Rangitāne o Wairau beauty queen Lucrezia Bradley has arrived in Albania to represent New Zealand at Miss Globe, with a mission to show rangatahi that “circumstances you’re born into don’t define your future”.
Bradley won the title Miss Globe New Zealand 2025 earlier this year and is one of 54 contestants from around the world competing for the international crown.
Throughout the competition, she hopes to “stand not just as a pageant queen, but as a role model”.
Humble beginnings
Bradley says after being born, she was brought home from hospital to live in a caravan in Motueka, Marlborough, because “that was the only thing my parents could afford at the time”.
“It was a bit of a turning moment for my mum because she woke up one morning and there were mouse prints in the oven tray, and it was one of those things where she thought, I need to get my baby girl out of here.”
Bradley says her parents then moved into a flat.
“We lived in a really low decile area. We had the soup van coming around. We’d go outside with our pots. We’d go to one of the local community centres and get our bread from there,” she says.
“I’ve gone into state homes and I know exactly what the carpet looks like, exactly what the curtains look like. I’ve actually been there and experienced that type of vibe… and I think for me to be able to stand here and say that I’ve seen that side of things and I’ve been able to overcome it, I think it’s really empowering.”
Early childhood care study
Due to financial barriers, the university wasn’t always part of Bradley’s life plan until she moved to Tāmaki Makaurau to work as a nanny for a whānau whose mother was battling cancer. Having grown up caring for her younger brothers, looking after children came naturally to her.
After realising she could receive a student allowance benefit while also working as a nanny, she decided to pursue a Bachelor of Teaching degree majoring in early childhood education at AUT University.
“I may have come from a family that doesn’t have as much, but I’m someone that loves to do whatever I can to make ends meet. And I know that by learning those things through my mother and knowing that she could always provide something, I could really incorporate that into my life.”
Pageant experience
Bradley says her journey into pageantry began as a personal challenge. After spending years in modelling, she wanted to push herself even further.
“I built myself up to the point where I thought I love to model, but I feel like there’s a little bit of personality to me… and I just put my best foot forward, and I guess now here I am.”
Bradley has since won the national titles Miss National New Zealand 2024 and Miss Globe New Zealand 2025 while competing as a finalist in Miss Universe New Zealand 2025.
She says pageants haven’t been easy, and she often doubted herself and her capabilities to succeed as a contestant. Through resilience, she’s overcome challenges and hopes to inspire other young people to do the same.
“I think it’s really that thing of turning against all those negative thoughts you say about yourself and putting them into a positive aspect and showing them that, yeah, I can be so scared and I can be trembling, but I’m going to go and do it and I’m going to show you guys that you guys are capable of doing that as well.”
The Miss Globe pageant, held in Tirana, Albania, aims to celebrate beauty, intelligence, talent, and cultural diversity among women from around the world.
Contestants will be judged in interview, evening gown, swimwear, national costume and more.
“The whole idea for me is to really go in there and just be my unconditional self, and that goes with every part of me; all my Māori culture, all my heritage, all my ancestors, and knowing that I have a place here and I’m really showing everyone back home that they are so capable of whatever they do.”
Kaitiakitanga
Bradley hopes to promote and share Māori culture at the competition, especially by performing poi and teaching other contestants about tikanga, kaitiakitanga and te reo Māori.
She says her upbringing was strongly influenced by the traditions of her father and grandfather, who worked in the arts and worked on conservation projects to improve te taiao, the environment.
“My granddad owned a Māori art gallery called the Shark Nett Gallery. He realised our Rangitāne kaituna stories had been lost… So he worked with conservation projects to gather materials like matai (black pine) from the estuary and revive our stories through carving,” says Bradley.
Her grandfather also started an initiative in prisons to help inmates learn to carve and reconnect to their own whakapapa through storytelling. Bradley’s father also worked on a project to help restore fish populations in the Marlborough Sounds.
“My family’s mahi in environmental kaitiakitanga and indigenous art not only grounded my identity, but also taught me the importance of sustainability, storytelling, and serving future generations,” says Bradley.
The Miss Globe final will be held on October 15, marking a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Bradley, and she’s determined it won’t be her last.
“That isn’t where I’m stopping. I’m just keep on, keep on going for as long as I need, wherever that may go.”