Yukta Mookhey

Some Lesser Known Facts About Yukta Mookhey

• Yukta Mookhey is an Indian actress, model, and civic activist who is best known for winning the title of Miss World 1999.

• Yukta Mookhey was born in a Sindhi family in Banglore. She was raised in Dubai for the first seven years of her life.

  

• Yukta’s father was a  managing director of a clothing company, and her mother owned a grooming salon in Mumbai.

• She was a zoology student in her college. After completing her graduation, she got a diploma in computer applications from Aptech. She also had an interest in music, and she learned Indian classical music for three years.

• At the age of 22, she participated in the 1999 Femina Miss India beauty pageant, where she won the title of Miss India World. During the semifinal round, she was asked –
  

  How do you define a true sportsperson?”

  Her answer, which lead her to the finale, was

  I would define a true sportsperson as the one who welcomes defeat as well as success with a healthy attitude and with a smile”

• Yukta at the finale round was asked another very interesting question by the jury
  

  In the context of the recent controversy, if you were Chelsea Clinton, what is the single most important advice, you as a daughter would you give to your parents Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, and why?”

  She replied to it by saying

  If I was Chelsea Clinton, I would tell my parents that in the values that you have taught me, I still stand by you no matter what. And I hope we can set an example for the rest of the world to see what family values and ethics are all about. Thank you”

  This made her the Miss India World 1999.

  

   

• In 1999, Yukta Mookhey got the opportunity to represent India in the 49th Miss World Pageant held in Olympia, London. She competed with 93 contenders from across the globe.

• During the question-answer round at the 1999 Miss World pageant, Yukta was asked –
  

  If she could be anyone in the world who would she want to be?”

  To which she replied,

  It would have to be Audrey Hepburn. It was her inner beauty, compassion and her aura. The calm that she had inside her reflected.”

• Yukta won the title of Miss World 1999, and she was crowned by the “Linor Abargil” (Miss World 1998); she became the fourth Asian to win this title.  At the event, she also won the title of “Asia & Oceania Queen of Beauty.”

• When Yukta Mookhey crowned Priyanka Chopra at the 2000 Miss World pageant, it was the first time in the history of the Miss World pageant that a former Miss World crowned the same title to a contestant from the same country.

  

• After winning the title of Miss World 1999, Yukta Mookhey attended various charitable and social events; she kept on making her contribution in these social and charitable events even after the tenure of her title of Miss World 1999 was ended.

  

• She is also an active environmental activist and has supported many environmental initiatives such as Swachh Kalyani Nagar, which educates people to incorporate practices that generate minimum or zero waste.

• She has also contributed to addressing the issue of child labour in India.