On Sunday night, Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta played host to the 68th annual Miss Universe contest, where candidates from 90 countries competed for the crown. The night’s reigning queen was Miss South Africa, Zozibini Tunzi, who earned the Miss Universe 2019 title ahead of first runner-up, Miss Puerto Rico Madison Anderson, and the second runner-up, Miss Mexico Sofia Aragón.
For the fifth year in a row, Steve Harvey – who in 2014 famously made the mistake of naming Miss Colombia the winner, before having her hand the crown to the actual winner, Miss Philippines – hosted the show. This time, he handed the crown to Zozibini, the first black Miss Universe in eight years, whose gorgeous natural hair and dark skin helped make her an instant icon breaking traditional beauty molds of the past. “I grew up in a world where a woman who looks like me, with my kind of skin and my kind of hair, was never considered to be beautiful,” she said. “I think that it is time that that stops today.”
But what is behind the glamour of the world’s newest queen? Scroll through to check out the natural beauty behind the crown...
© GettyImagesYaaaaassss, Queen!
In a statement posted on social media, she expressed her thoughts on her groundbreaking win: “Tonight a door was opened and I could not be more grateful to have been the one to have walked through it. May every little girl who witnessed this moment forever believe in the power of her dreams and may they see their faces reflected in mine.” Last year, South Africa was *this close* to winning the crown. The country’s representative, Tamaryn Green, was first runner-up, while Miss Philippines, Catriona Gray, was crowned the winner. Tunzi’s triumph is the third time South Africa has reigned in the beauty competition. The first was Margaret Gardiner in 1978, and in 2017 the winner was Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters.
© GettyImagesA global role model
Zozibini’s striking beauty was accompanied by her charm, intelligence and inspirational spirit as she captivated the judges. Asked about the role of women in the world, she said, “I think one of the most important things we should be teaching young girls today is leadership... I think we are the most powerful beings in the world, and that we should be given every opportunity. And that is what we should be teaching these young girls – to take up space. Nothing as important as taking up space in society.”
© @zozitunziNatural woman
On social media, Zozibini has shared some behind-the-scenes photos where she’s seen with absolutely no makeup. And guess what? She’s STUNNING. In fact, the most surprising thing about this photo (which is giving us serious glowy skin and on-fleek brow envy) is that when she snapped this selfie, she was getting over the flu. If that’s not beauty inspo, we don’t know what is!
© @zozitunziYou glow, girl
Zozibini is passionate about keeping up a healthy lifestyle, and she works out daily to stay fit. When she shared this no makeup workout pic with her followers, she revealed that she goes straight from bed to the gym when she wakes up in the morning.
© @zozitunziA look we love
The South African beauty who is originally from Tsolo, rocks a natural look we love. When she’s not on duty as a reigning beauty queen, she keeps her makeup natural and simple, like this pink lip with soft rose gold eye shadow.
© @zozitunziModern day beauty
Zozibini is passionate about giving back, and has used her high profile to shine a light on a number of causes, including human rights and putting an end to domestic violence. What can we say? Natural beauty, smarts and all about empowerment – everything we need in a modern day Miss Universe.
