Harnaaz Sandhu

Biography

Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu (born 3 March 2000) is an Indian model, actress, and beauty pageant titleholder best known for winning the title of Miss Universe 2021. The third entrant from India to win Miss Universe, Sandhu was previously crowned Femina Miss India Punjab in 2019, and was a semifinalist at Femina Miss India 2019 pageant. Sandhu has since worked as an actress.

== Early life == Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu was born in a Jat Sikh family of the Kohali village in Gurdaspur district, Punjab, to Pritampal Singh Sandhu and Rabinder Kaur Sandhu. Her father is a realtor and her mother a gynaecologist. She also has one sibling. In 2006, she moved to England, before returning to India two years later and settling in Chandigarh. She attended Shivalik Public School and the Post Graduate Government College for Girls, both in Chandigarh. Prior to becoming Miss Universe, Sandhu was pursuing a master's degree in public administration.

== Pageantry ==

In 2017, Sandhu won Miss Chandigarh 2017, a regional contest. Subsequently, she participated in the Times Fresh Face Contest 2017, where she was adjudged as the 1st runner-up. She later won the title - Miss Max Emerging Star India 2018. She auditioned for the regional Femina Miss Punjab 2019 contest, and emerged as the winner. This gave her the right to participate in Femina Miss India 2019.

=== Femina Miss India 2019 ===

Sandhu represented the state of Punjab at Femina Miss India 2019, reaching the top 12. During the finale, she was asked a question by one of the judges - "If you were to be featured in a popular magazine cover, which cover would it be and why?" to which Sandhu replied that she would wish to be featured in the Femina magazine. At the end of the event, Suman Rao of Rajasthan, won Femina Miss India World.

=== Miss Diva 2021 ===

During the preliminary competition held on 22 September, Sandhu won the Miss Beautiful Skin award and became a finalist for Miss Beach Body, Miss Beautiful Smile, Miss Photogenic, and Miss Talented. She was one of the top 10 semifinalists at the main contest. During the opening statement round, she said: