Nel-Peters was born on 28 June 1995 in Sedgefield , Western Cape , to Bennie Peters and Anne-Marie Steenkamp . Her half-sister , Franje , had cerebellar agenesis , and Nel-Peters said that she was the most significant motivator in her life ; Franje later died on 4 May 2019 , which Nel-Peters confirmed on her Instagram . While pursuing a bachelor 's degree in business management and entrepreneurship from North-West University , Nel-Peters modeled part-time for Boss Models and Vision Management Cape Town . Nel-Peters graduated from university in March 2017 , a few days before winning the Miss South Africa 2017 competition . She is fluent in both English and Afrikaans
Miss South Africa 2017
Miss South Africa 2017
Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters