Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters biography: 22 things about Miss Universe 2017

Who is Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters?

Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters Tebow is a South African author, model and beauty queen born in Sedgefield, Western Cape, South Africa to Bennie Peters and Anne-Marie Nel Steenkamp. Tebow’s husband Tim Tebow is a former National Football League quarterback .

Anne-Marie is an interior designer and a landscaper. She lives in Potchefstroom, South Africa with her husband Johan Steenkamp, who is in the building industry.

Based in Sedgefield, Bennie is the owner of the Sunset Manor Guest house in Potchefstroom while his wife Elzabé Peters is a clinical psychologist. Their daughter Franje Peters, who was born in 2007, had cerebellar agenesis.

Tim met Demi-Leigh when she and Franje attended a charity event in South Africa called Night to Shine, a Tim Tebow Foundation initiative that hosts special prom nights for children with special needs. Franje died on May 4, 2019.

When Demi-Leigh was in Grade 11, she was elected as the Deputy Junior Mayor of the George City Council. She attended Outeniqua High School in George, Western Cape and was the first girl in her high school to be chosen as head girl of both her school and her hostel.

As a model, Demi-Leigh worked part-time for Vision Management in Cape Town and Boss Models in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa while studying at North-West University in Potchefstroom. In March 2017, she graduated from the university with a bachelor’s degree in business management and entrepreneurship.

Demi-Leigh is 5’7″ tall and she speaks English and Afrikaans. Here are 22 more things about her:

1. She represented George at Miss Teen South Africa 2010 and finished in the Top 5.
2. She is Miss Diaz 2012.
3. After winning Miss Varsity Cup of the Potchefstroom campus of North-West University, she became the Miss Varsity Cup 2015 national winner at Shimla-Park in Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa.
4. In 2016, she learned self-defense, which she used months later to escape from armed men who carjacked her while driving in South Africa.
5. In 2017, she launched a global initiative called Unbreakable, which provides training to women to arm them with the mental and physical ability to fight off attackers.
6. On March 26, 2017, she competed against 25 other Miss South Africa 2017 finalists at the Sun City Superbowl in Rustenburg, South Africa and won the title.
7. On November 26, 2017, she represented South Africa at Miss Universe 2017 and competed against 91 other candidates at The AXIS at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. She won the title.
8. On May 27, 2018, she crowned her successor Miss South Africa 2018 Tamaryn Green at the Sun Arena at Time Square in Pretoria, South Africa.
9. On October 16, 2018, she attended the 12th Annual Golden Heart Awards at Spring Studios in New York City, New York, USA.
10. On December 17, 2018, she crowned her successor Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray at the Impact Arena in Nontaburi, Thailand.
11. On January 5, 2019, she and Tim attended the Party at the Playoff at The GlassHouse in San Jose, California, USA.
12. On January 9, 2019, Tim proposed to her at his family farm in Jacksonville, Florida, USA and she said yes.
13. On January 11, 2019, she and Tim celebrated their engagement at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
14. She and Tim attended Shaq’s Fun House at Live! at the Battery in Atlanta, Georgia on February 1, 2019 and DIRECTV Super Saturday Night 2019 at Atlantic Station in Atlanta on February 2, 2019.
15. On February 11, 2019, she and Tim attended the premiere of “Run The Race” at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, California. 
16. On November 2, 2019, she and Tim watched the game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Florida Gators at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida.
17. On November 12, 2019, she attended the Africa Outreach Project Fundraiser hosted by Charlize Theron at The Africa Center in New York City.
18. On January 20, 2020, she and Tim got married at the La Paris Estate in Cape Town, South Africa. 
19. On April 24, 2021, she and Tim went to the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida to watch “UFC 261”.
20. On April 30, 2022, she, Pia Wurtzbach and Iris Mittenaere hosted Miss Universe Philippines 2022 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines.
21. On June 28, 2024, she turned 29.
22. On August 13, 2024, W Pubublishing Group released her debut book “Crown That Lasts: You Are Not Your Label”.