Chantal Biya Gets Her Hollywood Moment

The Leadership for Health Summit, featuring 15 African first ladies, wraps up today in Los Angeles. The two-day summit allowed the first ladies to discuss maternal health, girls' education and HIV/AIDS related issues throughout Africa, according to its website.

Reuters reports that the closed-door summit introduced the African leaders' wives to business leaders, health policy experts and Hollywood celebrities -- with Sharon Stone, Danny Glover and Billy Zane scheduled to appear.

"They thought that by coming to Los Angeles, some of the inspiration that inspires movie makers could also inspire them in their objectives," Jean Stephane Biatcha, executive director of African Synergy, one of the organizers, told a Beverly Hills news conference last week.

One first wife was particularly ready for Hollywood exposure -- Chantal Biya of Cameroon. Ms. Biya is known for her fabulously big hair, which is often worn in a signature style called “la banane” by her fans (see a photo gallery here). Not everyone is a fan of Biya's luscious hair, and her fashion sense has caused much debate amongst those who have come across it.

Here is another photo from the summit to ponder while we wait to see if la banane takes off in North America.

 

(c)  Scott Maniquet/Network Post

See also A Drag Queen Is the First Lady of Cameroon?

Africa's glamorous First Ladies at LA health summit

Comments

[Mbama Bob]

And my nightmares return!!!!!!!!

[UnitedstatesofAfrica]

Chantal Biya is going to be a star, a screen legend and a fashion icon just like Greta Garbo, Dorothy Dandridge and Julie Garland.

Hollywood film makers are always looking out for interesting stories from Africa (Number 1 detective agency or whatever it is called with Jill scott, Hotel Rwanda, Catch a fire, that other movie based on the Rwanda genocide with Idris elba, blood diamond etc etc). Chantal's story is heading to Hollywood and she's about to take over the WORLD.

:-)

[OhWell]

Oh dear, oh dear, our national pride:

"What Beyonce is gonna look lie in 10 years":

http://www.mediatakeout.com/2009/31530-lmao_wanna_see_what_beyonces_gonna_look_like_in_10_years.html
or
http://www.bonaberi.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=127201&highlight=&sid=cd4f0ea8a14bea35817648562cb6d368

This is the most recent one (1 day old)

"A Drag Queen is the first lady of Cameroon":

http://www.tmz.com/2009/04/21/a-drag-queen-is-the-first-lady-of-camaroon/

[Parallax]

Yep Chantou the new star !

http://kamerunscoop.wordpress.com/2009/04/22/cameroun-chantal-biya-fait-la-une-en-amerique/

[Soapy]

Pure NONESENSE, she is going out there showing how flamboyant she looks in the name of fighting AIDS while cameroonians are starving and can't afford to put food on their tables, educate their children and hope for a brighter future. What is the impact of having such a summit in Hollywood if not to give these first Ladies a means to visit and go shopping and resolve to paperwork sessions with no concrete conclusion. Tired of all these naivety in the thoughts of people who should make the life of their subjects better. Afterall, if she was educated she would have known better. Dullard! Pure waste of time and effort. Better invite scholars, researchers and philanthropist to a session in any town in Cameroon and show proof of evidence to combat AIDS and poverty in your home country and so doing showing what your country can offer in the field of medicine with the many plants diversity we have and provide funding for scholars in the country to excell in AIDS, MALARIA, ETC research. Thereby also making the tourists and guests to spend in a developing economy that needs their money. Instead of going out their to shop and spend money stolen from State coffers and making the US richer when its already the Richest country in the world. Dummies

[Danny Boy]

That neck! Just fit for the hang-man's noose or "la guillotine"! That woman is shameless.

[UnitedstatesofAfrica]

Chantal gives Marie Antoinette a run for her money.

Why are you haters hating on Chantal's personal style? she is fierce and fabulous...and her weaves are iconic.lol. She is going to be the next superstar and fashion icon and she is putting Cameroon on the map. lol lol lol lol

[Soapy]

