Zena’s Life Story

Literally – “born to perform” Zena Gevisser was pulled out of her mother’s womb in an emergency Caesarian – performed in the front bedroom of the family home in Blackpool, England.

Zena weighed a whopping 13lbs and in no time was used as an advertisement – [target audience diabetic mothers] – for Cow & Gate baby foods. Six years younger than her brother, who at the time she was born had moved on to boarding school, She always felt an ‘only child’. Not that this caused her any concern. From two years of age she was performing in pantomime and being paid for services.

Moving on down

A leading film company wanted her in movies but her father would not agree always afraid strangers would take control of her young life. With virtually no friends of her age she mixed freely with adults. In the main with her paternal grandmother who was born in Poland had come as an orphan from Poland where her whole immediate family had been wiped out in a pogrom. This same grandmother had her playing whist at whistdrives when she was eight. They won many prizes of food hampers and once a whole ten shilling! Wise beyond her years she listened to the problems of the world relayed in her presence and the solutions to many of these problems. Early she had learned to overcome her inborn shyness. Trained by mainly her mother in the dance routines for the stage she in turn became a teacher of jive, jitterbug, and all the ballroom dances of the day, particularly to boys who sought her help. Her ever tolerant mother never even commented when the living room carpet became frayed and more or less threadbare! Right through the years of the Second World War she danced and sang until one day, performing a Shirley Temple song (she had become known as “the Shirley Temple of the North of England”) her voice broke in the middle of … “an old straw hat, a pair of overalls and a worn out pair of shoes…”

This traumatic event caused her to think seriously about her future and she decided to forgo the limelight of theatre and become a writer. It was 1943 and Zena was 12 yeas old. Winston Churchill’s wife Clementine sent her a letter of thanks for collecting money to build a new Royal Oak battleship destroyed in the war. Slowly she was learning the art of A dvertising and Publicity. A finalist in a national beauty contest she was asked to join the wellknown model school of Lucy Clayton and at the same time trained with the film star Vivienne Leigh’s mother as a Beautician. Ever eager to learn new things she joined her parents in their wartime hobby – training in Swedish massage. With all this it [turn to page 2] was not surprising that she had no time for playing with dolls or to her childhood pursuits. The war was over and her dreams of being a foreign correspondent and dropping behind enemy lines in Europe came to an abrupt end. Life was a ball. Dancing

- Partying – Summer days at the poolside – Attending live theatre at least once a week and much more. Suddenly in 1947 it came, abruptly, to an end. Her father

- had decided to emigrate to South Africa!!! Landing in Durban the family went to stay at the Minora Hotel. As she went upstairs to leave her suitcase in her bedroom her mother walked into the lounge where a fashion was being

- Page 2. Zena Gevisser life story.

organized. Ever Zena’s publicity agent, her mother, seeing the struggle that was going on – informed them that although her daughter was only 18 she had a lifetime experience in stage and mannequin work. By the time Zena came downstairs she had a job which turned into a lifetime of endeavour. The success of that fashion show in aid of Israel brought her into the Durban public eye and stores and manufacturers clamoured for Zena’s assistance. In Smith Street, sharing rooms with a beautician, she started The Durban School of Mannequins – An Academy of Deportment. Later it became simply Durban Charm School. Initially she advertised…