Miss Universe and Miss World Winners from India (1966 to 2022): Difference, facts & More

There are four major international beauty pageants for women, worldwide. These are Miss World, Miss Universe, Miss International, and Miss Earth.

Beauty pageants, whether it is on an international level or on a small level, play an important role in boosting women’s confidence, because these pageants are not only about physical beauty but it reflects your inner beauty as well.

The organization of these competitions gives women confidence that they can do what they are interested in, and can show their ability and talent on the stage, where a group of people watching them.

These pageants play a critical role in women’s empowerment. But there are many opinions about whether they really empower women. Different people have different thoughts about it.

Well, some people consider it just a competition where some girls are showing their body and doing ramp walks on the stage, while others consider it a strong medium of development for women as a person. It gives them confidence and develops their social skills.

Let us take you to some details about two of four major International Beauty Pageants, Miss World and Miss Universe, and their role.

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Difference between Miss World and Miss Universe

The major difference between Miss World and Miss Universe beauty pageants is that these are owned by two different organizations. They are held at different times in a year, so they do not conflict with each other.

Although both the pageants evaluate the beauty of the contestants from across the globe. The criteria of the selection in both are different.

In the Indian context, the Femina Miss India sends their winners to Miss World Pageant while Miss Diva is a separate pageant that sends its winners to Miss Universe Pageant.

Miss World is a UK-based International Beauty Pageant that was created in 1951 by Eric Morley. It is the oldest of four International Beauty Pageants, while Miss World was created in 1952. It is a US-based organization that advocates humanitarian issues via Beauty with a purpose.

Miss World is run by Miss World Limited, while Miss Universe is run by Miss Universe Organization.

List of Miss World Winners from India

Miss World, the oldest-running beauty pageant, is the most popular among four International Beauty Pageants. India won this beauty pageant six times. Here is the complete list of the winners of Miss World from India.

1- Reita Faria (1966)

Reita Faria was born on 23 August, 1943 to the Goan Parents in Matunga, Mumbai. She was the first Asian woman to win an International Beauty Pageant. In 1966 she won Miss World Beauty Pageant and became the first Indian to accomplish it by beating contestants from 51 countries.

After winning the pageant she received various offers to act in films, many modeling, and acting contracts. But she refused them all. Instead of modeling, she wanted to pursue her career as a doctor.

She completed her M.B.B.S. from Grant Medical College and went to London for further studies. She married her mentor David Powell. In 1973, the couple shifted to Dublin where she started her Medical Practice.

2- Aishwarya Rai (1994)

Miss World 1994 was held in Sun City, South Africa. India’s blue-eyed beauty Aishwarya Rai was the winner of the 44th edition of Miss World Pageant.

Aishwarya won this Beauty Pageant by beating contestants from 87 countries. Aishwarya Rai is a big name in Bollywood, she is known for her marvelous beauty and acting.

She has a successful career in Hindi films. She made her Bollywood debut in1997, with the romantic comedy Aur Pyar Ho Gaya opposite Bobby Deol.

On 20 April 2007, she got married to Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan.

3- Yukta Mookhey (1999)

Yukta Mookhey was the 4th Indian to win the title of Miss World. She was born on October 7, 1979 in Bangalore, India in a Sindhi family.

Before winning the Miss World title in 1999, she was crowned Femina Miss India World in the same year. After her tenure as Miss World, she involved herself in various social and charitable works.

She also worked in several movies, and made her Bollywood debut in 2002, with the film Pyasa opposite Aftab Shivdasani.

She is a civic activist who has raised her voice against illegal child labor. She is a firm human rights activist, who partnered with many NGOs to guide young girls.

4- Priyanka Chopra (2002)

Priyanka Chopra became the 4th Indian to win the Miss World title in 2002. She is a successful actress, model, singer, producer, and Philanthropist.

She is one of the highest-paid and very successful actresses. She received many awards for her work in the films, including two national film awards and five Filmfare awards. In 2016, Govt. of India awarded her Padma Shri, the 4th highest civilian award in the country.

Apart from her success in Bollywood, she also did well in Hollywood as well. She became popularly known for her role as Alex Parrish on an American TV show, Quantico, which aired from 2015 to 2018.

She tied the knot with her boyfriend Nick Jonas, an American Singer in 2018 and presently lives in Los Angeles, the USA with her husband.

5- Manushi Chhillar (2017)

Manushi Chhillar is the sixth Indian to win the title of Miss World so far. She was crowned with the title in 2017. In the same year, she won the title of Femina Miss India, where she represented her state Haryana.

She was born in a Haryanvi family on May 14, 1997, in Rohtak, Haryana. Her father is Dr. Mitra Basu Chhillar who is a scientist in Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and her mother Neelam Chhillar is also a doctor.

Taking inspiration from her parents she decided to pursue her career as a doctor. She got her M.B.B.S. degree from Bhagat Phool Singh Medical College, Haryana. She will make her Bollywood Debut from the upcoming historical drama Prithviraj.

Miss World 2021 was scheduled to be held on December 16, 2021, but postponed due to several COVID-19 cases.

List of Miss Universe Winners from India

Miss Universe Beauty Pageant was created in 1952 and is the second oldest beauty pageant after Miss World.

Here is the list of the winners of the Miss World title from India so far.

1- Sushmita Sen (1994)

Sushmita Sen became the first Indian to win the title of Miss Universe in 1994. The same year she crowned Femina Miss India at the age of 18.

She was born in a Bengali family on November 19, 1975, in Hyderabad. Her father Shubeer Sen was a former Wing Commander in the Indian Air Force.

After winning the title of Miss Universe she decided to further pursue her career as an actor. She made her debut in Bollywood with the film Dastak in 1996. She became successful as an actor and won many awards for her brilliant performances.

2- Lara Dutta (2000)

Lara Dutta was born on April 16, 1978, in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. She became the second Indian to win the title of Miss Universe in 2000. This year Miss World Beauty Pageant was held in Cyprus. In 1997, she was crowned Miss Intercontinental.

After winning the title of Miss Universe, she decided to pursue acting as a career.  She worked in many movies in Bollywood.

She made her acting debut in Bollywood with the film Andaaz, which was released in 2003. For this film, she won the Filmfare award for Best Female Debut.

3- Harnaaz Sandhu (2021)

Harnaaz was born on March 3, 2000, in a Sikh family in Chandigarh, India to Pritampal Singh Sandhu and Rabinder Kaur Sandhu. She has crowned Miss Universe on December 13, 2021. She won the title after 21 years of Lara Dutta and made the whole country proud.

She participated in many pageants from childhood and won many of them. She won Femina Miss India Punjab in 2019 and was the semi-finalist of Femina Miss India 2019. This year, she also won Miss Diva Universe.

She is also active in Punjab Film Industry. She acted in two Punjabi films named Yaar Diyan Poo Baran and Bai Ji Kuttange.