Harnaaz Sandhu from India’s Punjab is crowned Miss Universe 2021. Ms Sandhu represented the country at the 70th Miss Universe 2021, held in Eilat, Israel.
The 21-year-old claimed the crown edging out Paraguay’s Nadia Ferreira and South Africa’s Lalela Mswane. She was presented the crown by Andrea Meza, former Miss Universe 2020 from Mexico. The first and the second runners-up were Paraguay and South Africa, respectively.
Before Ms Sandhu, only two Indians have won the title of Miss Universe – Sushmita Sen in 1994 and Lara Dutta in 2000.
With an interest in modelling and the silver screen, she stepped into the fashion sector during her student days. The Chandigarh-based model started her journey in pageantry at 17. She has previously been crowned Miss Diva 2021, Femina Miss India Punjab 2019, and was even placed in the Top 12 at Femina Miss India 2019. She also has a huge following on social media.
Ms Sandhu has also worked in Punjabi films like “Yaara Diyan Poo Baran” and “Bai Ji Kuttange”.