Harnaaz Sandhu Brings Miss Universe Crown Back To India After 21 Years
indrani karmakarBA Hons Experience: 2.5 yearsIndrani is a writer and artist who likes to add a dash of humor to everything she does. She has two years of experience in writing articles across beauty, health, and lifestyle genres. After graduatin... more
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The Miss Universe Crown comes back to us after 21 years, and we couldn’t be more proud of Harnaaz Sandhu, The Miss Universe 2021. The pageant was held at Eilat in Israel, and Harnaaz Sandhu got selected for the finals. She was set to compete against finalists from Paraguay and South Africa. The moments of anticipation and tension were all worth it when Harnaaz stood as the winner of Miss Universe, and the esteemed crown returned to India after Lara Dutta’s win in 2000. If you have missed out on watching the golden moment, we are here to catch you up on everything you need to know about the winning moment and the new Miss Universe. So lay back and read on to know all:
In This Article
The Moment
A few minutes before the announcement Harnaaz Sandhu stood tall in a glistening silver gown, holding on tightly to her competitor’s hand. When host Steve Harvey announced the winner, she broke into tears. The previous Miss Universe winner, Andrea Meza, crowned Harnaaz at the prestigious event. While the pageant’s second and third runners-up were announced, Miss Paraguay Nadia Ferreira and Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane. A few moments to the results, her Instagram read that she had already felt like a winner. She wrote, “Faith is unseen. It’s felt. It’s the feeling I have in my heart today,” She was confident and counting on her blessings in her pageant journey of 1.5 months.
All You Need To Know About Harnaaz Sandhu
Going back to her background, Harnaaz is a 21-year-old who started her modeling career in Chandigarh. She is pursuing her Master’s in Public Administration and started her career in beauty pageants at the ripe age of 17. She has starred in many popular Punjabi films, including Yaara Diyan Poo Baran and Bai Ji Kuttange. She recently represented the country in the 70th edition of Miss Universe 2021. As per her Instagram, Harnaaz enjoys acting, singing, swimming, yoga, dancing, and more. Previously she won Miss Max Emerging Star India in 2018, Femina Miss India Punjab 2019, and represented Chandigarh at Miss Diva 2021 in September.
Before stepping into the competition, her Instagram caption read, “And finally! The journey to the Universe has started. When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it and today, I am feeling this from the bottom of my heart.” (1)
Role Model
Harnaaz is a huge fan of Priyanka Chopra Jonas and counts her as one of her biggest inspirations. A video recently resurfaced, in which she said she has looked up to Priyanka for every lesson in her modeling career. Her pageant journey was definitely not easy, but she defeated 79 contestants and stood proud as the winner. And after being won by Sushmita Sen in 1994 and Lara Dutta in 2000, the title is ours once again.
Harnaaz’s Answers At The Pageant
Harnaaz makes an excellent impression of animals, and to this, the host, Steve Harvey, took her by surprise when he asked her to show others her favorite impression. She gave us some adorable meows!
During one of her interview rounds, she spoke like a true nature lover about how she would convince people that climate change is not a hoax. She said her heart breaks when she sees nature suffering for human-created things, and she hopes people will open their eyes and hold themselves responsible for it. She believes it’s a do-or-die situation, and this is when you have to take things in your hands and do what it takes to go pro-nature.
After the third round, she was asked what advice she would give to young women these days. She said the most significant pressure that youth face nowadays is the lack of self-belief. She said you have to know how unique you are and find what makes you beautiful. Also, comparing yourself to others never helps! She believes in being up to date with the world and speaking for yourself; that is when you will emerge as a person people will look up to. “I believed in myself,” she added. “And that’s why I’m standing here today.”
Harnaaz Sandhu is also an advocate for women’s empowerment and has helped her mother teach women’s health and hygiene at camps. Sandhu said when she works in movies, she always chooses strong characters as she wants to break stereotypes of what women should be like, as is shown in movies often. She said she really hopes she gets to inspire people by following her passion with complete dedication.
So now that you know all about Miss Universe 2021 winner, Harnaaz Sandhu, how inspired are we? Let her journey from one pageant to another be a source of motivation to give our best no matter what we choose to do. Every step and small win counts when it comes to a big win. So, who is your favorite Miss Universe? Let us know in the comments below.
