Adline Mewis Quadros Castelino (born 24 July 1998) is an Indian model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned as
Miss Diva Universe 2020. She represented India at
Miss Universe 2020
Miss Universe 2020 was the 69th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, United States on May 16, 2021.
At the end of the event, Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa crowned Andrea Meza of Mexico ...
, and was the third runner-up.
Early life and education
Castelino was born in
Kuwait City
Kuwait City ( ar, مدينة الكويت) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economical centre of the emirate, ...
to
Mangalorean Catholic
Mangalorean Catholics ( kok, Kōdiyālcheñ Kathōlikā) are an ethno-religious community of Latin Catholics in India typically residing in the Diocese of Mangalore in the erstwhile South Canara area, by the southwestern coast of present-day K ...
parents Alphonse and Meera Castellino. Her family hails from
Udyavara
Udyavara is an ancient port town located 5 km south of Udupi in the Indian state of Karnataka.Jayalaxmi Silks,one of the most famous stand-alone shopping stores in entire Karnataka is situated here.
Udyavara is gradually becoming a Udu ...
in
Udupi
Udupi (alternate spelling Udipi; also known as Odipu) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Udupi is situated about north of the educational, commercial and industrial hub of Mangalore and about west of state capital Bangalore by road.
...
, Karnataka. Castelino attended the Indian Central School in
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
. At the age of fifteen, she returned to India and moved to
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
, where she attended St. Xavier's High School. Castelino later attended
Wilson College. There she graduated with a degree in Business Administration. She is fluent in English and
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
, besides her mother tongue
Konkani.
Pageantry
Aside from working as a model, Castelino had participated in an online pageant in 2018. She further continued her training for pageants through the Cocoaberry Training Academy in Mumbai. In 2019, she was crowned as 'Miss Cocoaberry Diva' by the institution.
Miss Diva 2020
In 2019, Castelino auditioned for the
Miss Diva 2020 contest, through the
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
auditions, and was shortlisted as a city finalist. In the culminating round of selections in
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
, she entered as one of the top 20 delegates. During the contest's sports round held in
Bennett University, she won the "Miss Smasher" award, for her performance in badminton. On 22 February 2020, she was eventually crowned as Miss Diva Universe 2020 by the outgoing titleholder
Vartika Singh
Vartika Brij Nath Singh is an Indian model and beauty pageant titleholder who was appointed as Miss Universe India 2019 and represented India at 68th edition of the Miss Universe pageant. She was previously crowned as Femina Miss India Femina ...
at
Yash Raj Studio,
Andheri
Andheri ( n̪d̪ʱeɾiː is a locality in the western part of the city of Mumbai in India. Udayanagari, the name of a hill near the Mahakali caves, inspired the name Andheri. On the former islet of Versova, also known as Vasave, there was ano ...
, Mumbai.
During the competition's final question and answer round, the top 5 contestants were each asked a common question by the host,
Malaika Arora
Malaika Arora (born 23 October 1973) is an Indian actress, dancer, model, VJ and a television personality who appears in Hindi-language films. She made her debut as a film producer in 2008, with her former husband Arbaaz Khan, founding the co ...
: "Does religion unite or divide people?" to which Castelino expressed:
Miss Universe 2020
As the winner of Miss Diva 2020, Castelino represented India at the
Miss Universe 2020
Miss Universe 2020 was the 69th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, United States on May 16, 2021.
At the end of the event, Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa crowned Andrea Meza of Mexico ...
competition at
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, also known as The Guitar Hotel, due to its tower constructed to resemble a Gibson Les Paul guitar, is a hotel and casino resort near Hollywood, Florida, United States, located on of the Hollywood Res ...
,
Hollywood, Florida
Hollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is now ...
, in the United States.
During the grand finale event held on 16 May 2021, she initially made it to the Top 21, and subsequently she was selected as one of the top 10 semifinalists. Castelino further placed in the top 5, thus becoming the first Indian woman to reach the top 5 of Miss Universe since the year
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
.
