Elon Musk’s Mom Shares Rare Pageant Throwback—Reveals Surprise History as Miss South Africa Finalist

Talk about a throwback! Maye Musk, mother of tech mogul Elon Musk, recently stunned social media by sharing a rare photo from her glamorous past as a beauty queen in South Africa.

Now a well-known model, author, and dietitian based in New York, 76-year-old Maye gave followers a glimpse into her early years—long before she became the mother of one of the world’s most powerful entrepreneurs.

Maye Musk’s Beauty Queen Days

This week, Maye posted a nostalgic photo on X (formerly Twitter), revealing that she was once a finalist in the Miss South Africa pageant. Alongside the post, she included a vintage magazine cover from Power Boating in 1976, where she posed wearing her pageant crown as the winner of the Miss Vaal competition. At the time, she went by her maiden name, Maye Haldeman.

Later that year, she made it to the finals of Miss South Africa and appeared on the front page of the Sunday Times. Although she didn’t take the crown—Linda Collett won that year—Maye explained why in her candid post.

“I didn’t win this one probably because I had gained 30 pounds,” she wrote. “I was under great stress because it was my final year at an Afrikaans university, and I was struggling with the language. I think many foreign students will understand how hard it is to write exams in another language.”

At the time, Maye was finishing her studies at the University of Pretoria, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree.

From South Africa to Global Recognition

A year after her pageant run, Maye married Errol Musk and later gave birth to Elon, Kimbal, and Tosca. Although she spent many of her early years in South Africa, Maye was actually born in Canada. Her family moved to Pretoria when she was just two years old.

Following her divorce in 1979, Elon went to live with his father, while Maye stayed in Bloemfontein with her other children. At age 18, Elon moved to Canada, and his mother and siblings followed soon after. Eventually, the family settled in the United States, where they became permanent residents.

A Model at Every Age

Though her beauty pageant days may be decades behind her, Maye Musk has remained in the spotlight, modeling well into her seventies and gracing the covers of major magazines, including Time and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. Her story continues to inspire fans around the world—not just as the mother of a billionaire, but as a woman who’s charted her own course through fashion, academia, and family life.