Priyani Puketapu (born 27 December 1990) is a New Zealand journalist, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned

Miss Universe New Zealand Miss Universe New Zealand is the New Zealand national Beauty pageant which feeds into the international Miss Universe competition. Qualification for Miss Universe New Zealand is based on regional pageants and/or personal interviews (necessary ...

2011, representing

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

. There was subsequently controversy, with claims that some of the judges had been pressured to select a blonde. She represented New Zealand at the

Miss Universe 2011 Miss Universe 2011 was the 60th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Credicard Hall in São Paulo, Brazil on September 12, 2011. At the end of the event, Ximena Navarrete of Mexico crowned Leila Lopes of Angola as Miss Universe 2011. It is the f ...

pageant in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Puketapu had previously competed for the Miss Universe New Zealand title in 2009 where she was placed first runner-up. Puketapu did not make it into the top 16 to quality for the finals of the

competition. Puketapu, of

Te Āti Awa Te Āti Awa is a Māori iwi with traditional bases in the Taranaki and Wellington regions of New Zealand. Approximately 17,000 people registered their affiliation to Te Āti Awa in 2001, with around 10,000 in Taranaki, 2,000 in Wellington and aro ...

descent, is a Wellington-based journalism student. She finished

Horowhenua College Horowhenua College is a state co-educational secondary school located in Levin, New Zealand. The school has students from Years 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 18) as of . It was opened in 1940, replacing the secondary school department of Levin School. It ...

in 2008.

References

External links

Miss New Zealand
{{DEFAULTSORT:Puketapu, Priyani 1990 births Living people Miss New Zealand winners Miss Universe 2011 contestants Te Āti Awa people