They’ve come a long way

Former Bok star Joost van der Westhuizen and singer-wife Amor Vittone, referred to by some as the South African Posh and Becks, have had remarkable careers in their own right. They married in 2002 and were voted the Favourite Couple of the Year two years in a row at the Kid’s Choice Awards. They now are a happy family of four with son Jordan and daughter Kylie.

Joost was born in Pretoria and educated at FH Odendaal High School and Pretoria University. At school his flair for the game caught the eye of rugby coaches who chose him to play in the Coca Cola Craven Week and later for the Junior Springboks. Joost was a mere 22 years old when he made his test debut as scrumhalf for the Springboks in 1993 against Argentina.

He was part of the team that won South Africa the World cup in 1995 and captained the South African side during the Rugby World Cup in 1999. Two rugby world cups later, in 2003, he retired with 35 tries and 175 test points. Some still hail Joost as one of the best scrumhalfs the world has ever seen.

Amor has five successful albums to show for her hard work as a singer and performer. Her latest album, Voluit, has already reached gold status, selling 20 000 copies in the first six months of release. She grew up in Johannesburg and was headgirl, dance champion for seven executive years and an academic achiever at school.

She made her theatre debut in the State Theatre’s production of West Side Story shortly after leaving school. She worked on an English album and presented several TV shows at the time. But it was her success as the presenter of the national lottery television programme on SABC2 that made her a household name.

Today Amor works as a choreographer, host and motivational speaker at functions around the country.

Amor says on her website: “I’m doing a lot of shows at the moment. It’s not always nice being away from home or the children. When I can I take them and Joost with me. Otherwise I leave them with my family and go do what I need to do. Making sure I can get back to them as soon as possible. But I love doing the shows. And it’s great having a fresh album with a new feel and in some ways a new audience.

Many people seem quite surprised to hear me singing Afrikaans – and they like it! I’ll be on the road a lot over the next year promoting my album – so if you’re out there somewhere I might just visit you soon – my diary seems to be taking me all over the country and I can’t wait!"

Click here to read more about Amor on her website