The famous Arabian tale goes something like this… Aladdin rubbed the lamp three times and out popped a ‘Genie’ and granted him three wishes. In today’s story, Cape Town’s very own Jeannie D is granting her own wishes and certainly making them come true. The stars are the limit for this girl…

Born and bred in Johannesburg, Jeannie knew from a young age that performing was her forte; as soon as she turned 12 she auditioned at The National School of the Arts (drama) and honed in on her acting and vocal skills. She accomplished and successfully managed to secure a number of lead roles in several theatre productions and a variety of commercials – such as inflight videos and as a poster girl for SAA. At 18 she enrolled at RAU where she studied a BA in Communications, joined the campus radio station RAU Radio, and managed to win the Miss RAU competition in 2002, all in a short period of time.

Looking for a new challenge, Jeannie packed her bags and relocated to the Mother City. With acting and radio experience under her belt, she happened to be in the right place at the right time when Good Hope FM was looking for new talent. Jeannie started off on the graveyard shift on a weekend slot as well as working as a daytime news reader – and within two months she was given one of the top shows in radio, which was fittingly called The Jeannie D Show.

She has fulfilled her dream by working in two of her favourite mediums. She left radio in September 2006 to pursue her television career full-time - and she hasn’t looked back since.

Beauty, brains, charm and a bit of dynamite: that's Jo-Ann Strauss. Born and raised in Cape Town, this Stellenbosch University graduate holds a B.Comm Law degree – and that’s on top of her glamorous globe-trotting accomplishments, which include representing South Africa at the Miss World Pageant in Puerto Rico and modeling alongside supermodels Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Elle McPherson and Helena Christensen in Barcelona. But that was just the start of the meteoric career of South Africa’s darling Jo-Ann Strauss.

As one of the four top presenters on Top Billing, Jo-Ann has been the guest of Miramax at the Sundance Film Festival and has interviewed – among others - Charlize Theron, Antonio Banderas, George Clooney and Bono the lead singer of U2.

Jo-Ann has graced the cover of most of South Africa’s top magazines, won the Duku Duku Award for most stylish female presenter and has received numerous nominations and awards for best presenter.

What a lot of people don’t know is that Jo-Ann is an astute businesswoman. She’s a Director in a venture capital company called Partnership Investments alongside Dr Brigalia Bam of the IEC and was recently appointed as a Director on the Western Cape Board of Ubuntu-Botho, a division of Sanlam.

Jo-Ann is equally at home as a speaker or MC for prestigious corporate occasions, charities and fashion events.

Janez was born in Cape Town in 1978 and grew up in a very liberal and open-minded family. School years were spent at Camps Bay School and, after matriculating, Janez spent a year backpacking through Europe. As his family is of Belgian origin, he decided to study in Belgium and spent four years there. A year studying archaeology made him realize he wanted to  follow a more creative path in life, so he pursued further studies in interior design, graduating in 2000. On his return to South Africa at the end of 2000 he was offered a modeling job and, with little money to his name, he decided to give it a go.

The first job he was booked for was a worldwide Fanta ad and since then he has shot over 100 local and international brands, as well as having worked for hundreds of international catalogue and advertising clients. In 2001 Janez won Cape Town's beach competition Mr/Mrs Clifton and in 2003 he entered and won the Men's Health Look of the year award. As Storm's top male model for five consecutive seasons, he was well prepared to move on to start his own model agency Full Circle Model Management which he did in 2007. The money made from modeling he has invested in buying, renovating and selling properties.

Having a father who is a famous South African artist has exposed him to the world of art and design, which has greatly influenced him in his life. His parents took him along on their regular travels to Europe and the East when he was younger, fuelling Janez’s passion for travelling to the ‘far end of the earth and meeting new people from different cultures’.

Janez is in his element around all types of people and divides his time between family and friends who mean everything to him. He keeps active by running, playing tennis and going to the beach, where you can catch him showing off his beach bat skills. He says he enjoys working and playing hard in equal measure.

He describes his ideal woman as ‘a cross between Penelope Cruz, Adriana Lima, Giselle Bündchen and Cindy Crawford... but definitely not Kate Moss! On a serious note, I really like a down-to-earth, wholesome girl with a good sense of humour who does not take herself too seriously and can handle my competitive streak’.

Dr Michael Mol is a qualified medical doctor with vested interests in HIV management, emergency medicine (registered advanced trauma, cardiac and paediatric life-support physician) and integrative medicine – blending science with the art of healing.

Eight years ago he carried his charisma from the casualty room over to the small screen and ever since has co-anchored Top Billing, South Africa’s longest running prime-time magazine program. He has spoken to the stars, travelled the world and shared his experiences in a personal and endearing way with a captive audience, as evidenced by numerous critically acclaimed media awards. A former Mr South Africa, he is also a Red Cross Children’s Champion.

Micheal is a writer and speaker with an incurable ailment… an insatiable thirst for adrenalin! He has skydived out of a hot-air balloon, seen the running of the bulls in Pamplona and scuba dived under a frozen lake. From wing walking on a bi-plane to surfing the great Zambezi white waters on a bodyboard and bungee jumping off the highest bridge in the world backwards… there’s nothing that he would shrink back from – yet!