There they go again. Another waste of space and resources, UnitedstatesofAfrica why can't you look for a better way of expressing what you think of a lady of the dullard school of thought. Firstly the word Fierce in your write-up undermines the English language. This shows your elementary teacher is somewhere weeping. Definition of fierce is 'Having a savage and violent nature,Extremely severe or violent; terrible,Strenuously active or resolute' and informally defined as 'Very difficult or unpleasant: e.g a fierce exam' So PLEASE, give your teacher a call. Secondly fabulous is an overstatement, there again there is a problem for the word has no place in that context.For beauty and looks don't go with the word fabulous. And to be honest, is not for she looks more like a Drag Queen as aforementioned. Fabulous is defined as 'Barely credible; astonishing,Extremely pleasing or successful. So oncemore your teacher needs your call. Then you mentioned she puts Cameroon in the map. Which map are you talking about. That where scholars like Ferdinand Oyono, Prof.Anomah Ngu,Dr. Forbin,and others have.Or better the Roger Milla, Francoise Mbango,Eto'o fils, Manu Dibango, Richard Bona have already done. Your sobriquet unitedstatesofafrica gives me the impression you've got high hopes and promising dreams for our motherland continent and hopefully with ideas to ease Africa out of its imbalance, poverty and shortcomings, so don't make us feel otherwise and send you packing to the Drag queen and dullard school of thought. Cheers

[Le Chiffre]

A group of B&%*%^%$ - if you ask me.

[voice of reason]

Well, if this was a hair summit, than Chantal Biya showed daring originality, or perhaps not so original (Maria Antionette). it is worth noting that it wasn't just her hair that revealed her ignorance but also her clothing and her vulgar undignified smile. If she intends to audition for Broadway, I pray her to leave the Cameroon Flag behind.

[TAGRO]

Curious to know Chantal Biya's education level or academic credentials.

[OKU]

Chantal Biya may have dropped out of school in form 2 ( 5eme in French) at Ndi Samba junior high school in Mvog Ada Yaounde.
A few years later she had twin boys with the son of MacPac( a half cast like her), a greek businessman who managed a packaging business in Mvog Ada near her former school before getting married to who you know...

[STIGMA]

HUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I THINK HER HAIR STYLE SHOWS HOW MUCH MONEY THEY HAVE BEEN STEALING FROM OUR NATIONAL FUNDS.I HOPE SHE IS NOT HIDING SOME OF THAT MONEY IN THAT HAIR.

[STIGMA]

if chantal biya realy want to help she can do that starting in her country rather than pretending that she is helping. she and her husband are using all the country's money to to enjoy their life while people are suffering. i wish biya and the family dead. it is because of them that we are suffering today. agaod punish biya and the family.
Esindi oyondo

[Papa Mama]

What is the work being done by her AIDS foundation? Is it a genuine NGO or a shell? Does anyone know? I just want to step outside of this nonsense about her hair, her appearance or her education, which could be discounted if she is actually doing something useful.

[Papa Mama]

Oku gave salacious details about Chantal. Have you heard about Carla Bruni, first lady of France, whose naked pictures you can view literally within 10 seconds of reading this word? She is doing not much except being first lady. Then there is Eva Peron, who was married to Juan Peron. She was of lowly origins with limited origins and checkered background, but she had a powerful effect on Argentina which continues till this day. Which model is Chantal pursuing? Perhaps neither. I know little or nothing about her.

[Abdou Mara]

This blog does not the same as Cameroon Post (Cameroon Newsline) If this is the Cameroon post, then I will like to read from the editors of Cameroon post. Charlie Ndi Chia etc.....
What do you take us for?

[Fed Up With Dunces]

Mr. Abdou, you should learn to read!

"You may have noticed this new blog occupying the space formerly inhabited by the online edition of The Post Newspaper...

Note: This blog is not affiliated with The Post newspaper."

[Nkambe]

Big hair is back so how did our writer cope when she copied Chantal Biya's style?
By Claire Coleman

source:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1175208/Big-hair-did-writer-cope-copied-Chantal-Biyas-style.html

Last updated at 2:17 AM on 30th April 2009
Comments (18) Add to My Stories Standing in the middle of London's Kings Road, I'm struggling to get into a taxi. It's not because I've got too much luggage: it's because I've got too much hair.

In fact, 'big' seems an understatement. This hair is gargantuan. My usual elegant duck-and-slide manoeuvre into the back of a cab just doesn't work now my hair extends six inches higher than my scalp.

Now, I have no aversion to big hair. But when I set out to recreate the lion's mane that Chantal Biya, the wife of Cameroon's president, was sporting at the summit of African First Ladies, I knew this was going to be the Everest of hair challenges.
Head-turning: Claire's copycat big hair style of Chantal Biya
For Mrs Biya has hair that screams: 'You can keep your just-got-out-of-bed look! This pile took five men, three days, several gallons of hairspray and an industrial wind machine to create. And don't you forget it.'
Of course, I'm speculating about how long she spent on her hair. Maybe she did it herself in ten minutes flat before breakfast. But I doubt it.
Because although I wouldn't claim to be a bouffant aficionado, I can do big hair - and I know that, like brewing the perfect cup of tea, big hair takes big time.

