Adline Castelino

Biography

Adline Mewis Quadros Castelino is an Indian beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Diva Universe 2020. She represented India at Miss Universe 2020, and was the third runner-up.

== Early life and education == Her family is from Udyavara in Udupi, Karnataka. Castelino attended the Indian Central School in Kuwait. At the age of fifteen, she returned to India and moved to Mumbai, where she attended St. Xavier's High School. Castelino later attended Wilson College, where she graduated with a degree in business administration. She is fluent in English and Hindi, besides her mother tongue Konkani.

== Pageantry == Castelino had participated in an online pageant in 2018. She continued her training for pageants through the Cocoaberry Training Academy in Mumbai, where in 2019 she was crowned Miss Cocoaberry Diva.

=== Miss Diva 2020 ===

In 2019, Castelino entered Miss Diva 2020, through the Chennai auditions, and was shortlisted as a city finalist. In the final round of selections in Mumbai, she was placed in the top 20. During the contest's sports round held in Bennett University, she won the Miss Smasher award, for her performance in badminton. On 22 February 2020, she was crowned as Miss Diva Universe 2020 by the outgoing titleholder Vartika Singh at Yash Raj Studio, Andheri, Mumbai. During the competition's final question and answer round, the top 5 contestants were each asked a question by the host, Malaika Arora: "Does religion unite or divide people?" to which Castelino answered:

Religion definitely unites people. It has values that bring people together. People believing in the same things come together and stay in harmony, but what divides us, is us. Humans divide each other. Religion doesn't divide anyone. When I first came here from Kuwait, I really loved the fact that in India, all religions coexist in harmony. We celebrate Diwali, Christmas, Eid all together and what a beautiful scene that is, that we can stay together and respect each other's beliefs. We can progress with each other and forward to the future.

=== Miss Universe 2020 ===

As the winner of Miss Diva 2020, Castelino represented India at the Miss Universe 2020 competition at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida, in the United States. During the grand finale event held on 16 May 2021, she initially made it to the Top 21, and subsequently she was selected as one of the top 10 semifinalists. Castelino further placed in the top 5, thus becoming the first Indian woman to reach the top 5 of Miss Universe since the year 2001. As one of the finalists at the contest, Castelino was asked by one of the judges, Tatyana Orozco - "Should countries lockdown due to COVID-19 despite the strain on their economies or should they open their borders and risk a potential increase in infection rates?" Castelino answered: