Doctor who became first Miss World from India, borrowed clothes to participate in beauty contest, her name is…

When we think about India beauty queens, some of the common names that come to mind are those of Bollywood actresses like Aishwarya Rai, Priyanka Chopra, Sushmita Sen, Lara Dutta, and other less popular names such as Yukta Mookhey, Diana Hayden and Manushi Chillar. However, before these famous names, there was one woman who paved the way for them, by winning the Miss World contest, way back in 1966.

We’re talking about Reita Faria, who scripted history on November 17, 1966, when she became the first woman, not only from India, but from all of Asia, to win the Miss World title. She was just 23 at the time.

Who is Reita Faria?

Born on August 23, 1943 in a middle-class family in Matunga locality of Mumbai (then Bombay), Reita Faria’s parents were Goan catholics, her father, John, a native of Tivim village, while Antoinette, her mother, was from Santa Cruz, Goa. John worked in a mineral water factory while his wife ran a small-time beauty salon.

Growing up, Reita, was teased for her height by boys at school, who nicknamed her ‘mommy long legs’. However, Reita used her lean, 5 foot 8 inch frame to her advantage, becoming exceptionally good at sports such as badminton, hockey, netball, and throwball. She even scored a hat-rick in a hockey match which made headlines at the time.

India’s first beauty queen

After her primary education, Reita pursued medicine at the Grant Medical College and later completed her MBBS degree from Sir JJ Group of Hospitals, thus becoming a certified doctor.

However, an incident changed the course of her life, and indeed history itself, when during a regular day in college, some friends jokingly asked her to participate in a beauty pageant. Reita took it as a challenge and went on to win the Eve’s Weekly Miss India contest in 1966, which qualified her to represent India at the 1966 Miss World pageant.

At the Miss World contest, Reita Faria stunned world audiences with her slender frame and dusky look, eventually emerging as the winner of the pageant and crowned Miss World 1966. At the age of 23, Faria became the first Indian as well as Asian woman to win the Miss World title, and she was also the first qualified doctor win the crown.

However, the path to glory was not easy for Reita as she did not have a passport to go London, where the contest was being held, nor she had clothes, make up and other fashion items for the competition. In an interview, Reita revealed that she borrowed, dresses, Saris, and swimsuits, etc from her friends and finally managed to get a passport and head to London for the contest.

With her victory at the Miss World 1966 pageant, Reita Faria paved the way for Indian women to take part in the global contest with confidence, which led to several winners such as Aishwarya Rai and others over the years.