Tinaye Makombe is a 22-year-old bridal makeup artist and college student from Harare, Helensvale. Originally from Masvingo, she grew up in Harare and got into the modeling industry in 2019 when she contested in the Miss Teen Zimbabwe pageant. What started as a dare between an old friend and her turned into a passion for modeling that she pursued further. Since then, Tinaye has participated in runway shows, modeled for a UK based lingerie line, and featured in a couple of music videos.
Tinaye became known as a “video model” or “video vixen” in 2020 after featuring in Winky D’s song, Reply. Since then, she has worked with clothing brands, hair companies, and corporate companies such as EcoSure.
When asked what she would change about social media, Tinaye mentioned that she would make age restrictions more uncompromising when it comes to signing up for an account. Although she rarely receives negative comments, she doesn’t do anything about them either. She believes that most negative comments come from people she doesn’t know, so she doesn’t take them to heart.
Tinaye recalled the dumbest way she has been injured, which was when she was in grade 2. She constantly wished that she would fall sick so she wouldn’t have to do schoolwork. One afternoon, just before her class’s swimming session, she ran into a wall and broke her right arm. Looking back, she wishes she had listened more to her parents whenever they would try to steer her in the right direction.
When asked whom she would like to be for one day, Tinaye responded that she would never want to experience life as anyone else but herself. She loves who she is and wouldn’t want to be anyone else
.
