Harnaaz Sandhu

Some Lesser Known Facts About Harnaaz Sandhu

• Harnaaz Sandhu is an Indian model who is the winner of the title of Miss Universe 2021 beauty pageant, held on 12 December 2021 in Eilat, Israel.

•  In 2006, her family moved to England, but after spending two years there, they came back to India. They lived in Chandigarh and Harnaaz did her education in the city. She started her modelling journey during her teens. She participated in a number of modelling and fashion events and eventually got directed toward the pageant.

  

• Harnaaz Sandhu earned her first beauty title by becoming the Miss Chandigarh 2017. She also won the Timesfreshface Miss Chandigarh in the same year.

• In 2018, Harnaaz Sandhu emerged as the Miss Max Emerging Star India. The Grand Finale of Max Emerging Star 2018 was held at Infiniti Mall in Malad, Mumbai. The star-studded finale included megastars Terence Lewis, Dabboo Ratnani, and Project Head – Max Emerging Star, Marc Robinson. The title of Mr. Max Emerging Star 2018 was given to Imtiaj Haque from Bhubaneshwar and Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu from Chandigarh.

  

• Next, Harnaaz Sandhu participated in the Femina Miss India 2019 beauty pageant. While competing with 29 other candidates from across the country, she ended up being in the Top 12 position. The contest was held at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Indoor Stadium in Mumbai, India.

• According to Harnaaz’s father, initially, he was unaware of the fact that Harnaaz was interested in participating in beauty contests. Harnaaz, along with her mother and brother, hid it from her father until she won her first contest. Harnaaz’s father shared this story with the media and said,
  

  When she participated in her first pageant, her mother and brother hid it from me. It was only after she won that they told me of this interest of hers. I immediately told my daughter that there was no need to hide her interests. Times have changed and she must do what she is good at.”

• In 2021, Harnaaz Sandhu qualified as one of the top 50 semifinalists of Miss Diva 2021. On 23 August 2021, she was selected among the Top 20 finalists of the competition. During the introduction round, Harnaaz Sandhu introduced herself as,
  

  From a young girl with fragile mental health who faced bullying and body shaming to a woman who emerged like a phoenix, realising her true potential. From an individual who once doubted her own existence to a woman who is aspiring to inspire the youth. Today, I stand proudly in front of the Universe as a courageous, vivacious and compassionate woman who is all set to lead a life with a purpose, and to leave behind a remarkable legacy.”

• Harnaaz Sandhu aced every round of the competition with her intelligence and charm and became one of the top 5 finalists of the competition. During the final question-answer round, she was asked to deliver a speech on the topic of “Global Warming and Climate Change,” to which she conveyed,
  

  One day, life will flash before your eyes, make sure it’s worth watching. However, this is not the life you want to watch, where the climate is changing and the environment is dying. It is one of the fiasco that us humans have done to the environment. I do believe that we still have time to undo our irresponsible behaviour. Earth is all we have in common and our small acts as individuals when multiplied by billions can transform the whole world. Start now, from tonight, switch off those extra lights when not in use. Thank you.”

• Judges at the Miss Diva 2021 were highly impressed with Harnaaz Sandhu’s pageant journey and eventually, she was crowned Miss Diva 2021 (Miss Diva Universe) by the outgoing titleholder Adline Castelino.

• During the Miss Diva 2021 beauty pageant, Harnaaz won a few other titles including Miss Beautiful Skin, Miss Beach Body, Miss Beautiful Smile, Miss Photogenic, and Miss Talented.

• According to Harnaaz, she is inspired by her mother who broke generations of patriarchy to become a successful gynaecologist and led her family. Harnaaz herself also works for creating awareness about feminine hygiene. During her Miss Diva tenure, she also organised a free health camp for women in association with the Israel Embassy and Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre, and Khushi (NGO). Talking about her experience at the camp, Harnaaz said,
  

  The camp was about breast and cervical cancer awareness. I urged women not to hesitate to talk about feminine hygiene concerns as it is imperative to break the stigma around it. They’ve performed more than six lakh cleft surgeries in India, organised free cleft surgeries for underprivileged children and done so much more.”

