Miss South Africa Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters crowned Miss Universe 2017
The woman that reigned in this year’s Miss Universe pageant came from South Africa. Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters is only the second to bring home the Miss Universe crown to South Africa after Margaret Gardiner in 1978.
The 22-year-old native of the Western Cape province in South Africa was crowned Sunday at the AXIS Theater at Planet Hollywood casino-resort in Las Vegas. She was followed by Miss Colombia Laura Gonzales as the first runner-up and Miss Jamaica Davina Bennett as the second runner-up.
Relive our new #MissUniverse's answer to the Final Word. pic.twitter.com/czO8vgSiuU
— Miss Universe (@MissUniverse) November 27, 2017
During the final Q&A portion, the top three finalists were asked about their quality that they are most proud of, to which Nel-Peters answered being confident and being able to overcome many fears, “a woman that nothing is ever too much to ask for.”
"As Miss Universe, you have to be confident in who you are as an individual. A Miss Universe is a woman that has overcome many fears and by that, she is able to help other women overcome their fears… And I think that is exactly who I am." – #MissUniverse 2017 @DemiLeighNP pic.twitter.com/EFHrtAiYta
— Miss Universe (@MissUniverse) November 27, 2017
Before that, Nel-Peters had already impressed the judges and audience with her answer during the Top 5 Q&A. When asked about the most important issue facing women in the workplace today, Nel-Peters talked without hesitation about the issue of gender pay gap.
Meanwhile, while many Filipinos were looking forward to how Miss Philippines would fare during the question and answer portion, Rachel Peters’ journey had ended in the top 10.
As the Miss Universe 2017, Nel-Peters will advocate HIV/AIDS awareness and women’s self-defense.
Sources: USA Today, TIME, ABS-CBN News
