Miss SA is living ‘a lifelong dream’
ALTHOUGH a whirlwind of adventure and experiences awaits newly crowned Miss South Africa, Demi-Leigh NelPeters, she insists she will not allow her reign to change her character.
“I want to be remembered as a humble Miss South Africa who stayed authentic; I want to be the same person after 365 days that I am now,” the beauty queen said. The 21-year-old from Sedgefield in the Western Cape was crowned the 59th Miss South Africa in Sun City at the weekend.
Adè van Heerden, also from the Western Cape, was crowned first princess of the competition, which seeks to find a young woman with beauty, brains and upstanding character to represent the country.
Boipelo Mabe, from Alexandra, Joburg, was second princess.
Apart from a crown designed by Jack Friedman, Nel-Peters, a BCom business management and entrepreneurial studies student, also walked away with R1 million in cash from sponsors Sun International and Cell C, as well as a bouquet of prizes valued at more than R2m.
“This has honestly been a lifelong dream of mine – it’s not just a bucket list item that I wanted to tick off,” Nel-Peters said.
The part-time model believes her consistency and work ethic earned her the title. “I’ve been myself from the start and I’ve obviously grown a lot along the way.”
The tall beauty adds that the values her mother taught her helped her through her Miss South Africa journey.
“My mom implemented these values since I was a child. I don’t believe in handouts, I believe in working hard for what you want.”