Fil-Kiwi actress Franki Russell is new Miss Universe New Zealand
Fil-Kiwi model-turned-actress Franki Russell is set to sashay on this year's Miss Universe stage as the representative of New Zealand.
The 29-year-old beauty was announced as the country's new Miss Universe queen by Dubai-based magazine XPEDITION on March 21.
"This is her official launch as the new Miss Universe New Zealand. After a four-year hiatus, Franki Russell will carry the torch of New Zealand to represent her culture at the 72nd Miss Universe in Mexico City," the publication wrote on Instagram.
According to the portal, Franki's advocacy is cyberbullying which is a "prevalent concern among youth in New Zealand and worldwide." She then aspires "to utilize the Miss Universe New Zealand platform to engage broader audiences and raise awareness about her passionate causes."
Franki was endowed with the Miss Universe New Zealand title after she caught the attention of XPEDITION's editor-in-chief Josh Yugen.
Apart from heading the publication, Yugen is a Filipino entrepreneur who has been recently named the national director and owner of Miss Universe New Zealand. The beauty pageant is the latest addition to his Miss Universe franchises in Bahrain, Egypt, and Pakistan.
Franki, meanwhile, competed in Miss Universe UAE in 2021 where the half-Filipino beauty landed in the pageant's Top 30.
In an interview with The Philippine STAR in February 2023, Franki revealed that she moved to the Philippines in 2019, initially just to model in commercials. At that time, she only planned to stay in the country for just three months.
Things took a different turn when she was encouraged by her manager to audition for ABS-CBN's famed reality series Pinoy Big Brother.
“All of a sudden, my manager was like, someone pulled out of PBB, do you want to go auditions? I’m like, okay, so I just went literally the next day," Franki said.
"I was walking into live TV sa Bahay ni Kuya. It was really just luck. Then, after that, I just fell into everything else.”
From there, Franki became a talent of Viva Artists Agency and became known for her roles in Ang Probinsyano (2019), Pabuya (2022), and Martyr or Murderer (2023).
She is set to receive her crown as New Zealand's new beauty queen at the Miss Universe headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand.