Beauty pageants have always been supporting women by empowering and encouraging them to do something phenomenal in their lives. Not only do these contests strengthen women but also help them make their way to a successful life. India, a country that has been proving it’s excellence in every domain, owns six Miss World crowns, 2 Miss Universe crowns, 3 Asia Pacific crowns and 1 Miss Earth crown. From becoming successful business owners to flaunting their skills in entertainment industries, the beauty pageant titleholders from India excel in every aspect of their life. It is said that winning a beauty pageant is a key to becoming successful actresses and indeed Indian beauty queens have proved this statement by taking up a notable space in the country’s entertainment industry Bollywood.
Without further ado, let's take a look at these astonishing divas who amazed the audience by making a remarkable impact in beauty pageants as well as in Bollywood.
Zeenat Aman Miss Asia Pacific 1970
Zeenat Khan, better called Zeenat Aman represented India in Miss Asia Pacific 1970 and won the highly coveted crown with pride and honor, becoming the first Indian woman to do so. Zeenat who was 19 years old at that time not only won the title but also managed to bag the title of Miss Photogenic for her breathtaking beauty and attractive features. Soon after her victory at the prestigious stage of Miss Asia Pacific 1970, Zeenat started getting modeling and acting projects. Though her debut film was The Evil Within, she got major success after she starred in Hare Krishna Hare Ram and even earned a Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award and BFJA Award for Best Actress. It is since then that she has not looked back and till today is one of the most admired actresses of all times.
Meenakshi Sheshadri Miss India 1981
Meenakshi Sheshadri was one of the most popular actresses of 1980s. Debuting in 1983-released Painter Babu, she is well known for her roles in Damini, Jurm, Shahenshah, and Ghar Ho Toh Aisa. The diva participated in Eve’s Weekly Miss India 1981 hosted in Japan and managed to win the title that year. Her victory gave her the opportunity to represent India in Miss International 1981 in Tokyo, Japan but she, unfortunately wasn’t placed. Sheshadri got hitched to Harish Mysore in 1995 and now lives in United States where she runs the Cherish Dance School.
Juhi Chawla Miss India 1984
Juhi Chawla participated in Miss India 1984 and with her phenomenal performance throughout the competition, was crowned as the winner at the end of the event. Fulfilling her duties as Miss India 1984, she went on to represent India in Miss Universe 1984 and won the ‘Best in National Costume’ award. She then stepped into Bollywood in 1986 and her first film Sultanat, unfortunately, could not impress the cinephiles. She got a major breakthrough starring in the 1988-released Qayamat se Qayamat Tak and won the Filmfare Award for Lux New Face of the Year becoming the first actress to do so. In 1995, she married an industrialist Jay Mehta and the couple is now parents to two children.
Namrata Shirodkar Miss India 1993
Namrata Shirodkar embarked her journey to Bollywood with Vaastav in 1999 and gained huge appreciation from the audience and cinephiles. Her Bollywood debut was preceded by her debut in pageantry which opened the door for her to enter into the country’s entertainment industry. She participated in Femina Miss India 1993 and was crowned winner at the end of the competition. She went on to represent India in Miss Universe 1993 and Miss Asia Pacific 1993 where she was placed at sixth and second positions respectively. Shirodkar married Mahesh Babu in 2005 and gave birth to their first on 31 August 2005 followed by their daughter on 20 July 2012.
Sushmita Sen Miss Universe 1994
Sushmita Sen, at 19 years of age, won Femina Miss India 1994 thereby earning the golden opportunity to represent India in Miss Universe 1994. Sen vied for the highly coveted Miss Universe 1994 crown became the first Indian woman to bring home the title with pride and honor. She stepped into Bollywood playing a lead role in 1996-released Dastak but she rose to fame for her role as Rupali in Biwi No. 1 which earned her the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award. Since then, she has starred in many hit blockbusters including Sirf Tum, Main Hoon Na, Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya, and Vaastu Shastra. The 44-year-old beauty is a single mother to her two daughters.
Aishwarya Rai Miss World 1994
Aishwarya Rai was 21 years old when she competed in and won Miss World 1994. Her victory was celebrated in masses as she brought in the crown after 28 years since it was won by Reita Faria in 1966. Aishwarya, alongside winning the Miss World 1994 title, won the subtitles ‘Miss Photogenic’ and Miss World Continental Queen of Beauty − Asia and Oceania. Raj made her Bollywood debut with the 1997-released Aur Pyar Ho Gya and won a Screen Award for Best Female Debut. Since then, she has been taking over the hearts of the audience with her beauty and grace. The diva is a Goodwill Ambassador for the Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS) and in 2003, was Indian actress to be a jury member at the Cannes Film Festival. She is well known for her phenomenal roles in Jodha Akbar, Dhoom 2, Mohabbatein, Devdas and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. In 2007, she married Indian actor and film producer, Abhishek Bachchan and the two became parents to a girl in 2011.
Priyanka Chopra Miss World 2000
Priyanka Chopra who is a global icon today commenced her journey with vying for the crown of Miss World 2000. She made her debut in pageantry at the young age of 17 years and went on winning all the competitions she participated in. She was placed second in Femina Miss india 2000 gaining the right to represent India in Miss World 2000 and marked a glorious victory at the international stage. Three years after her remarkable win, Chopra stepped into Bollywood, starring in The Hero: Love Story of a Spy and the film turned out to be one of the highest grossing film that year, leaving Priyanka with a lot of opportunities waiting for her. The glamorous beauty then gave excellent performances and appended a lot of films in the Blockbuster Bollywood films list. She rose to fame with movies like Don, Krish, Andaaz, Barfi and is now taking up space in Hollywood as well. She married popular American Singer, Nick Jonas, in December 2018 after dating him for six months.
Lara Dutta Miss Universe 2000
Lara Dutta, at 22 years of age, won the prestigious crown of Miss Universe 2000 and became the second Miss Universe winner from India. The diva not only won the grand crown but also, for her stunning figure and invincible confidence, won the swimsuit competition and her finale interview score is the highest individual score in any category in the history of Miss Universe contest. Three years after her victory i.e. in 2003, she made her debut in Bollywood with Andaaz and won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. Since then, she has starred in a lot of successful films like No Entry, Bhagam Bhag, Houseful, Billu Barber, and Azhar. The diva has won several awards and nominations and has often been regarded as one of the most stylish actresses of Bollywood. She is now married to an India tennis player, Mahesh Bhupathi and the couple became parents to their daughter Saira Bhupathi on 20 January 2012.
Dia Mirza Miss Asia Pacific 2000
Dia Mirza participated in Femina Miss India 2000 where she was placed as the second runner up and was titled as Miss Asia Pacific India 2000. She went on to represent India in Miss Asia Pacific 2000 at the age of 19 years. Not only was she titled as the winner for the event but also bagged the subtitles Miss Close-up Smile and Miss Avon for her charming smile and marvelous beauty. She made her Bollywood debut with Rehnaa Hai Tere Dil Mein in 2001 and then featured in blockbusters like Dus, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, and Sanju. She is also a producer and owns a production house, ‘One India Stories’ that she launched after parting ways from her husband in December 2019. The actress was honored with one of the most prestigious acting awards, Dadasaheb Phalke Award Best Actress for Kafir in 2020.
Celina Jaitly Miss India 2001
Celina Jaitley won the crown of Femina Miss India 2001 and represented India in Miss Universe 2001 where she was placed as the 4th runner up at the end of the competition. The diva made her debut in Bollywood with the 2003 thriller Janasheen which was well received by the critics. She gained massive fan following after starring in No Entry followed by Tom, Dick, and Harry, and Apna Sapna Money Money. Jaitly has captivating eyes and a beautiful smile which makes her even more adorable. She is a strong supporter of PETA since 2005 and is an active member of United Nations Equality Champions since 2013. Celina married an Austrian entrepreneur and hotelier Peter Haag and the two became parents to twin boys on 24th March 2012.
Neha Dhupia Miss India 2002
Neha Dhupia won the Miss India 2002 title and went to represent India in Miss Universe 2002 where she was placed amongst the top 10 finalists. She made her Bollywood debut starring in Qayamat: City Under Threat followed by her stunning performances in films like Julie, Kyaa Kool Hai Hum, Garam Masala, Teesri Aankh, Chup Chup Ke and others. She is also famous for hosting a reality show Roadies and has also won several awards and nominations for her performance in Qayamat, Chup Chup Ke and Julie. Neha married her long-term best friend Angad Bedi on 10 May 2018 and the couple became parents to a daughter, Mehr Dhupia Bedi in February 2019.
Tanushree Dutta Miss India 2004
Tanushree Dutta was 20 years old when she competed in and won the crown of Miss India 2004. She later on went to represent India in Miss Universe 2004 and was placed in the top 10 finalists. Dutta made her acting debut in 2005-released Aashiq Banaya Aapne and Chocolate. She quit acting in 2010 and is now a model and activist. Dutta now resides in the United States and her sister Ishita Dutta is an emerging Bollywood actress.
Urvashi Rautela Miss India 2015
Urvashi Rautela is one of the emerging Bollywood actresses who made her way into Bollywood with pageantry. At the age of 15 years, she participated in and won Miss Teen India 2009 followed by marking her victory in India Princess 2011, Miss Tourism Queen of the Year 2011, and I am she – Miss Universe India 2012. Her title Miss Universe India 2012 could give her the opportunity to represent India in Miss Universe 2012 but due to her age issues, she was unable to participate in Miss Universe. Rautela again aimed for the Miss Universe title and won the Miss Diva 2015 contest which gave the right to represent India in Miss Universe 2015 which she did in that year but unfortunately wasn’t placed. In 2013, she made her debut in Bollywood with Singh Saab the Great and got popularity after featuring in a music video of popular rapper Honey Singh’s LoveDose. Some of her best films include Sanam Re, Hate Story 4, and Kaabil.
