Celina Jaitly represented India at Miss Universe 2001 on 11th May 2001 at the Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. She was adjudged as the fourth runner-up at the end of the event finale. She later turned her way towards Bollywood and debuted with the 2003 thriller movie, “Janasheen” opposite Fardeen Khan.
The diva was born in Shimla to a Punjabi father Colonel V.K. Jaitly and an Afghan Hindu mother, Meeta, who was a nurse in the Indian Army and just like her brother who is in the Indian Army wanted to join the army either as a pilot or a doctor. She graduated with a degree in commerce from Indira Gandhi National Open University and worked in a cell phone company for a brief period.
Celina participated in Femina Miss India 2001 and was crowned at the end of the event finale which earned her the opportunity to represent India at Miss Universe 2001 where she was placed as the fourth runner-up. The diva recently shared a series of pictures on her social media as she reminisces about her Miss India Universe crowning and honored 20 years of shouldering the crown. She mentioned, “The crown rested on my head only for one year, but I have had an incredible journey shouldering the responsibility of the crown these 20 years.”
The diva further mentioned that crowns are not made of sparkling stones but they are made of sheer determination, strength, dedication, devotion, struggle, and immense courage. She thanked everyone who helped her to perform her best on-stage and make the people of India proud. She also expressed her happiness towards the representatives of India on all the various beauty pageants since 2001.
Along with thanking everyone, Celina wrote, “Beauty is a ‘Powerful Tool of Persuasion’”, and further mentioned about her journey from being a beauty queen to an actress and now as human rights activist has given her phenomenal opportunities to make the most of her abilities and make a change in the society. With her human rights activism, she has vehemently advocated for the rights of the members of LGBT communities in India for almost a decade. She also spoke about her activism as an ambassador of the UN Free & Equal campaign.
The beauty queen who married an Austrian entrepreneur and hotelier Peter Haag and the couple are parents to twin boys lastly added, “Being beautiful is not being “born beautiful”, It is striving, lifelong... To live and achieve your maximum potential as a human being.”
Celina Jaitly’s throwback post on social media has received a huge amount of appreciation from her fans and followers and showcases that even after twenty years of being crowned as Miss India Universe she still holds to the qualities of being a true queen. She looks forward to work and makes a positive change in society.