Name: Ilene Hamann

Height: 5'8" (173cm)

Date of Birth: 9 June 1984

Birthplace: Jeffreys Bay, South Africa

Nationality: South African

Ethnicity: Portuguese/Dutch

Hair Color: Dark brown

Eye Color: Green

Ilene Hamann is the lovely South African model who stepped into the world of Hindi films through Pooja Bhatt’s film Rog. Born of a Portugese mother and a Dutch father in Jeffreys Bay, South Africa, Ilene Hamann studied at Nico Malan High School. After her matriculation, Ilene studied photography at Stellenbosch Academy of Design. However, modeling assignments started pouring in and she had to give up her photography course. Ilene started her modeling career in the year 2003 and toured all over the globe, to India, Dubai, and Australia, to work for celebrated companies. In South Africa she modeled for Truworths, Foschini, and American Swiss, along with many international clients like the British designer Stewart Parvin for his print advertising campaign, the bauknecht catalogue, the Stihl powertools, cosmetic giant Lakme, Odel Unlimited, the Triumph Magazine Covers, and so on. Ilene’s notable projects In India include those for the editorials of Elle and L'Officiel, as well as a much publicised cover picture.

She was working as a model in Cape Town when Pooja Bhatt saw her on the cover of a magazine and met her. Being a foreigner, Ilene does not speak Hindi at all and had a hard time understanding the script. She was provided with a special dialogue coach for a fortnight to help her get her diction correct. Unfortunately, despite all the hard work, the movie flopped. But Ilene’s stunning looks and dazzling style won her a decent fan following. Modeling continues to remain her priority, but she acknowledged that she would like to take up further acting projects if she can identify with the roles that are offered to her. She accepted the role of Maya Solomon in Rog only because the character was that of a fashion model, just like Ilene is in real life. However, acting in the small screen, that is, becoming a television actress is not an option for her.