Ashleigh’s tour of beauty

After a whirlwind three-day regimen of fitness performance, swimsuit modelling, etiquette dining, talent exhibition, socialising, and NRL spectating a winner was crowned in the city of Newcastle.

Twenty-three-year-old half-Jamaican half-Scottish Ashleigh Francis is this year’s Miss World Australia.

She’ll leave her Rushcutters Bay before sunrise on Friday morning to journey to Sanya, China, in the hope of becoming Australia’s first ‘Miss World’ in 38 years.

In fact, early mornings have been the model’s forte since preparing for competition: waking up at 6am for a big breakfast (cereal, fruit and an omelette), a gym workout (cardio and weights) and a 40-minute walk to her HR job (…she’s taken a year off from studying fashion to concentrate on the competition).

The rest of her days are often consumed by fittings (courtesy of Potts Point designer Leonardo Salinas) and stylist visits (featuring tips on ‘what not to eat in China’).

“I’m a fulltime Miss World Australia and I’m fulltime in HR.”

She eats every two hours to maintain energy.

“I’ve grown up with a performing arts background, and we’ve constantly had to be healthy and be fit, so just being here and going into the competition is just reiterating those healthy practices.”

A genuine personality and photogenic smile are the aces up her sleeves, plus she’s raised over $2000 to help children in need.

“If you look at all of the previous Miss World winners they’ve all had compassion and understanding for the underprivileged, so I suppose they’re really looking for the beauty within, and to really know that there’s someone there and they’re being themselves.”

“What makes Miss World different to other ‘Beauty Pageants’ is the Charity involved … I have recently been volunteering for Variety, the children’s charity.”

by Lawrence Bull