Nafisa Joseph

Nafisa Joseph (born March 28, 1978 in Bengaluru , † July 29, 2004 in Mumbai ) was an Indian model and video jockey at MTV India . In 1997 she was named Miss India Universe.

Life

Joseph grew up in Bengaluru . She was the younger of two daughters of the married couple Nirmal and Usha Joseph. Joseph graduated from the Bishop Cotton School and St. Joseph's College in Bangalore.

Joseph first modeled in front of a camera at the age of 12. Her neighbor had given her photos for the advertisement of a department store. As a model, she was looked after by Prasad Bidapa . In 1997, Nafisa Joseph was the youngest participant in the Miss India election that she could win.

In 1999, Joseph participated as a jury member in the VJ hunt for the Indian music television channel MTV India. A week later she was invited to do test shoots herself. Joseph hosted MTV House Full on MTV India for nearly five years. As an actress, she appeared in the television series C.ATS , an Indian version of Charlie's Angels . In 2004 she hosted the show Style on Star World . With the help of her fiancé Gautam Khanduja, she started the television production company 2's Company .

In addition to her television career, Nafisa Joseph campaigned for animal welfare . She supported campaigns by the animal welfare organizations Welfare of Stray Dogs (WSD), People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and People for Animals (PFA). She wrote a weekly column in the Bangalore edition of the Times of India called Nafisa for Animals .

Nafisa Joseph committed suicide in her home in Mumbai on July 29, 2004, at the age of 26. According to her parents, the reason for this step was the cancellation of her wedding, originally planned for August 28, 2004.