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Kaziah Liz Mejo Is Miss Universe India 2026: Meet the 19-Year-Old From Kerala
A jury led by Sushmita Sen — with Urvashi Rautela, Celina Jaitly and Rhea Singha alongside — picked the law student from Mavelikkara over 51 other contestants. Puerto Rico is next.
JAIPUR: Kerala's Kaziah Liz Mejo is the new Miss Universe India. The 19-year-old law student from Mavelikkara was crowned by outgoing titleholder Manika Vishwakarma at Zee Studios in Jaipur on Sunday night, at the end of the third edition of the national pageant under the Glamanand Group. She now heads to San Juan, Puerto Rico, in November to represent India at the 75th Miss Universe.
The finale was as much about the panel as the podium. Sushmita Sen — India's first Miss Universe, way back in 1994 — anchored a jury that read like a pageant hall of fame, and it was her successors' turn to decide who joins the club next.
From Abu Dhabi classrooms to a Jaipur crown
Mejo grew up in Abu Dhabi and returned to India for her law studies, according to a profile published by the Free Press Journal. This wasn't her first pageant either — she represented India at Miss Teen International 2025 and finished first runner-up, before winning Miss Universe Kerala and now the national crown. The Free Press Journal report notes she trained in classical dance from the age of five.
