The planet has been choosing the most beautiful girl since 1952. And you can’t imagine how much our ideas of the ideal have changed! The winners of Miss Universe are undoubtedly beautiful, but each in her way.
Fashion is fickle, but do beauty standards change along with trends? We can speculate about this by looking at the contestants of the Miss Universe pageant. Of course, all the winners are stately and graceful, but we can trace how the jury’s preferences have changed over the years. The contest has become a widespread phenomenon that you can bet on them at Indian online casinos. Miss Universe contestants are selected at the national beauty pageants of the participating countries. The minimum age of contestants for the crown must be 18 years old. There are no other restrictions.
The Israeli resort of Eilat ended the 70th anniversary of the “Miss Universe” pageant. The winner was the model and actress from India, Harnaaz Sandhu. “Izvestia” found out everything known about the most beautiful woman in the world.
Where is she from?
Harknaaz Sandhu became the third Indian in the contest’s history to win the diamond crown. Before her, the world’s most famous beauty pageant was won by:
- Lara Dutta (2000)
- Sushmita Sen (1994).
Like her predecessors, Sandhu works as a model and has starred in Bollywood movies. However, unlike them, her previous step was to win the new all-India Miss Diva beauty pageant, rather than the more traditional Femina Miss India (there, she only made it to the semifinals in 2019).
Hrnaaz Sandhu was born on March 3, 2000, in Chandigarh, in northern India, the capital of Punjab and Haryana, to a Sikh family. She studied at the Shivalik English Primary School (3rd in the Punjab school ranking, 88th in the all-India school ranking) and received her education at the Government Girls’ College. She is currently preparing to defend her diploma in public administration; however, open sources do not disclose at which institution.
Harnaaz Sandhu is 5 feet 9 inches (152.4 cm) tall, has brown eyes and black hair. She is fluent in three languages – Punjabi, Hindi, and English. The model has previously participated in Miss Chandigarh 2017 pageants. (win), Miss Rising Star India 2018 (win) and Femina Miss India Punjab 2019 (win). Sandhu, she says, enjoys cooking, singing, dancing, swimming, yoga, and horseback riding.
How she got into the contest
Sandhu got her chance to compete in the Miss Universe pageant on August 16, 2021, when she reached the semifinals of Miss Diva. On August 23, it was revealed that she was among the 20 finalists; on September 22, she was named Miss Beautiful Skin and also made the finals of the Miss Beach Body, Miss Beautiful Smile, Miss Photogenic, and Miss Giftedness pageants. Speaking to the Miss Diva jury, Sandhu stated:
“From a little girl with delicate mind health who encountered bullying and body-shaming like a phoenix, I transformed into a woman who realized her genuine prospect. I became a woman who wanted to inspire young people from a person who doubted her existence. Today I proudly stand before the contest as a brave, vibrant, compassionate woman, ready to show a meaningful life and leave a great heritage behind.
On September 30 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Mumbai, Sandhu was announced as the winner of Miss Diva. For the first time in the contest’s history, the ceremony was virtual because of covid restrictions. All finalists wore exclusive dresses by Indian designer Abhishek Sharma. Sandhu also received the Miss Universe crown wearing a dress by Indian luxury brand Pankaj & Nidhi. Familiarize yourself with other methods of entertainment while you wait for the 2022 contest; the source will help you choose the best option.
What is known about her outlooks?
Beautiful hostages: the most tolerant pageant is mired in politics.
Why beauty isn’t saving the modern world
Sandhu is noted for her responsible social and civic stance on many issues, including global warming, women’s rights, and the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, she reaches out to fans on her Instagram, urging them to be more attentive to hygiene practices.
“I am a staunch advocate for hand hygiene, which unfortunately is overlooked by much of our society. However, in the unprecedented times of COVID-19, we realized how important hand hygiene is.”
To raise awareness about handwashing among her fellow countrymen, especially those living in slums, Sandhu collaborates with NGOs and medical professionals. The model also fights the stigmatization of people with mental disabilities. “I realized that I needed to focus on mental health when I faced difficulties myself during my hospitalization. I realized that mental health is inextricably linked to physical health and that together we can get rid of the stigma and help people make sense of their existence,” stresses the Miss Universe winner.
Harnaaz Sandhu loves animals. When pageant host Steve Harvey asked her to meow, she gladly responded and showed a lot of talent in this case as well. Sandhu points out that winning Miss Universe resulted from a big team of designers, stylists, psychologists, and other specialists. “It wasn’t my journey, and it was our journey. I started with baby steps and got to the very end. Thank you for making me the girl seen on stage today,” she wrote on the day of the finale.
Sandhu dedicated her victory to her home country. “As I go on stage tonight as a representative of India, I carry with me your prayers and your love. Thank you all! India, this is for you!” Next year, though, the rules say the winner will spend the next year in New York, participating in various events. Of course, her travel itinerary will most likely include the Indian subcontinent so that fans can see her not only on TV.
The scandal surrounding the contest
This year’s Miss Universe was complicated not only by the coronavirus pandemic: For months, pro-Palestinian activists have been urging contestants not to participate in the event, which was held in Israel, too, in their words, “avoid collaboration with the Israeli apartheid regime and human rights violations against Palestinians.
One pro-Palestinian organization called the contest “a demonstration of colonialism, racism, cultural appropriation and patriarchy all rolled into one.
Despite calls by pro-Palestinian activists for a boycott of the event, 80 women worldwide, including Morocco and Bahrain, which established relations with Israel last year, participated.
On the other hand, South Africa refused to support its representative “because of the atrocities committed by Israel against the Palestinians. Nevertheless, Lalela Mswane went to the contest anyway and won third place.
The United Arab Emirates, which has also recently established relations with Israel, was not represented. However, the UAE attributed this to a “lack of time to prepare. In addition, Muslim-majority countries Indonesia and Malaysia refused to send a representative to the contest, citing difficulties due to the pandemic.
In an interview with Agence France Presse, former Miss Universe winner Andrea Meza of Mexico said the pageant should be kept out of politics.
“Miss Universe is not a political or religious movement. It’s about women and what they have to offer,” Andrea Meza added.
Contestants in the pageant, which Donald Trump co-hosted before he became president, must be 18 and 28. In addition, a mandatory requirement for female applicants for the crown is that they are unmarried and free of children.