Reita Faria

Reita Faria Biography

Reita Faria is a former Indian model. She is better known as the first Indian model to win Miss World Title. She won the title in the year 1966. She is also the first Asian to claim this beauty crown. Though she had a promising modelling career ahead, she preferred to choose medicine as career and took MBBS from Grant Medical College & Sir J. J. Group of Hospitals. She refused to take films as career after the completion of course too. Of course a great lesson for models of today to learn from this first Indian model to achieve international celebrity status!  After 1966, it took 28 years for India to win an international event when Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai bagged Miss Universe and Miss World titles in 1994 respectively. Two exceptions are Zeenat Aman who became Miss Asia Pacific in the year 1970 and Tara Anne Fonseca who claimed the same title in 1973.

Reita was born in the year 1945 in Mumbai, Maharashtra. She won Miss Mumbai crown in 1965 and participated in Eve's Weekly Miss India contest. She became the winner and thus represented India for Miss World contest. That year, Femina Miss India title was won by Yasmin Daji. Till 1980’s, Miss World contestants were send by Eve's Weekly, not Femina magazine. Reita participated in the contest while she was a medicine student. Later she married David Powell and settled in Ireland.

When she won the title, she was one among the noted Indian celebrities who became popular worldwide. She won 2500 pounds as prize money and was actually confused what to do with this huge amount. She thought of buying a Mercedes, though it was not possible to take to India. In true sense, she participated in the contest just for fun and wanted to complete studies – she told soon after winning the crown. She also said that it was for the first time she appeared in bath suit.

Now she often appears as judge for Miss India and Miss World competitions. She was a judge at Femina Miss India in 1998 and Miss World Contest in 1976 held at London. Now she lives in Dublin, Ireland settled with her family life. Her husband is an endocrinologist and they got married in 1971. This sweet couple has two kids.

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Updated: January 24, 2014