For special occasions, I've started recreating a sort of 1980s Charlie's Angel look - all bouncy big curls. But even at my speediest, it's at least an hour's job.

More...Beauty Confidential: The commonsense guide to skincare
Snow whites for summer
Why are so many stars plumping to have pillow face?

But apparently this particublar look is no one-off, special occasion number. Oh no. Mrs Biya, it transpires, is renowned in her home country for her big hairdos and this, her signature style, is known as the 'banane' or 'banana'.

I'm utterly at a loss to understand what bananas have to do with this genetically enhanced soufflé.

Maybe it's because you could hide several bunches underneath it. Semantics aside, if I was to get even close to recreating Mrs Biya's extraordinary look, it was time to bring in the experts.
Karen from Richard Ward Hair & MetroSpa was up for the challenge. 'We need volume,' she told me with some understatement.
Signature style: Chantal's mane even puts Paris Hilton in the shade
Volumising shampoo, volumising conditioner, a volumising spray and volumising mousse. Lots of mousse. And that was before she had even started drying it.

After blow-drying my barnet in sections, she set it in huge rollers and then stuck me under a hood dryer for five minutes to lock in the volume. After allowing the rollers to cool, it was time for backcombing.

Now, although I've not got a bad head of hair, I didn't have enough to emulate Mrs Biya.

And, truth be told, I'm not entirely convinced that Mrs Biya's hair is all her own Godgiven locks, so I didn't feel at all guilty about seeking a little bit of artificial help, courtesy of no fewer than 16 sections of synthetic hair extensions.

With the hair extensions in place, Karen used heated tongs to curl them and add more, yup, you guessed it, volume. A cloud of hairspray, some more backcombing and a bit of smoothing later and it was just down to make-up artist Jules to put the finishing touches to my homage to the Cameroonian First Lady.

Claire before her make-over
The eyebrows were key, and not just any eyebrows. Chantal Biya's eyebrows have such geometric precision that I'd expected to need a protractor and a set square, at the very least, to recreate them.
Remarkably, Jules managed it with just a make-up brush and lashings of black powder. Some frosted pink eyeshadow and lots of smudgy grey eyeliner later and I was almost a dead ringer for Chantal. (Well, around the eyes anyway.)

My transformation complete, I looked in the mirror. Oh. My. God. I look like the product of a one night stand between Beyoncé Knowles and Russell Brand after an industrial accident in a hair extension factory. It's not what I'd call a good look.

As I stepped out of the salon, I heard a loud whistle. 'Oi! Siouxsie Sioux called - she wants her look back,' yelled one man from across the street, clearly more au fait with the fashions and pop stars of the late Seventies than with hairstyles of African First Ladies.

I had been prepared to feel like a complete berk. But there's something about big hair that just gives you a bit of va-va-voom. Maybe that's why Chantal Biya looked so disdainfully at Sarah Brown in those photographs.
A schoolboy called William broke away from playing with his pals to stare quizzically at me. I couldn't believe he wasn't running for his life, but he seemed transfixed.

'Do you like it?' I asked him. His bemused stare spoke volumes. Most onlookers were similarly mystified.

'You look like an extra from an Eighties pop video,' one Sloane type told me.

Realising I was never going to get home on the Tube without unbearable humiliation, I hailed a taxi.
Yet I couldn't get into it without squashing my beautiful banana almost flat. That sealed it: Biya's banana might be fine if you're the First Lady of an African nation and can commission cars with extra headroom to transport you from A to B.
For mere mortals, the Biya Banana is, frankly, a beauty banana skin.

[Ma Mary]

Incredibly, this faux story draws more attention than even Roger Milla's world cup performance. What a crock.

[UnitedstatesofAfrica]

who cares about roger milla? bitch please; just because you bow down and worship him doesn't mean the rest of the world has to.

[Maxu]

Leave her alone. She is doing the best she can to cope with her destiny or blessings like any one else.

[Fashionista64]

ok... Sorry @unitedstatesofafrica

Do you know what fashion is? Because she is defintely not it!!! That is such an insult that you would even think she would be an icon. Her hair... WELL... I don't have anything to say... bleech! I can't imagine anyone who would want to sit for hours seeing her on a big screen! HAHA!

[Carlton Beegle]

ain in legs at rest or while walking; open sores, no matter how small; non healing wounds; in-growing toe nails; corns and calluses; and lack of hair growth on the foot.