Law student-turned-beauty queen takes aim on career in acting

A native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Charlotte Azoura Kipusa, the reigning Miss Africa Malaysia 2019 and final year law student, is an ambitious and strong woman who knows what she wants out of life.

Born to diplomat parent, Charlotte and her family moved to India in 2006 because her parent was posted there. Raised in India, the ambitious young Congolese moved to Malaysia in Sept 2018 to pursue her law degree at HELP University Kuala Lumpur. This year being the final year of her law degree, she was supposed to transfer to UK but because of Covid-19, she decided to take a gap year and resume next year.

She was named the 2019 Miss Africa Malaysia last year – it was the first pageant she had ever entered and she won. The grand finale took place at Bentley Music Auditorium in Mutiara Damansara, Petaling Jaya.

Looking forward, Charlotte knows what she really wants to do with her life. After her undergrad, she aims to join an acting class to pursue her passion and desire of becoming an actress with law degree.

This 20-year-old is beautiful, smart, determined and knows what she can do to reach her goals. She gave an interview to Citizens Journal Malaysia to share her story.

What was the deciding factor in you choosing Malaysia to further your study?
“My mother chose Malaysia for me after weighing all the options and since the HELP University here has a UK law degree transfer programme, it was the ideal choice.”

Which area of law is the most interesting to you?
“I find criminal law and evidence law the most interesting areas in law because it makes you think more practically as compared to other subjects.”

What do you do to make the most of your time off in your gap year?
“Well, due to the Covid-19 situation, I decided to take a break since I don’t find online classes helpful for me. My gap year started last September until next year September. In the meantime I’ll be back to India until my intake starts. So while I’m there, I’ll most probably be working and doing theatre.

   “Before the MCO, I was attending events and going for shoots but due to the MCO now I cannot do much but I’m utilising my time learning new things, dancing and self-studying.

   “I live with two amazing girls from my country, they are the reason why staying at home doesn’t feel bad at all. I like being indoors so the MCO did not really affect me much but the fact that I cannot do much is the sad part because I have a lot of things planned. After my undergrad, I want to take a break and focus on pursuing a career in acting.”

Why do you want to study law to become an actress?
“As a child, I was pretty excitable and talkative, not afraid of speaking my mind. My mom always used to tell me how energetic and talkative I was. She said I should be thinking about studying law. What mom said might have sparked my interest in law because as I grew older I discovered that I actually have interest in law and the law field. So far, I really like it but I don’t see myself becoming a lawyer. I’m studying it for the knowledge.

“Careerwise I want to get into the entertainment industry because I want to become a successful actress. After my undergrad, I’m planning to take some time off taking an acting class, where I can further myself personally in pursuing my career goal. And yes in case my acting career doesn’t work out, I can have a backup plan. I don’t feel pressured by my parents to go along this career part. I love my parents. They will be proud of me in the end no matter what.”

What are the reasons that got you hooked by the acting bug?
“The fact that you can be someone else while playing a role and the fun happy environment is the main reason. Besides, being in front of the camera and shooting is something I’ve always been passionate about.”

What inspired you to go into acting?
“It was my aunt.  She was an actress in my country. She was a sort of inspiration to me because I could remember her taking me to her shoots and seeing how fun it was that really made me decide to want to be an actress.”

How do you go about to become an actress? 
“I’m planning on joining an acting school or a theatre group when I’m back in India. I want to improve my skills and learn more. I want to act in movies mostly but I wouldn’t mind being in TV series as well. I really want to act in a horror movie.”

Do you have some experience in acting?
“I took part in a few plays in middle school. I wasn’t really a theatre kid as I preferred dancing instead but I’ve appeared in a few series type movies in my country. In my country instead of movies we produce mostly series type movies, there we call it theatre and they usually have 4-6 episodes.” 

Who are your favourite actors and actresses?
“Rowland Atkin (Mr. Bean) and Charlie Chaplin never cease to amaze me. I love how they manage to entertain and make people laugh without speaking. My favourite actors from Hollywood are Leonardo Dicaprio, Johnny Depp and Sacha Baron Cohen. From Bollywood, I like Saif Ali Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Lee Jong-suk as favourite South Korean actor. I have watched mostly all of their movies. I love them because of how they act their roles and their versatility. I don’t have a specific favourite movie, it’s hard for me to choose one. But I love horror, thriller and comedy movies.”

How is life going in your current reign as Miss Africa Malaysia?
“I would continue my hard work throughout my reign as Miss Africa Malaysia. I attended a lot of pageants and I met so many incredible people in the industry. I also made new friends not just from Miss Africa Malaysia but other pageants as well. It gave me an opportunity to represent my country in Malaysia and Malaysia in my country. Sadly, due to the pandemic, I couldn’t do much but I’m truly thankful for this experience. I was really motivated and hopefully I might take part in another pageant next year.”

Can you share your experience in Malaysia?
“I have been studying here for two years. It’s one of the most wonderful experiences I’ve had. Malaysia is very diverse. I got to meet people from different countries and the life here is pretty affordable and the people are very friendly. I really enjoy my time here and I have made many friends. I really love Malaysia.

“The local foods here are amazing. Nasi lemak rendang ayam is my favourite. I also enjoyed mamak-style nasi goreng and satay. I haven’t tried the durian yet. I know people said you haven’t experienced Malaysian food without having tried durian but I sure would try one day. I haven’t travelled a lot to places in Malaysia but Langkawi is one of my favourite destinations and I plan to explore both Redang Island and Perhentian Island.”

What motivates you?
“My main source of motivation is my family and friends seeing them being proud of me or me making them happy makes me want to keep on going and do better things in life.”

What is your perception of beauty?
“Beauty is more than just the external aspect I believe beauty is internal a beautiful soul will last longer than a beautiful face, because one day our face may change we will get old but our soul and heart will remain the same.” 

What is your definition of empowered women and gender equality?  
“I believe an empowered woman is a woman who is not afraid to be herself, a woman who is confident and independent. I believe males and females are equal there shouldn’t be any stigma on what a specific gender can or cannot do because both genders are capable of doing anything.”

What types of activities or hobbies do you enjoy?
“I enjoy making videos, dancing, playing sports especially soccer, and I like learning new skills and languages. I made my first YouTube video when I was 10 or 11 years old and from then onwards, I regularly make comedy skits, vlogs and relatable content. Now I occasionally make comedy and TikTok videos on my Instagram. 

“I’m most passionate about dancing because it makes me happy and helps relieve my stress. Most of the dance I do, I learn it myself. I can do salsa, hip-hop, contemporary, freestyle and Bollywood. I took Bollywood classes when I was 12 years old. I’ve been performing on stage since first grade at school till present. Outside school I used to get invited to perform at events where I would get paid. I’m the leader of a dance group called Black Pearl which is based in India. I created that group in 2017 and we get invited to perform at different universities and events. We are still an active group. I have also performed at my university here and at APU. 

“I’m a girl soccer player. I grew up around my brothers and most of my friends were guys throughout my schooling year so I would play soccer with the boys during P.E or at the park after school. I used to be my school’s junior team captain. It was difficult to find other girls who were interested to play soccer so that’s why I preferred playing with the boys.”