Miss South Africa Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters is the 2017 Miss Universe. She is only the second woman from her country to bring home the crown since the pageant's inception in 1956.
Nel-Peters, a 22-year-old model and self-defense trainer, was declared the ultimate winner on Sunday night in Las Vegas, besting 89 other beautiful candidates from around the world. Among these are first runner-up Miss Colombia Laura González and second runner-up Miss Jamaica Davina Bennett.
Despite coming face-to-face with another Miss Colombia, there was no switch-up this time, as host Steve Harvey correctly announced that Nel-Peters is succeeding the reign of Iris Mittenaere, the first Miss Universe hailing from France. Two years ago, Harvey wrongly announced Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutiérrez as the winner, when it was actually Miss Philippines Pia Wurtzbach. Nel-Peters won the night with her strong stance for women's rights and self-defense. For the top 3 question and answer portion, the three girls were asked what quality they are most proud of, and how they plan to apply it if they win Miss Universe. To this, Miss South Africa answered, "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."
Her confidence and strong advocacy for women root from personal experience, when she narrowly escaped a hijacking at gunpoint just a month after she won the title as Miss South Africa. This incident encouraged her to start a self-defense campaign called "Unbreakable."
The new Miss Universe says her greatest inspiration is her disabled half-sister Franje, who was born without a cerebellum. "Her situation makes me realize how special life is and I always want to work twice as hard, enjoy life twice as much so that I can enjoy it for her as well," she said.
