Audra Diane Mari (born January 8, 1994) is an American model, television host, and beauty pageant titleholder. She was crowned

Miss World America 2016 Miss World America 2016 was the 8th edition of the Miss World America pageant held on July 8, 2016 at the National Harbor, Washington, D.C. Victoria Mendoza of Arizona crowned her successor Audra Mari of North Dakota at the end of the event. she ...

on July 8, 2016, and represented the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Miss World 2016 Miss World 2016, the 66th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on December 18, 2016 at the MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill, Maryland, United States. 117 contestants from all over the world competed for the crown. Mireia Lalaguna of Spai ...

. She also represented the state of North Dakota at the

Miss Teen USA Miss Teen USA is a beauty pageant formerly run, since 1983, by the Miss Universe Organization for girls aged 14–19. Unlike its sister pageants Miss Universe, which currently broadcasts on Fox and Miss USA, this pageant is webcast on the M ...

and

Miss USA Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020, ...

pageants where she placed 1st runner-up in each pageant.

Early life

Mari was born on January 8, 1994, in Fargo, North Dakota. Her grandfather is from the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Mari attended Davies High School in Fargo. In an interview with '' Seventeen'', she discussed being bullied her sophomore year of high school. She attended

North Dakota State University North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...

, where she studied public relations and communications.

Career

Pageantry

Mari represented the state of

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, So ...

on July 16, 2011, at

Atlantis Paradise Island Atlantis Paradise Island is an ocean-themed resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. It is built around Aquaventure, a waterscape. Property history The property was originally part of the Paradise Island Hotel and Casino, which opene ...

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

where she placed 1st runner-up. Three years later she won the Miss North Dakota USA 2014 title. In the

Miss USA 2014 Miss USA 2014 was the 63rd Miss USA pageant, held at the Raising Cane's River Center Arena in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on June 8, 2014. All fifty states and the District of Columbia competed. The preliminary competition was not webcast live for ...

pageant held in Baton Rouge,

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

she again placed 1st runner-up. This was the highest placement for a contestant from North Dakota. On July 8, 2016, Mari was crowned

National Harbor National Harbor is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, located along the Potomac River near the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and just south of Washington, D.C. It originated as a multi-use waterfront deve ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

She represented the

at the

pageant on December 18, 2016, where she placed 6th. Because Mari was the highest placing Miss World contestant from the Americas, she was awarded the title of Miss World Americas 2016.

Modelling and television

At age 20, Mari moved to Miami to pursue a modeling career. Her credits include gracing the cover of Ocean Drive Swimsuit issue and appearing in numerous H&M ads. Mari segued into hosting a television show on the Welcome Channel and in 2021, a local travel show for InForum online media.

Personal life

Mari began dating actor

Josh Duhamel Joshua David Duhamel (; born November 14, 1972) is an American actor and former fashion model. After various modeling work, he made his acting debut as Leo du Pres on the ABC daytime soap opera '' All My Children'' and later starred as Danny M ...

in late 2018. They announced their engagement on January 8, 2022, and married on September 10, 2022.

References

External links

Official Miss North Dakota websiteMiss World America Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mari, Audra 1994 births American beauty pageant winners American female models American models of Filipino descent Female models from North Dakota Living people 2011 beauty pageant contestants 21st-century Miss Teen USA delegates Miss USA 2014 delegates Miss World 2016 delegates North Dakota State University alumni People from Fargo, North Dakota