• On becoming Miss Diva 2021, Harnaaz Sandhu earned the opportunity to represent India at the 70th edition of the Miss Universe beauty pageant, held in Israel on 12 December 2021. The competition was hosted by Steve Harvey, and the official broadcaster of the show was Fox.

• Miss Universe event included several rounds including displays of national costumes, evening gowns, and swimwear, as well as a series of interview questions to test contestants’ public speaking skills. During the questions answer round, she was asked,
  

   What advice would you give to young women watching on how to deal with the pressures they face today?”

  To which she replied,

  The biggest pressure the youth of today is facing is to believe in themselves. To know that you are unique makes you beautiful. Stop comparing yourselves with others and let’s talk about more important things that are happening worldwide. Come out, speak for yourself, because you are the leader of your life. You are the voice of your own. I believed in myself and that is why I am standing here today.”

• Harnaaz Sandhu was amongst the top 3 contestants of the competitions after her powerful answer during the public speaking round. After the completion of all the rounds, Harnaaz Sandhu was declared the winner of Miss Universe 2021 beauty pageant. Miss Universe 2020, Andrea Meza of Mexico, crowned her successor, Harnaaz Sandhu.

  

• Miss Universe 2021, Harnaaz Sandhu, received congratulatory messages from all across the globe. India’s previous Miss Universe beauty pageant winners Sushmita Sen (1994) and Lara Dutta (2000) congratulated Harnaaz through their social media handles. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took to Twitter to deliver his best wishes to the new Miss Universe.

• Responding to the innumerable calls, congratulatory messages, and a massive outpouring of love, Harnaaz Sandhu said,
  

  All this is still unbelievable to me. The only word that comes to my mind to describe how I am feeling is unbelievable. To hear the name of my country ‘India’ on that platform (when the winner was being announced) was a feeling I would never be able to put in words. I cried and everyone around me cried. We waited for this day for 21 years and I could not believe that it was all actually happening. It is still unbelievable to me.”

• According to Harnaaz’s mother, Harnaaz is a very religious person, who often visits Gurdwaras to seek god’s blessing. Her mother said,
  

  Harnaaz is also very religious. We will surely visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar to thank God for her success. After this, I will not force her to do anything but she loves working with underprivileged kids and I will encourage her to do this and speak out on women empowerment.”

• Harnaaz Sandhu has acted in two Punjabi movies which will be released in 2022. ‘The Kapil Sharma Show’ fame actress Upasana Singh shared that she has already signed her for two new Punjabi movies. Upasana Singh and Harnaaz Sandhu shares a very close bond. Harnaaz stayed with Upasana before leaving for the Miss Universe competition. According to Upasana, Harnaaz Sandhu called her after winning the crown and promised her to come at her place as soon as she lands in Mumbai. Upasana said,
  

  She called me after winning the crown and shouted that she fulfiled her promise. I could feel her happiness on the phone. In fact, I got really emotional talking to Harnaaz and couldn’t stop crying. It felt as if my child had done something. Whenever Harnaaz comes to Mumbai, she stays with me. When her training started after Miss India, we housed her for five days. She was saying that as soon as she comes to Mumbai (from Israel), she will come to my house first.”

• She is fluent in Hindi, Punjabi, and English languages.

• In March 2022, she was heavily trolled on social media for her body weight gain following which she revealed that she had been diagnosed with celiac disease, a condition triggered by gluten sensitivity. ^[6]India Today In an interview, while talking about this, she said,
  

  I’m one of those individuals who was first bullied that ‘she’s too skinny’ and now they bully me saying ‘she’s fat’. Nobody knows about my celiac disease. That I can’t eat wheat flour and many other things.”

• Here’s an interesting video about Harnaaz Sandhu’s biography: