The divas who have represented the country of India at International beauty competition have not only performed exceptionally well but also managed to win the title for the country. They have prepared themselves to compete with the stunning beauties across the world and prove themselves as the best of all.
There are four women who were crowned in their respective beauty pageants in the host country of the Philippines and were highly appreciated for their performance on-stage. Let’s look at the divas who won the title for India on the grounds of the Philippines.
Zeenat Aman represented India at Miss Asia Pacific International 1970 on 22nd August 1970 in Quezon City, Philippines. She was the first representative of India and from South Asia to win the title. She was later seen on the first issue of Cine Blitz magazine that brought more credibility to the diva. Zeenat Aman debuted in Bollywood and was credited with making a lasting impact on the image of its leading actresses by bringing the western heroine look to Hindi cinema. The diva who is compared to Katherine Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe, changed the notions of the women in the Bollywood and brought youthfulness and modern looks on-screen. Not only she is the first Indian to win the title of Miss Asia Pacific 1970 in the Philippines but also the one who revolutionized the portrayal of Indian women on-screen and that is something a true beauty queen aspires to do; change the set standards for women in the society.
Tara Anne Fonseca represented India at Miss Asia Pacific International 1973 on 31st May 1973 in Manila, Philippines. She was the second representative of India to win the title and unlike Zeenat Aman, Tara stayed away from the Bollywood and settled down with an engineer and banker Victor Menezes. She was highly appreciated for her strong performance at the competition that impressed not only the judges but the audience too.
Sushmita Sen represented India at Miss Universe 1994 on 21st May 1994 at the Plenary Hall of the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay, Philippines. She was the first representative of India to win the title has since primarily worked in Hindi films. Sushmita’s ‘I am She- Miss Universe India’ was a national beauty pageant that sent the representatives of India to participate at Miss Universe from 2010-2012 but the contract was awarded back to Femina in 2013. Sushmita Sen returned to Manila to celebrate the 65th edition of Miss Universe as one of the judges of Miss Universe 2016. She is one of the successful and loved beauty queens in India who not only works for the empowerment of the women in the society but has adopted two beautiful girls; Renee and Alisah to set an example of a strong woman.
Dia Mirza represented India at Miss Asia Pacific International 2000 on 12th February 2000 at Quezon City, Philippines. She is the third representative from India to win the title. During the final question and answer round, Dia was asked, "What are the three most important values that matter to you?", to which she replied, "Love, Honesty and Friendship", and with that answer, she had almost the entire audience rooting for her. She also turned her ways towards Bollywood but kept working for the betterment of the environment even today. Mirza has been involved with Cancer Patients Aid Association and Spastics Society of India, and has worked extensively with the government of Andhra Pradesh to spread HIV awareness, prevention of female foeticide, PETA, CRY and most recently the NDTV Greenathon She joined Save The Children India as their first ever artist ambassador and was appointed as the UN Environment’s Goodwill Ambassador for India in 2017 and on 7th May 2020, her term was further extended till 2022. She was appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations as an advocate of Sustainable Development Goals. She also turned into a blogger to save the environment and create awareness.
