Maria Rahajeng
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Maria Asteria Sastrayu Rahajeng, often called Maria Rahajeng (born 4 October 1991) is an Indonesian beauty pageant titleholder who was the representative from West Sulawesi and crowned Miss Indonesia 2014 on 17 February 2014, by her predecessor, Vania Larissa. As the winner of Miss Indonesia 2014, she represented Indonesia at
Miss World 2014 Miss World 2014 was the 64th edition of the Miss World pageant, held at the ExCeL London in London, United Kingdom, on 14 December 2014. Megan Young of the Philippines crowned Rolene Strauss of South Africa as her successor at the end of t ...
in December 2014 in London.


Early life

Maria was born in
Blora Blora () is a regency in the northeastern part of Central Java province in Indonesia. Its capital is the town of Blora. The regency is located in the easternmost part of Central Java and borders the Bengawan Solo River and the East Java pr ...
,
Central Java Central Java (, ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogya ...
, to Christophorus Harno and Maria Ekawati. She has a twin sister named Elizabeth Crysansia Sastrayu Rahajeng and a younger sister named Agnes Rahajeng. She was raised in
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. Maria began her education at Redlands Kindergarten in California. She attended Smiley Elementary School and Newmarket Junior High School in California. She continued her education at SMP St. Yoseph in Denpasar, Bali; then SMA Negeri 1 in Denpasar Bali. She attended
Pelita Harapan University Pelita Harapan University () abbreviated as UPH, is a private Reformed Evangelical coeducational higher education institution run by the Pelita Harapan Education Foundation () in Lippo Village, Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia. It was founde ...
,
Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
, majoring in Broadcasting Communication and graduated cum laude with a 3.7 GPA. During college, she was crowned Miss Pelita Harapan University 2009. In 2013 she participated at APEC ''Voice of the Future'' in
Denpasar Denpasar (; Balinese script, Balinese: ᬤᬾᬦ᭄ᬧᬲᬃ, ''Dénpasar'') is the capital city of the province of Bali, Indonesia. Denpasar is the largest city in the Lesser Sunda Islands and the second largest city in Eastern Indonesia after ...
,
Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...
.


Pageantry


Miss Indonesia 2014

Maria participated in Miss Indonesia 2014 representing
West Sulawesi West Sulawesi (), covering a land area of 17,152.99 km2 with its capital at Mamuju, is a province of Indonesia on the western side of Sulawesi (formerly Celebes) island, consisting 6 regencies ('' kabupaten''), namely Polewali Mandar, Ma ...
. She was crowned Miss Indonesia 2014 or ''Miss World Indonesia 2014'' by the outgoing titleholder Vania Larissa on 17 February 2014.Miss Indonesia 2014 Crowning Moment
/ref> She managed to beat 33 other contestants from different provinces in Indonesia. During the contest, the head judge Liliana Tanoesoedibjo asked what Maria would do if she won, she said: "I will represent Indonesia with all my heart. We have diversity that needs to be promoted. It's difficult, but it must be done."


Miss World 2014

Maria represented
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
at
Miss World 2014 Miss World 2014 was the 64th edition of the Miss World pageant, held at the ExCeL London in London, United Kingdom, on 14 December 2014. Megan Young of the Philippines crowned Rolene Strauss of South Africa as her successor at the end of t ...
where she competed to succeed
Megan Young Megan Lynne Talde Young-Daez (; née Young; born February 27, 1990) is a Filipino actress and beauty queen, who won Miss World Philippines 2013 title and was later crowned Miss World 2013. She is the first delegate from the Philippines and So ...
of
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. Maria placed in Top 10 Talent and she won the Beauty With a Purpose with Miss India, Miss Kenya, Miss Brazil and Miss Guyana. She made into the Top 25, but failed to make into the top 10.


Career

After her reign as Miss Indonesia 2014 ended, Maria became a television presenter. With her twin sister, Elizabeth Rahajeng, she was appointed as official correspondents for E! News Asia. They have their own show called "All Access Indonesia", a three-part segment that covers different topics such as fashion, beauty, lifestyle and travel.


Controversies

Before being selected as a representative for Miss Indonesia, Maria was criticized with regards to her connection to
West Sulawesi West Sulawesi (), covering a land area of 17,152.99 km2 with its capital at Mamuju, is a province of Indonesia on the western side of Sulawesi (formerly Celebes) island, consisting 6 regencies ('' kabupaten''), namely Polewali Mandar, Ma ...
since she was not from there. She was raised in California, United States and
Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...
, and she had never set foot in West Sulawesi nor had any family or relatives from West Sulawesi. Originally, Maria intended to represent Bali in Miss Indonesia. However, since a representative from Bali had been chosen, the Miss Indonesia committee suggested that Maria represent
West Sulawesi West Sulawesi (), covering a land area of 17,152.99 km2 with its capital at Mamuju, is a province of Indonesia on the western side of Sulawesi (formerly Celebes) island, consisting 6 regencies ('' kabupaten''), namely Polewali Mandar, Ma ...
, as a representative from West Sulawesi had yet to be chosen. With regards to this matter, the governor of West Sulawesi, Anwar Adnan Saleh explained that before the competition, Maria had requested his permission to represent West Sulawesi via telephone. Anwar congratulated Maria for winning Miss Indonesia and hoped that Maria could visit West Sulawesi. Maria agreed to attend some events in West Sulawesi, including the West Sulawesi Cultural Carnival.


References


External links


Official Miss Indonesia Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rahajeng, Maria Asteria Sastrayu Living people 1991 births Javanese people Indonesian Christians Indonesian beauty pageant winners Miss World 2014 delegates Miss Indonesia winners Indonesian female models Indonesian twins People from Blora Regency