Miss Universe 2019: Everything you need to know about the winner Miss South Africa Zozibini Tunzi
The wait is over, Miss South Africa Zozibini Tunzi is the new Miss Universe 2019.
Miss Universe 2019 aired live on Sunday night from Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia where 90 women competed in the beauty pageant vying for the title, but only one made it all the way through and was crowned as the final Miss Universe of the decade.
The night started off after a long week of preliminary rounds, and the Top 20 contestants made it all the way through to the semifinals. They were then filtered down to the Top 10, after which they were later brought down to the final five.
Making it through the top five into the final three and Inheriting the crown from last year's winner, Catriona Gray, Zozibini has come a long way.
So who is the new Miss Universe 2019? According to Miss Universe's official website, Zozibini is an activist who is passionate and engaged in the fight between gender-based violence.
Zozibini has also devoted her social media campaign in order to help change the narrative that revolves around gender stereotypes. She is also an advocate for natural beauty and encourages women to love themselves just the way they are.
During the final word when the final three contestants were each asked a question, "What is the most important thing we should be teaching young girls today?", Zozibini's answer that won her the crown was, "The most important thing we should be teaching young girls today is leadership."
"It's something that has been lacking in young girls and women for a very long time, not because we don't want to but because of what society has labeled women to be," she shared.
"I think we are the most powerful beings in the world and that we should be given every opportunity and that's what we should be teaching these young girls to take up space. There is nothing more important than to take up space in the society," she added.
Prior to announcing the winners, the final three contestants were called to the center stage to give one last speech, and this is what she said: "I grew up in a world where a woman who looks like me, with my kind of skin and my kind of hair is never considered to be beautiful and I think that it is time that stops today."
"I want children to look at me and see my face and I want them to see their faces reflected in mine," she added.
Zozibini is also the first black woman to win the crown for South Africa since Leila Lopes who was crowned Miss Universe in 2011. Overall, Zozibini is the third woman to win the title for South Africa.
She grew up in Tsolo, Eastern Cape and later moved to the Gardens suburb where she attended college at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in public relations and image management in 2018.
