Lorraine Downes

{{Infobox pageant titleholder

| name = Lorraine Downes

| photo = Lorraine Downes in Oval Office (cropped).jpg

| caption = Downes in the Oval Office,1984

| title = Miss New Zealand 1983
Miss Universe 1983

| nationalcompetition=Miss New Zealand 1983
(Winner)
Miss Universe 1983
(Winner)|

| birth_place = Auckland, New Zealand

| birth_name = Lorraine Elizabeth Downes

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1964|6|12|df=y}}

| spouse = {{plainlist|

{{marriage|Murray Mexted
|1986|2001|end=div}}
{{marriage|Martin Crowe
|2009|2016|end=d.}}

}}

| children = 2

| height = {{height|m=1.74}}

| eye_color = Blue green

| hair_color = Blonde

}}

Lorraine Elizabeth Downes (born 12 June 1964) is a New Zealand dancer and beauty queen who won the Miss Universe title in 1983 and the New Zealand version of the reality TV show Dancing with the Stars in 2006.{{Cite web |last=Croot |first=James |date=2023-07-10 |title=Forty years after winning Miss Universe, Lorraine Downes looks back in new documentary |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/stuff-to-watch/300924439/forty-years-after-winning-miss-universe-lorraine-downes-looks-back-in-new-documentary |access-date=2023-07-28 |website=Stuff |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2023-07-28 |title=Downes crowned winner of Dancing with the Stars [audio report] |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/downes-crowned-winner-of-idancing-with-the-starsi-audio-report/7A5UR5FCVCY2BGS7PTPLJKQ3TA/ |access-date=2023-07-28 |website=The New Zealand Herald |language=en-NZ}}

Early life

Downes was born in Auckland to Lloyd and Glad Downes.{{Cite web |date=2023-07-28 |title=Cancer survivor a model of inspiration |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/breast-cancer-survivor-a-model-of-inspiration/AFSSMXZWOVGDIEPB5XLET5NZRQ/ |access-date=2023-07-28 |website=The New Zealand Herald |language=en-NZ}} She is one of four daughters, Her sisters are Sue, Jenny and Carolyn.{{Cite web |title=Lorraine Downes and her mum: ‘We’ve never been so close’ |url=https://www.nowtolove.co.nz/celebrity/celeb-news/lorraine-downes-and-her-mum-weve-never-been-so-close-2685 |access-date=2023-07-28 |website=Now To Love |language=en}}

Miss Universe

Downes won the Miss New Zealand title and went on to represent her country at the 1983 Miss Universe pageant broadcast live from St. Louis, Missouri in July 1983.{{Cite web |title=Lorraine Downes crowned Miss Universe |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/lorraine-downes-crowned-miss-universe |access-date=2023-07-28 |website=nzhistory.govt.nz |language=en}} 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 behind Julie Hayek of the USA and Lolita Morena of Switzerland, and was eventually crowned Miss 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 made the cut until 1992.

=Life after Miss Universe=

In 1986, Lorraine Downes married Murray Mexted, a New Zealand rugby All Black, with whom she had two children, before divorcing in 2001. She also has a successful business in New Zealand. In 2009, Downes married former New Zealand international cricket captain Martin Crowe. She and Crowe remained together until his death from lymphoma in 2016.{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10416889|title=Catching up with: Lorraine Downes, dancing queen|publisher=New Zealand Herald |first=Martha|last=McKenzie-Minifie|date=27 December 2006 |accessdate=16 January 2007}}{{cite web |url= http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/entertainment/759299/Wedding-bells-for-Crowe-and-Downes |title=Wedding bells for Crowe and Downes|year=2011 |quote=Wedding bells will be ringing very soon for Martin Crowe and former Miss Universe Lorraine Downes. |accessdate=2 October 2011}}

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.

References

External links

[http://lorrainedownes.com/ Personal website]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20070202022255/http://www.missuniversenz.co.nz/ Miss New Zealand official website]
[http://www.missuniverse.com/ Miss Universe official website]

{{s-bef|before={{flagicon|CAN}} Karen Baldwin}}

{{s-aft|after={{flagicon|SWE}} Yvonne Ryding}}

{{s-ttl|title=Dancing with the Stars winner | years=2006 (Season 2)|with=Aaron Gilmore}}

{{Big Four Pageants titleholders

|Year = 1983

|Miss World={{flagicon|United Kingdom}} Sarah-Jane Hutt

|Miss Universe={{flagicon|New Zealand}} Lorraine Downes

|Miss International={{flagicon|Costa Rica}} Gidget Sandoval

}}

{{Miss Universe Organization titleholders

|Year = 1983

|Miss Universe= {{flagicon|New Zealand}} Lorraine Downes