Manushi Chhillar

Biography

Manushi Chhillar (born 14 May 1997) is an Indian actress, model and the winner of Miss World 2017 pageant. She represented her state of Haryana at the Femina Miss India 2017 pageant and won the title of Femina Miss India World 2017 and then went on to become the sixth Indian to be crowned Miss World after 17 years. Chhillar made her acting debut with the role of Sanyogita in the historical drama Samrat Prithviraj (2022), and has since appeared in The Great Indian Family (2023) and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (2024).

== Early life and education == Chhillar was born on 14 May 1997 in Rohtak into a Haryanvi family, although her ancestral home is in Bamnoli village of Jhajjar district. Her father, Mitra Basu Chhillar, is a physician who served at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and now practices regenerative medicine at Soma Wellness in Mumbai, while her mother, Neelam Chhillar, is also a medical doctor and departmental head of neurochemistry at the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences, New Delhi. Chhillar studied at St. Thomas' School (New Delhi) and was academically brilliant, having topped the all India CBSE in English subject in class 12, and scored 96 per cent in her boards. She cleared the All India Pre Medical Test (now, NEET) in her first attempt. She was pursuing a medical degree (MBBS) at the Bhagat Phool Singh Medical College in Sonipat. Chhillar is fluent in Hindi and English, apart from her mother tongue, Haryanvi. She is a trained Kuchipudi dancer, and had acquired her training under Raja and Radha Reddy.

== Pageantry ==

=== Femina Miss India ===

Chhillar ventured into pageantry with Fashion Big Bazaar sponsored Campus Princess 2016, where she was crowned as one of the finalists from All India Institute of Medical Sciences in December 2016. It was conducted by the Miss India Organization. Thereafter, she went on to win the title of Femina Miss India Haryana in April 2017. Chhillar represented the state of Haryana in the annual Femina Miss India contest. During the competition, Chhillar was crowned Miss Photogenic. Chhillar, as a top 15 semi-finalist was asked by Karan Johar: "The government is considering to ban surrogacy in India. What is your opinion regarding this?"

I feel everyone in the world should have a right to be a parent. So, instead of banning surrogacy in India, the government should focus on preventing its exploitation.

During the final question and answer round of Femina Miss India 2017, the top 5 delegates were asked the same question - "You have spent 30 days with 30 fellow contestants at Femina Miss India. What lesson will you take back with you?", to which Chhillar responded:

These days that I have spent with my fellow contestants has been the most dynamic period of my life. The only thing that was certain during the whole experience was uncertainty. The one belief that I would take back with me is that, yes...I can change the world. When I entered Miss India, there was only passion. However, through this journey, I acquired a vision in life. That vision and the belief that I can change the world, is something I'm going to take back with me.