emerged, there was a lot of backlash for her weight gain.  Pictures of Juliet appeared on a notorious blog, and what followed was something akin to cyber bullying.

Her reaction to such criticism: “I love myself the way I am. I am now a mother and a wife and I am proud of my new roles,” she says.

“I do not know why people are so bothered about my weight gain. People are very mean. They should accept me for who I am.”

“I am not what I used to be, but I love my new body just fine. I refuse to cower down to social pressure. I am comfortable and healthy. If you are comfortable in your skin, you should not let outside pressure tell you that something is wrong with you”.

It is this same determination and resilience to thrive where others told her she could not because she did not fit into the ‘usual mould’ that got her the Miss Kenya title in 2004.

 Juliet was the first dark-skinned Kenyan to take home the Miss Kenya title. While in class three, she made the declaration to her family and classmates that one day she would be Miss Kenya.

“They all laughed it off, but I proved them wrong when I was handed the title,” she recalls.

And like everything else in her life, it was not handed to her; she had to fight for her dream. In fact, her journey to stardom was anything but typical.

Born in Kisumu to a middle-class family of six children, Juliet’s childhood bliss was interrupted by the death of her father when she was 12 years and later her mother when she was 16.

“I am the fifth born in my family. I was daddy’s girl. He was a Kiswahili and drama teacher. Dad was passionate about drama. Watching him work ignited the passion to perform in me,” says Juliet.

She says nothing could have prepared her for his death.

“One Saturday afternoon, he left home for drama practice at school, and when he did not find the watchman at the gate, he climbed over the barbed wire fence to open the gate and in the process he got cut. He assumed it was a simple cut that would heal on its own, and so he did not go to hospital. However, it eventually developed to a tetanus infection that took his life. After he died, my mum was left alone to raise us. Her only source of income was a stall in Kisumu where she sold clothes and toiletries,” she says.

Life drastically changed for Juliet and her siblings as their mother could barely make ends meet.

“There were nights my mother would go hungry because there was barely enough food for all of us. She would sit with us and watch us eat as she told jokes.  She acted like everything was okay. She did what she could, but she later succumbed to illness and died. My elder sister took up the parenting role,” says the former beauty queen.

Fuelled by her dream to make it in life and her fearless nature, Juliet took a risk and left home after high school. She was only 17 years but she knew she wanted to be Miss Kenya.

“I accompanied my cousin Jerry Jo, a musician who was coming to Nairobi to make a name for himself.  I convinced him to take me along. All we had was bus fare and Jerry had a friend who was a bus driver in Nairobi. We stayed at his hotel room in River Road for a while before I met Mercy Kahai and her sister Betty. I told them my story and we connected. They did not know much about me, but they invited me to stay with them at their place in Dandora. We stayed in a small one-bedroom house, but it was home for us. After all, when my mother died, my small brother and I lived with my sister in a one-bedroom shack made of wood, so living in a ghetto was nothing new,” she says.

Juliet credits her breakthrough to God because He always brought Samaritans to take care of her.

She began modelling, making appearances in shows in various towns. She later worked for a modelling agency called Suzazuri. In 2004, she tried out for Miss Kenya, Nairobi.

“I did not make it to the top three contestants. I was not small enough, not light skinned and had no hair. I was very heartbroken when my name was not called. Everything I had done after leaving high school had led to this one moment and now the door had closed. I wanted to cry,” she says.

However, after the competition, an unexpected thing happened, something that would change Juliet’s fortunes forever.

“During the event, I was the audience’s favourite, thus the press took pictures of me and created a huge buzz about me. Soon there was a public demand for my return to modelling. The Miss Kenya, Coast edition competitions happened soon afterwards and I decided to try. I was crowned Miss Mombasa. I won the Miss World Kenya title the same year,” says Juliet.

She represented Kenya at the Miss World pageant in China. She won hearts at the pageant and was ranked among the most beautiful women in the world and the sexiest woman in Africa, 2004.

That was then. Juliet has now found new passions— acting and singing .

Juliet has been working on solidifying her music career for the last two years.

“So far, I have released Ja hera na and The way love me featuring Collo. I have been working with Maich Black and the Herbalist, as they understand my sound and style. My sound is unique and I am not quite sure where to place it. I would say it is Afro Fusion. I am working on new music that will be out soon,” she says.

Her acting career is also picking up.

 “I come from a theatrical family. I have done drama and music, and even won awards in high school for my acting. So, when the opportunity to act came, I took it. I acted on Be The Judge on KTN, and on a series that is yet to air. I am also working on a new show called Juliet Letterbox, which will be out soon. I cannot give out a lot of details, as we are shopping for a network,” she explains.