Laksmi De-Neefe Suardana

Laksmi Shari De-Neefe Suardana , simply known as Laksmi De-Neefe Suardana, is an Australian-born Indonesian fashion designer, author, UNICEF activist, 2022 G20 Ambassador, co-founder of Ubud Writers and Readers Festival, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Puteri Indonesia 2022. Suardana is the first representative from Bali to be crowned Puteri Indonesia. She represented Indonesia at Miss Universe 2022.

Early life and education

Laksmi Shari De-Neefe Suardana was born on 29 January 1996 in Melbourne, Australia, to an Australian mother, Janet De-Neefe, and a Balinese father, Ketut Suardana. She was raised in Ubud, a village located in Gianyar Regency, Bali, Indonesia. She has three siblings. She is the granddaughter of Australian business tycoon, John De-Neefe. Her name was inspired from Lakshmi, a Hindu goddess known for her power to turn dreams into reality.

Laksmi received a diploma of arts from Monash College in 2013. She then completed her double degree program, bachelor of design in fashion design from RMIT University in Australia and bachelor of business in fashion from Polimoda, a private fashion school in Italy. She graduated with summa cum-laude. She now actively promotes literacy and literature engagement in the society as her advocacy, knowing that the interest in writing and reading books in Indonesia is still low. She also volunteers to teach English for a non-governmental organization in Bali.

On 31 May 2022, Suardana and her fellow Puteri Indonesia 2022 winners, Cindy May McGuire and Adinda Cresheilla, were appointed as the 2022 G20 Ambassadors by the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, at the Merdeka Palace, as part of the Indonesian presidency at the upcoming 17th meeting of the G20 in Bali, where the ambassadors were also accompanied by Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno.

Ubud Writers & Readers Festival

The Ubud Writers & Readers Festival was first conceived by Suardana, together with her parents as a healing project in response to the first 2002 Bali bombings. It has grown from a very small festival to the largest literary festival in Southeast Asia. In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Suardana created the Ubud Writers & Readers Fest IG Live Book Club.

Pageantry

Puteri Bali 2022 In January 2022, she competed for the title of Puteri Bali 2022 through an open audition in Jakarta, ended up winning the title.

Puteri Indonesia 2022

As the winner of Puteri Bali 2022, Suardana represented Bali at Puteri Indonesia 2022 held at the Jakarta Convention Center, Jakarta, Indonesia, on 27 May 2022. Originally, she wore the sash of Bali 1 since there was another candidate from Bali, Jazmine Callista Seymour Rowe, who was publicly voted as one of the official candidates. However, she changed her sash into Bali before the pre-quarantine since Jazmine decided to withdraw for an undisclosed reason.

During the finale, Suardana was asked by Putri Kuswisnuwardhani whether she had any experiences that she would like to change. She answered:

At the end of the coronation night, Suardana successfully defeated other 43 delegates from across Indonesia, becoming the first Balinese to win Puteri Indonesia. She was crowned as Puteri Indonesia 2022 by the outgoing titleholder, Raden Roro Ayu Maulida Putri of East Java. Suardana was crowned along with her fellow Puteri Indonesia queens, Cindy May McGuire and Adinda Cresheilla.

Miss Universe 2022 As the winner of Puteri Indonesia 2022, Suardana represented Indonesia at the 71st edition of the Miss Universe competition, but was unplaced.

Filmography Alongside her older sister, Dewi De‑Neefe, Suardana began her acting career in 2010 as an extra in the film adaptation of Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, produced by Columbia Pictures and Plan B Entertainment.