Roseanna Hall: The Golden Rose Takes Zimbabwe to the Miss Universe Stage

At 34, Roseanna Hall has shown that dreams do not come with an expiry date. From a young girl in Shurugwi who dreamed of becoming Miss Zimbabwe, to an established model, content creator, entrepreneur and mental wellness advocate, Hall has now reached one of the biggest milestones of her career: becoming Miss Universe Zimbabwe 2026.

Roseanna Hall was crowned Miss Universe Zimbabwe in June 2026 at a glamorous ceremony held at the Hippodrome in Harare, earning the opportunity to represent Zimbabwe at the Miss Universe competition in Puerto Rico later this year. The event featured former Miss Universe Zozibini Tunzi, who was part of the evening’s proceedings, while Hall received the crown from outgoing Miss Universe Zimbabwe Lyshanda Moyas.

Her journey into pageantry, however, did not begin in 2026. Hall has been connected to modelling from a young age. At just 17, she represented Zimbabwe in M-Net Face of Africa, an experience that further strengthened her passion for modelling and pageantry. She later won the Miss Zimbabwe Diaspora title in 2017 and continued building her career across Zimbabwe and South Africa.

What makes Hall’s current chapter particularly interesting is that she is not a newcomer returning to the spotlight. She has spent years developing herself professionally and personally, with a background that includes psychology and political science, as well as work in public relations, communications, brand ambassadorship and content creation. Her professional journey has also included working with major brands, including global beauty company L’Oréal.

But perhaps one of the most talked-about aspects of her Miss Universe Zimbabwe journey is the fact that Hall had previously been involved with the competition as a judge.

In 2025, she served on the judging panel at the Miss Universe Zimbabwe pageant. One year later, she returned to the same competition, this time as a contestant, eventually walking away with the crown.

The development generated discussion on social media, with some questioning whether her previous involvement with the pageant should have affected her eligibility to compete. Hall addressed the issue, explaining that becoming a judge had actually reignited a dream she had begun to believe was no longer possible because of her age.

For Hall, watching women compete on the Miss Universe Zimbabwe stage reminded her that she still had a dream worth pursuing. She has said that being a former judge did not guarantee her the crown and that she still had to go through the competition process alongside the other contestants.

Her victory also carries a strong message about age and opportunity within modern pageantry. At 34, Hall is part of a changing pageant landscape in which women are increasingly being given opportunities to compete beyond the age limits that traditionally dominated international pageantry.

Rather than presenting her age as something to overcome, Hall has embraced it as part of her story.

Her victory message was directed toward women and girls who have ever questioned their own worth. Following her crowning, she described herself as a girl from the small town of Shurugwi and dedicated her achievement to those who have ever felt that they were “not enough.”

Beyond the crown, Hall has also identified social impact as an important part of her reign. One of the causes she hopes to champion is mental wellness and the economic empowerment of women. Her initiative, Beyond Survival Sisterhood, focuses on improving the mental wellbeing and economic circumstances of young girls and women in Zimbabwe.

Her advocacy also extends into the way she wants Zimbabwe to be seen internationally. Ahead of the Miss Universe finals, Hall has been promoting Zimbabwe’s tourism attractions, including Victoria Falls. During her visit to the resort city, she engaged with tourism stakeholders, visitors and local communities as part of her efforts to showcase the country to an international audience.

This gives her Miss Universe journey another dimension. She is not only preparing to walk onto an international pageant stage. She is also positioning herself as a representative of Zimbabwe’s people, culture, tourism and stories.

For a country with a long history of producing models and beauty queens, Hall’s story is particularly significant because it combines experience with a renewed sense of purpose. She has already experienced the modelling industry, international representation, corporate work, entrepreneurship and the pageant world from the perspective of a judge. Now she gets to experience the biggest stage as a contestant and titleholder.

Her journey also highlights something often forgotten in the modelling and pageantry industry: careers can evolve.

The woman who represented Zimbabwe as a teenager in M-Net Face of Africa is now preparing to represent the country at Miss Universe decades later. The model who once competed for titles has become a judge, and the judge has now become a national titleholder.

Roseanna Hall’s Miss Universe Zimbabwe journey is therefore more than a crown moment. It is a story about returning to a dream, challenging assumptions about age, building a career beyond the runway and using a platform to advocate for issues that matter to women.

As Zimbabwe prepares for the Miss Universe finals in Puerto Rico in November, all eyes will now be on Hall and the story she will tell on the international stage.

From Shurugwi to Harare, from the modelling runway to the judging table, and now from the national crown to Miss Universe, the Golden Rose has entered a new chapter.

And this time, she is not watching from the judges’ table.

She is the woman wearing the crown.