As one of the finalists at the contest, Castelino was asked by one of the judges,
Tatyana Orozco - "Should countries lockdown due to COVID-19 despite the strain on their economies or should they open their borders and risk a potential increase in infection rates?" Castelino replied by stating:
At the end of the event, Castelino was adjudged as the 3rd runner up, and
Andrea Meza
Alma Andrea Meza Carmona (born 13 August 1994) is a Mexican model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe 2020. Since winning the title, she became the third Mexican woman to be crowned Miss Universe. Meza holds the record ...
of Mexico eventually won the title. This was India's highest placement in Miss Universe since
Lara Dutta
Lara Dutta (born 16 April 1978) is an Indian actress, entrepreneur and the winner of the Miss Universe 2000 pageant. She was previously crowned as Miss Intercontinental 1997. In her career, she has primarily worked in Hindi films. She is the ...
won the title of
Miss Universe 2000
Miss (pronounced ) is an English language honorific typically used for a girl, for an unmarried woman (when not using another title such as "Doctor" or "Dame"), or for a married woman retaining her maiden name. Originating in the 17th century, it ...
. Castelino broke the 20-year drought of India's non placement in the Top 5 of Miss Universe, which was previously achieved by
Celina Jaitley
Celina Jaitly (born 24 November 1981) is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Bollywood films. She won the Miss India in 2001 and was the 4th runner-up at Miss Universe 2001. She made her acting debut with the 2003 thriller ''Janasheen''.
E ...
, who was the 4th runner-up in
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
.
Philanthropy
Castelino works with a welfare organisation called ‘Vikas Sahayog Pratishthan’ (VSP) which functions to provide a sustainable livelihood for farmers, so as to curb
farmers' suicides and inequality. She has raised money for the Child Help Foundation (CHF), through a crowd funding platform called Ketto. She has often advocated on spreading more awareness about the acceptance of
LGBT community
The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay men, gay, bisexuality, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a comm ...
. She also advocates to encourage leadership qualities in women by conducting
leadership programmes.
During the lockdown imposed due to the
SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in 2020, she helped in providing essentials like food supplies, sanitizers and face masks for ‘Desire Society’, a non-profit voluntary organization that cares for children infected with HIV in India. On the occasion of Christmas the same year, she went as a
Secret Santa
Secret Santa is a Western Christmas tradition in which members of a group or community are randomly assigned a person to whom they give a gift. The identity of the gift giver is to remain a secret and should not be revealed.
Deriving from the ...
to distribute gifts and spent time with the children supported by the Desire Society.
She was able to raise and donate
food grains
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legu ...
and
pulses
In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the nec ...
, among other
staples to the organization.
[ During this visit, she expressed, "The first time I came to know about the Desire Society was when I was in college. I used visit here as a student to help out as a volunteer."
]
She supported Smile Train
Smile Train is a nonprofit organization and charity providing corrective surgery for children with cleft lips and palates. Headquartered in New York City and founded in 1999, Smile Train provides free corrective cleft surgery in 87 countries, ...
's campaign to end the stigma around COVID-19. She also initiated fundraisers for the Akshaya Patra Foundation
The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a non-profit trust of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), located in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The organisation operates the Midday Meal Scheme (a school lunch programme) in India.
Mi ...
, to help provide meals and packed grocery kits to the marginalized and low-income segment of the society, comprising daily wage workers, migrant laborers, people at old age homes and night shelters. Castelino, supporting this cause, expressed - "The spread of coronavirus has taken a lot from us, but let this pandemic not take away our humanity and ability to understand the needs of our brethren."[
In August 2020, she associated with a campaign to spread awareness about ]polycystic ovary syndrome
Polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, is the most common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. The syndrome is named after the characteristic cysts which may form on the ovaries, though it is important to note that this is a sign and no ...
. She promoted a drive titled 'PCOS Free India' to help women reverse the condition naturally through some holistic wellness practices.
She organized fundraisers during 2021 so as to provide the donations to Agricultural Resource Centers. Through this, she aims to supply agricultural machineries like sowing equipments, petrol pump spray, sprinkler sets, ripper and thrasher units to Women Self-Help Groups, and train them to utilise these equipments.
Media
Adline Castelino was ranked in The Times Most Desirable Women at No. 2 in 2020.
Filmography
Television
Music videos
References
{{authority control
1998 births
Living people
People from Kuwait City
People from Udupi
Indian beauty pageant winners
Indian female models
Female models from Mumbai
Miss Universe 2020 contestants
Indian expatriates in Kuwait
University of Mumbai alumni