Nina Davuluri

Nina Davuluri (2013)

Nina Davuluri (born April 20, 1989 in Syracuse , New York ) is an American beauty queen and winner of the Miss America election 2014. She is the first Miss America of Indian descent.

Childhood and youth

Nina Davuluri was born in Syracuse after her parents, a computer specialist and a gynecologist, immigrated to the United States in 1981 from Vijayawada , Andhra Pradesh, India . A few weeks later she came to live with her grandmother in Vijayawada, until she was brought back to the USA by her parents at the age of two and a half. As a school child, she lived in Oklahoma for some time until she and her family moved to St. Joseph , Michigan when she was 10 years old . After graduating from high school in 2007, the family moved to Fayetteville , New York. Davuluri continued her education at the University of Michigan , where she graduated in 2012 with a BS in Brain, Behavior & Cognitive Science, including cognitive psychology and behavioral research.

Miss America

In 2006 she finished second in the Miss Teen America election. She had been preparing for the Miss America election for a whole year and convinced among other things with a mixture of classical Indian dance and Bollywood dance, which was performed for the first time in the history of the competition. After her victory on September 15, 2013, Davuluri was the target of numerous racist attacks on social networks .

Beliefs

Davuluri speaks publicly about her 24kg weight loss two years before the competition and also about her eating disorders; she suffered from bulimia . In an interview, she regrets that many people chase after false, unattainable and contradicting ideals of beauty. As an example, she cites the contrasting tint of the skin, "being brown", in India and the USA:

“And so, in India, you know, the lighter or more fair skin you are, you're supposedly considered more beautiful. And I grew up with that, you know, in my own household because my parents are from India. So my family would always say, oh, don't go out in the sun, you're going to get too dark, or things like that. But then with my peers, they would say, oh, my goodness, you're so tan. Your skin is so beautiful. And it's really sad that we always try to attain those ideals that aren't important. "

“Because in India, you know, it is probably the case that the paler and lighter your skin, the more beautiful you are. That's what I grew up with, you know, because my parents are from India. So my family always warned me, 'Don't go out in the sun, you will get too dark', and stories like that. But then with my friends who said, 'Oh, my goodness, you're so pretty brown. Your skin is so beautiful. ' And it's really sad that we always try to achieve the ideals that are not important. "

- Nina Davuluri : NPR interview

Davuluri wants to use the $ 50,000 prize money to finance a medical degree.

Web links

Commons : Nina Davuluri  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Nina Davuluri Become Miss USA 2014 ( English ) September 16, 2013. Archived from the original on September 25, 2013. Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 24, 2013. 
2. ↑ Victoria Cavaliere: Miss New York is first Indian-American to win Miss America (English) . September 16, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2013. 
3. ↑ ^{a b} Memories of Miss America: SJ graduate Nina Davuluri is first Indian American to win the pageant; former teacher cherishes her insightful essay in 2007 ( English ) Retrieved on September 23, 2013.
4. ↑ Fayetteville's Miss America contestant, Nina Davuluri, hopes to make top 15 ( English ) In: The Post-Standard . Retrieved September 23, 2013.
5. ↑ merkur-online: New Miss America racially offended . September 16, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
6. ↑ Sky News US Team: Miss America Faces Abuse Over Indian Descent (English) . In: Sky News , September 16, 2013. 
7. ↑ Maura Judkis: Miss America pageant fights post-racism with a beauty queen's poise (English) . In: Wall Street Journal , September 22, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2013. 
8. ↑ Is Nina Davuluri 'American Enough' To Be Miss America? September 18, 2013, accessed October 7, 2013 .