Reita Faria Powell | |
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 Faria in 1966 | |
| Born | Reita Faria (1943-08-23)23 August 1943 (age 82) |
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| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Beauty pageant titleholder | |
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Reita Faria Powell[1] (néeFaria; born 23 August 1943)[2] is an Indian physician, former model and the winner ofMiss World 1966 pageant. She is the first Indian Miss World winner and the first to be qualified as amedical doctor.[3]
Reita Faria was born in theMatunga locality of Mumbai (thenBritish India’sBombay) on 23 August 1943.[citation needed] Her parents wereGoan Catholics, her father John was from the village ofTivim and his wife Antoinette was fromSanta Cruz, Goa, both then part ofPortuguese Goa.[4] Faria was the couple's second daughter after their eldest, Philomena. The family was middle class, with her father working in a mineral water factory and her mother running a beauty salon.[5]
Growing up, Faria, with an adult height of 5 feet 8 inches, was unusually tall for an Indian girl and made fun of by schoolboys who nicknamed her ‘mommy long legs’. Nevertheless Faria used her tall and lean build to her advantage in sports, playing ‘everything from throwball, netball and badminton’. Her first newspaper headlines were for scoringhat-tricks in hockey.[4]
Having been born inBombay, Faria thereby participated in the Miss Bombay contest, which she won. She subsequently won theEve's Weekly Miss India contest in 1966 (not to be confused with theFemina Miss India, won byYasmin Daji in 1966). This made her eligible to represent India atMiss World 1966.[6]
During the Miss World 1966 contest, she won the sub-titles 'Best in Swimsuit' and 'Best in Eveningwear' for wearing asaree. She eventually went on to win theMiss World 1966 crown at the climax of the event, beating 51 competing delegates from other countries.[6]
Faria was a judge atFemina Miss India in 1998, and has come back to judge the Miss World competition on a few occasions. She was a judge along withDemis Roussos at the Miss World final of 1976 held in London whereCindy Breakespeare was crowned Miss World.[6]
After her one-year tenure as Miss World, she began receiving various offers to act in films. Faria refused lucrative modelling and acting contracts, and instead concentrated onmedical studies. She was a student at theGrant Medical College & Sir J. J. Group of Hospitals, where she completed herM.B.B.S. degree. Thereafter she went on to study atKing's College Hospital, London. She married her mentor David Powell, in 1971, and in 1973, the couple shifted toDublin, Ireland, where she started her medical practice.[7]
Faria lives inDublin, Ireland, with her husband,endocrinologist David Powell, whom she married in 1971. She has two daughters.[8]
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| Preceded by | Miss World 1966 | Succeeded by |
Miss World 1966 national titleholders | |
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