Miss Universe 2017 Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters: ‘Women Can Have Beauty And Brains’
The Oasis Reporters
December 1, 2017
Defends Beauty Pageants
A South African woman who helps train women in self-defense was crowned Miss Universe on Sunday at the pageant held in Las Vegas, with Miss Colombia, Laura González, 22, was the first runner-up and Miss Jamaica, Davina Bennett, 21, also making it to the final three.
Now that she has the universe’s crown atop her head, what’s next?
2017’s Miss Universe, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters stopped by E!’s Daily Pop to chat about the whirlwind past five days after she was crowned Sunday night in Las Vegas.
Nel-Peters gushed about how she’s been on “cloud-nine” since getting crowned, but that it hasn’t fully hit her yet since she’s still “running on adrenaline and very little sleep.”
Right after winning, she was flown out to New York City because the major prize for her crown was a year’s rent paid in the city. She giggled, “I’ve never been here and I moved with just four suitcases.”Looks like it’s time for Miss Universe to hit 5th Avenue!
This was only her third-ever pageant, but she spoke highly of them as proof that women no longer need to choose between beauty and brains. When asked if beauty pageants still have a place in pop culture’s current climate, Nel-Peters said, “You can be beautiful and you can be smart and you can make a meaningful difference in your community, in your country, in your world.”
She also applauded the pageant for taking such good care of her, but admits she has no idea what the future holds. What she does know is that even in the Big Apple, she’ll have to keep her two loves close:
Firstly, her Yorkshire Terrier Benji, but the other one she likes to “keep a bit more private.”
Looks like for the time being, Miss Universe won’t be on the NYC dating scene.
Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, 22, who unleashed a big smile when she won, hails from Western Cape Province and recently earned a business management degree from North-West University.
Her passion for self-defense was reinforced when she was hijacked and held at gunpoint about a month after winning her title as Miss South Africa, she said in a video on the Miss Universe website.
Best of luck in the big city Miss Universe!
Miss Colombia, Laura González, 22, says she has been preparing to be an actress since the age of 16. After graduating from a performing arts school, she moved to Bogotá to build her career.
The second runner-up was Miss Jamaica, Davina Bennett, 21. She is a model pursuing a degree in marketing at the University of the West Indies.
Source: Pocket News
Eagle headline
E! online
