- Lorraine Downes
Pageant titleholder bio
photo=
caption=
title=Miss New Zealand 1983Miss Universe 1983
|location=Auckland ,New Zealand
birthname= Lorraine Elizabeth Downes
birth = birth date and age|1964|6|12
height=
eye color= Brown
hair color= Blonde
ethnicity= White/CaucasianLorraine Elizabeth Downes (born
June 12 1964 inAuckland ,New Zealand ), is a former beauty queen and model who held theMiss Universe title in 1983 and won the reality tv show Dancing with the Stars in 2006.Downes won the Miss New Zealand title in 1983 and went on to represent her country at the
Miss Universe 1983 pageant broadcast live fromSt. Louis, Missouri in July 1983. After the preliminary competition, Downes made the top twelve cut in sixth place, but placed second in the final evening gown competition, third in the interview competition, and fourth in swimsuit. She made the final five in third place behindJulie Hayek of the USA and Lolita Morena ofSwitzerland , and was eventually crownedMiss Universe . She wore a midnight blue gown and long gloves during the competition.Downes win was New Zealand's first in the pageant's history, although Diana Delyse Nottle had placed second runner-up to
Shawn Weatherly in 1980 and Donella Thomsen was a semi-finalist in 1981. No other delegate from New Zealand would make the cut until 1992.In 1985 Lorraine Downes married
Murray Mexted , a New Zealand rugby All Black, with whom she had two children, before divorcing in 1997. She also has a successful business in New Zealand. She is currently in a relationship with former New Zealand international cricketerMartin Crowe .cite news|url=http://203.99.65.121/section/1501119/story.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10416889|title=Catching up with: Lorraine Downes, dancing queen|publisher=New Zealand Herald|first=Martha|last=McKenzie-Minifie|date=2006-12-27|accessdate=2007-01-16]After years of relative anonymity, Downes competed in and won the New Zealand version of "
Dancing with the Stars " in 2006 with dance partner Aaron Gilmore.cite news|url=http://203.99.65.121/section/1501119/story.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10416889|title=Catching up with: Lorraine Downes, dancing queen|publisher=New Zealand Herald|first=Martha|last=McKenzie-Minifie|date=2006-12-27|accessdate=2007-01-16]References
External links
* [http://missuniversenz.co.nz/ Miss New Zealand official website]
* [http://www.missuniverse.com/index2.html Miss Universe official website]Miss Universe Organization titleholders
Year=1983
Miss Universe=Lorraine Downes
Miss USA=Julie Hayek
Miss Teen USA=Ruth Zakarian
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