SA among the world’s beauty elite
PRIDE: REPUBLIC NOW IN TOP 10 WITH MOST MISS UNIVERSE WINNERS Her campaign against gender-based violence will now have global platform.
Not only was Zozibini Tunzi crowned Miss Universe on Sunday, her win makes South Africa one of the most successful countries at the Miss Universe pageant.
South Africa now has a total of three Miss Universe winners, tying with Sweden. The only countries more successful than SA in the international pageant are the Philippines with four titleholders, Puerto Rico with five titleholders, Venezuela with seven winners and the United States of America with eight winners.
South Africa has also has an extremely strong run at the pageant over the last three years starting with Demi-Leigh Nel Peters who was crowned in 2017. She became the first South African Miss Universe since 1978 when Margaret Gardiner won the international pageant. Last year Tamaryn Green was named the first runner up. And this year Tunzi has won the sash and crown.
Aside from becoming a national hero overnight, the new Miss Universe’s prize makes her a multi-millionaire. For her reign Tunzi will receive a salary from Miss Universe of about $100 000 (R1.475 million).
This is in addition to the R1 million she won when she was crowned Miss South Africa 2019. Her latest prize also includes an apartment in New York city and a slew of contacts in the fashion world.
In a tearful interview after the pageant, Zozi said she was overwhelmed by the support from everybody back home. “I’m bringing back the crown for you all, for South Africa,” she said, adding that she was happiest that her #heforshe campaign – to get perpetrators of gender-based violence to be accountable – will now have a global platform.
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