Since the early days of the 1990s, the craze of beauty pageants in India has been impeccable and they have become a serious business in the nation. Blessed with angelic beauties the nation has been standing tall in the list of nations with the most beauty crowns. On 13 December, Chandigarh-born beauty, Harnaaz Sandhu created history after a long 21 years break and made India proud on the prestigious stage of Miss Universe. The great win of Harnaaz took the tally of victories at different international beauty pageants to 12. Apart from Harnaaz Sandhu, here we bring you the top 10 runway queens who won big beauty pageants for India:
1. Reita Faria (Miss World): The game of winning beauty pageants started in India after the win of Reita Faria in 1966. A model and physician from Goa, Reita became the first-ever Indian or Asian to sweep the crown of Miss World in 1966.
2. Aishwarya Rai (Miss World): After Reita’s win, India saw a big drought in the pageant but soon Aishwarya Rai entered the industry and made India proud by winning the 1994 Miss World crown. Since then, she never saw back, she continued her modeling career and even made her mark in the Bollywood industry.
3. Sushmita Sen (Miss Universe): The first Indian, Sushmita Sen was just 18 when she brought the glittery crown of Miss Universe home. The beauty and smile of the actress was the big booster behind her run in the competition but however it was her intelligence that helped her own the crown.
4. Lara Dutta (Miss Universe): Continuing the legacy of Miss Universe Sushmita Sen, Lara Dutta was crowned as the Miss Universe in the year 2000. Apart from her on point answer in the final round, her other noteworthy accomplishment at the time was securing the highest scores in the swimsuit round.
5. Yukta Mookhey (Miss World): 22-year-old Yukta Mookhey is the 4th Indian model who managed to bring the crown of Miss World home in the year 1996. The reason why she is remembered as much more than Miss World was she also bagged the Asia & Oceania’s Queen of Beauty Award during the competition.
6. Priyanka Chopra (Miss Universe): Now a global icon, actor, singer, producer, and philanthropist, Priyanka Chopra was just 18 when she was crowned Miss World in 2000. Her response at her final interview round wasn’t entirely accurate but managed to win hearts regardless.
7. Diana Hayden (Miss World): The only Miss World titleholder to win three sub-titles during the pageant, Diana Hayden was crowned at the age of 24. The actress, television host, and model was the third Indian to win the coveted title and was crowned Miss Photogenic, Miss Spectacular Swimwear, and Miss World Asia and Oceania 1997 as well.
8. Manushi Chillar (Miss World): The Haryana based Manushi Chillar who is the perfect example of beauty with brain bagged the crown of Miss World in 2017, 17 years after Priyanka Chopra won the title. The medical student won the hearts of the judges and the world with her response in the final interview round of the competition.
9. Nicole Faria (Miss Earth): Making headlines as the first-ever Indian to win the Miss Earth title, Nicole Faria was 20 when she was crowned. The supermodel and environmentalist had also won the Miss Talent title at the pageant, performing a belly dance to raise money for the HCM City Red Cross.
10. Harnaaz Sandhu (Miss Universe): This tradition of pageant titles was carried forward on 13 December by Harnaaz Sandhu, who edged out contestants from Paraguay and South Africa to be crowned Miss Universe 2021 in Eliat, Israel.
