Franki Russell fulfills Miss Universe New Zealand dream after '10-year journey'

MANILA, Philippines — Kiwi-Pinay beauty Franki Russell from Dunedin was recently appointed the official delegate of New Zealand for the forthcoming Miss Universe edition in Mexico City. The sashing ceremony, with new Miss Universe New Zealand National Director Josh Yugen, took place at The Alpha Suites in Makati City.

"This is a 10-year journey for me. I joined Miss Universe New Zealand in 2014 when I was 19 years old, but I wasn't able to complete the competition due to challenges in the schedule. But the crown has been my dream ever since.

"After that, an opportunity for me to join a reality show here in the Philippines arrived and I grabbed that immediately. From that moment, a lot of opportunities opened for me, especially in the Philippine showbiz industry. I was able to join a TV series and signed a movie contract with Viva Films where I did a couple of films with them," shared the 29-year-old beauty. 

Franki was among the housemates of the eighth edition of "Pinoy Big Brother: Otso" in 2019. After her stint in the reality show, she starred in shows, notably on "FPJ's Ang Probinsyano." 

"But despite the thriving career in showbiz, my heart always has a calling with beauty pageants because of its platform to help and do a lot of charity work. I want to define my career as someone beyond the roles I portray. I want to show to the people and to everyone that Franki Russell is someone capable of helping my community. That is the main goal," said the staunch advocate of Smile Train, the world's biggest cleft palate charity organization.

Franki also talked about cyberbullying in New Zealand. She aims to raise awareness about its harmful effects as part of her advocacy.

"Cyber bullying is one of the main problems that the youth in New Zealand has been facing in the last few years. This leads to depression and can spiral down to suicide. With the platform that I have made, I can talk so much about this phenomenon happening with our youth today.

"The online and cyber world is a complex environment and are prone to several damages harming the youth; hence, it is very timely to keep on speaking about this. [We can] inform and educate kids on how to deal with