24-Year-Old Vanessa Peh To Represent Singapore For Miss World 2018

By elaine.kiew on 18 Sep 2018

At 24, some of us might have just graduated from university or are already in the work force but Vanessa Peh treads on a different route. In fact, she's wearing a few hats.

The actress-model cum fashion entrepreneur was crowned Miss World Singapore 2018 on Friday, 14 Sept at the ceremony held at Resorts World Theatre. Bringing home $10,000 cash and over $20,000 worth of products, 24-year-old Vanessa Peh will also go on to represent Singapore on the international stage for Miss World Singapore 2018 Grand Final in Sanya, China on 8 Dec 2018.

Previously a runner-up in Miss Singapore Beauty Pageant 2016, Vanessa said being crowned the winner was an "absolute surprise and a total shock" and that it meant the world to her.

This year's pageant runs a little bit different as there isn't any swimwear segment.

With just a self-introduction followed by a gown and talent segment, six finalists were picked to proceed to the final Q&A segment where each finalist was posed with their own question.

When asked what Vanessa's biggest regret was in life, she answered confidently with her winning response:

"My biggest regret in my life is not being able to have the courage to overcome anxiety quickly, and that has resulted me to lose many valuable opportunities in my life. When I was younger, I used to suffer from really severe anxiety and even doing simple tasks like leaving the house seemed to pose a big challenge for me."

"However, now that I'm older and after going through many struggles and challenges, I've come to realise that there is beauty in struggle and challenge, and only (by) going through failure would we be able to reach our fullest potential and become the best version of ourselves."

"I still remember this morning when I was waking up and (feeling) very nervous about the Q&A (question-and-answer) segment. I couldn’t sleep very well last night. I'm so happy that I managed to pull through."

"I told myself that this was really my last chance because I'm not getting any younger. It's either I make it or break it, so this really pushed me to do my best on stage."

When asked about the causes she would like to trailblaze, she said:

"I would like to raise awareness on mental illness and support the underprivileged to acquire better housing and education, and also to support Sian Chey Medical Institution to provide quality, affordable and accessible healthcare for the general population."