Ursula lights up screens every Thursday on Top Billing... but before and inbetween her Top Billing days she has had a fabulous career in numerous media fields. Through 5fm as ‘Brown Sugar' (where she hosted the top-rated ‘world-chart show') and as the MTN Gladiator presenter, she has become well-known among younger generations of South Africans and loved by all generations, while her corporate event hosting and charming smile has reached older South Africans across the country.

Born in Johannesburg, Ursula studied Public Relations at Wits Technikon which stood her in good stead for the line of work she was later to head towards. Her first job was as a sports presenter for TopSport on SABC, covering events such as the Wimbledon championship in London. From there her career sky-rocketed and her fame hasn’t stopped since. Her charming personality shines through on the screen adding infinite value to our show and her professionalism makes her a pleasure to work with.

Top Billing seems the perfect job for her: “My love of travel has me packed and ready to trot the globe at a moment’s notice. I’ve seen just about every major city on offer and filled seven passports with thrilling memories. How’s that for an abundant blessing!”

This striking young man whose height and strong stature is instantly noticeable turns heads as he walks into any room, and his deep and smooth voice melts the hearts of most women who have the good fortune of hearing him speak. Originally from Zimbabwe, Simba moved to Johannesburg when he was one year old. “I’m from a very humble background - my parents are missionaries and never had much, but they did everything they could for me. My mom started off as a secretary while my dad was on going on crusades.”  Simba attended Randpark High School and then went on to study B.Comm accounting at the University of Johannesburg.

Simba, the youngest and newest member of the Top Billing family, captured the hearts of South Africa when he won the Top Billing Presenter search in 2010 and  his adventure to new countries has been watched with joy by everyone in South Africa.

The gorgeous Dr. Dhiveja Sundrum is no stranger to attention.  Her charismatic character and strong leadership qualities found her much-liked and respected as Head Girl of Crawford College Durban in 2000. She accompanied this year of responsibility with six distinctions, which gave her comfortable entry into medicine at the University of Cape Town. It was not long before her capable and fun-loving demeanor saw Dhiveja elected as Fuller residence Social Liaison planning and executing the major events of the year in flamboyant fashion.  In 2004 with elegance and grace she took the title of Miss Cape Peninsula and became a spokesperson for the reputable Reach for a Dream Foundation also equally at ease MCing for various other functions.

Dhiveja was crowned 1st princess at Miss South Africa 2004 and was requested to represent South Africa at the illustrious Miss World pageant in 2005 where she did not disappoint, coming in the top 15 of the World and top 2 of the African Continent. These achievements along with her rich and vibrant personality provided Dhiveja with an excellent platform for presenting. She enjoyed the homely culture of Lifestyle show Eastern Mosaic, working with them for nearly two years before moving to Johannesburg and landing in the employ of esteemed lifestyle and magazine show Top Billing, where she is delighted with the opportunity and prospects afforded to her. Aside from her onscreen activities, Dhiveja works for Kaelo Brand and Cause Communications, a public relations company focusing specifically on corporate social responsibility. She has recently become the spokesperson for Feed Our Nation, a Starfish Greathearts Foundation initiative.

Aidan attained his Bachelors' degree in Fine Art at the University in Cape Town in 2004. His work clearly exhibits an intuitive understanding of the three-dimensional form. Branching out from sculpture towards interior and product design was one that came naturally. Fine-art principles are effortlessly translated into the commissioned interiors and products he both conceptualizes and creates.

His work encompasses a variety of mediums, including traditional and contemporary. Fond of mingling the natural with the synthetic, Aidan develops signature creations by maintaining a dynamic use of resources.
Aidan's problem-solving talents were recognized as he was selected from a list of candidates to make up the team of three as one of Top Billing's DIY handymen alongside the charismatic ensemble of Jeannie D and Janez.
Realising the potential of the new ‘feather in his cap’ and inundated with requests from viewers regarding their own homes he opened his own studio.

Aidan has established a brand that is synonymous with quality and that produces continuously innovative design all the while presenting for Top Billing.

Dynamic, vivacious and business savvy are just some of the words to describe Lorna Maseko, not to mention petite and delicate as a top South African ballet dancer and the first professional ballet dancer of colour in South Africa, making dance history and attesting to the fact that anything is possible... if you believe.

Not only is she an established choreographer and dancer, but she is also one of the most up-and-coming MCs South Africa has to offer, hosting events such as the Annual Vukani Fashion Awards, The Massed Choir Festival as well as giving motivational talks to under-privileged girls. This is part of her heartbeat, to give back to those who are less fortunate than herself.

In 2007 she was chosen as November Woman In Action by True Love Magazine and was selected as the final top 12 for the Top Billing presenter search competition. She was also nominated as the Cosmopolitan Awesome Woman in December 2007, but she wasn’t going to stop there. In 2009 she launched her fragrance Pirouette by LornaM, this is the mark that symbolises the change Maseko has bought into the South African ballet industry. A symbol that will live beyond her years!

Lorna has worked as a presenter and producer of an entertainment programme called Afro Showbiz News as well as co-hosted and produced a live current affairs, magazine breakfast show, The Weekender on SABC News International (previously known as SABC Africa) – yet again adding another element to this darling bud of Africa.

But her most recent achievement - and, we think, one of her greatest! - is becoming a Top Billing presenter where she impresses audiences no end and has added an air of grace to the screen.