Miss Universe 2017 Demi Leigh Nel-Peters from South Africa will be gracing the red carpet event at the 2018 Golden Globe Awards on January 7, Channel24 reported. It is one of the most anticipated awards show in the entertainment industry.

The 22-year-old titleholder will join Miss Universe 1978 Margaret Gardiner who also hails from South Africa. They will be walking on the red carpet in Los Angeles along with other celebrities during the awards.

Gardiner confirmed the appearance and posted on Facebook, “Just confirmed. It seems like Miss Universe Demi Leigh Nel-Peters will be my personal guest at the Golden Globes.” She added that it is slated to be her “first public appearance” in the United States.

Empowering women

Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters is committed to empowering women around the world during her reign as Miss Universe, New York Post reported. She shares that this is one of her platforms and believes that this is “a global issue.”

The beauty queen herself had been a victim of a kidnapping incident that challenged her self-defense skills. In June 2017, a few months before she was crowned in her country, she was held at gunpoint inside a car in broad daylight.

There were five men who planned on kidnapping her but she quickly responded by recalling one of the lessons she learned from her self-defense classes. She punched one of the men in his throat, disarming him and allowing her to run away.

“It was so traumatizing,” Nel-Peters would always say during media interviews. Because of this, she launched her own series of classes aimed at encouraging women to stand up and fight when oppressed.

South African pride

South Africa has consistently placed in Miss Universe semi-finals over the recent years, but the country has only produced two titleholders throughout history.

Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters was crowned in Las Vegas, Nevada in November 2017.

She competed with more than 90 women from various parts of the world in rounds of swimsuit, evening gown, and question-and-answer portion. She was crowned by Miss Universe 2016 Iris Mittenaere from France. Colombia's Laura Gonzalez was declared first runner-up, while Jamaica's Davina Bennett placed second runner-up.

Thailand's Maria Poonlertlarp and Venezuela's Keysi Sayago were also among the Top 5 finalists.

On the other hand, the 58-year-old beauty queen Margaret Gardiner also shares the spotlight as the first South African woman crowned Miss Universe. She was only 18 years old when she won the 1978 edition of the pageant held in Acapulco, a city in Mexico. The 2018 Golden Globe Awards will be televised on NBC.
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