Diana Hayden (born 1 May 1973) is an Indian actress, television host, model and the winner of
Miss World 1997 pageant. She is the third Indian woman to win the title of
Miss World. She also won three subtitles during the pageant and is the only
Miss World titleholder to do so. In 2008, she was a celebrity contestant in the reality show ''
Bigg Boss
''Bigg Boss'' is an Indian reality television game show franchise based on the Dutch reality show '' Big Brother''. It is produced by Endemol Shine India through Viacom18 and Disney Star. Subsequently, the various versions of the show are made ...
''.
Early life
Hayden was born in
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India, in an
Anglo-Indian Christian family.
She attended
St. Ann's High School in
Secunderabad.
Her parents separated when she was in school and she had to start working at the age of 13. She worked for an event management company called Encore, during when she began taking up modelling assignments. At the age of 21, she worked as a
Public Relations Officer at BMG Crescendo, where she assisted in managing the careers of singers
Anaida
Anaida or Anaida Parvaneh is an Indian performer, director, producer, and playback singer. She is now a chef and healer.
Background
A Parsee/Zoroastrian of Indian-Greek-Iranian heritage, she was one of India's first pop singers, in the 1990s ...
and
Mehnaz Hoosein
Mehnaz Hoosein (born 30 January 1973) is an Indian pop singer and songwriter from Mumbai, India, popularly known for her hit song 'Banoongi Main Miss India'. She is a graduate from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai. At the age of 13, Mehnaz started ...
.
Pageantry
Hayden's journey in pageantry began at the age of 23, when a friend recommended her to enter
Femina Miss India. She was then shortlisted for the Femina Miss India 1997 contest. She finished second place and earned the title of
Miss India World
Miss India or Femina Miss India is a national beauty pageant in India that annually selects representatives to compete in Miss World, one of the Big Four major international beauty pageants. It is organised by '' Femina'', a women's magazine ...
. She represented India at the 47th edition of the
Miss World pageant held in
Baie Lazare
Baie Lazare () is an administrative district of Seychelles located on the island of Mahé. It is named after the explorer Lazare Picault Lazare Picault (fl. mid-18th century) was a French explorer known for his exploration of islands in the Seyc ...
,
Seychelles. A total of 86 delegates competed for the title and at the end of the event, Hayden was crowned as
Miss World 1997.
During the question and answer segment of the competition, Hayden responded to the question - "Why do you want to become Miss World?", by stating:
''"I draw inspiration from a famous writer and poet, William Butler Yeats, who once wrote - 'With Dreams Begin Responsibility.' Well for me, this title is that dream and the responsibility it brings, I cherish that in a small way I could make a difference and help the dreams of others. Thank you."''
Hayden was also crowned as the "
Miss World - Asia and Oceania" during the Miss World contest. In addition, she won the titles ''Miss Photogenic'' and ''Spectacular Swimwear''. Hayden is the only Miss World titleholder to win three subtitles during the competition. She is the third Indian woman to win the Miss World pageant, after
Reita Faria
Reita Faria Powell (née Faria; born 23 August 1943) is an Indian physician, former model and the winner of the Miss World 1966 pageant. Born in Bombay to Goan parents, Faria is the first Asian woman to win the beauty contest. She is also the ...
in 1966 and
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in 1994.
After her win at Miss World, she was signed up to endorse
L'Oréal,
Colgate and
Chopard
Le Petit-Fils de L.-U. Chopard & Cie S.A., commonly known as Chopard, is a Swiss manufacturer and retailer of luxury watches, jewellery and accessories. Founded in 1860 by Louis-Ulysse Chopard in Sonvilier, Switzerland, Chopard has been owned by ...
in India. She has been associated with various charities including
Child Rights and You
Child Rights and You (CRY) is an Indian non-governmental organization (NGO) that works towards ensuring children's rights.
The organization was started in 1979 by Rippan Kapur, an Air India purser. CRY works with 99 grassroot projects across ...
(''CRY''),
Greenpeace,
PETA and the
Spastics Society of India. She has supported several causes to spread awareness about cancer and HIV/AIDS.
Career
Following her tenure as the Miss World organization's global representative, Hayden moved to
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and studied acting at the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
She also studied at the
Drama Studio London, where she concentrated on the works of
Shakespeare and earned a Best Actress nomination from the studio.
In 2001, she made her screen debut in the film version of Shakespeare's ''
Othello'' in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
.
She hosted Miss Europe twice in 2001 and 2002 in
Lebanon, along with
Miss Lebanon
Miss Lebanon ( ar, ملكة جمال لبنان, Malikat Jamāl Lubnān, Queen of Beauty of Lebanon) is the national beauty pageant in Lebanon. The current Miss Lebanon is Yasmina Zaytoun who was crowned on 24 July 2022.
History
Miss Lebanon h ...
1997 and
Julien Lepers
Julien Lepers (; whose real name is Ronan Gerval Lepers) is a French television and radio presenter, and a singer-songwriter, born on in Paris.
Biography
Early life
Son of the conductor Raymond Lepers and the singer Maria Rémusat, and ...
.
Diana was signed by the Avalon Academy in 2006 as the face of the Academy and currently serves as a celebrity Guest Lecturer for airline personnel training programmes.
In 2008, Diana Hayden became a wild card entry on the
second season of the Indian TV show ''
Bigg Boss
''Bigg Boss'' is an Indian reality television game show franchise based on the Dutch reality show '' Big Brother''. It is produced by Endemol Shine India through Viacom18 and Disney Star. Subsequently, the various versions of the show are made ...
''. She was voted off ''Bigg Boss'' during Week 13.
She has written a book called ''A Beautiful Truth'' which is an "encyclopedia on grooming and also deals with personality development and confidence building". She took two years to complete the book, which was released on 6 August 2012.
Personal life
Hayden is married to Collin Dick, an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
businessman from
Nevada. He had been working in
Mumbai for an international
NGO. In an interview, Hayden had stated that she met Dick when he came as a prospective tenant to rent her apartment. They got married in a private ceremony which was attended by their family and close friends, on 13 September 2013. The wedding took place in a country club in
Las Vegas.
In 2016, she gave birth to a girl. The child was born from an egg that Hayden had frozen 8 years previously. In November 2017, Hayden confirmed that she was pregnant for the second time. In March 2018, she gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl.
Controversy
In 2018,
Biplab Kumar Deb
Biplab Kumar Deb (born 25 November 1971) is an Indian politician and former Chief Minister of Tripura. He was the state unit president of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Tripura from 7 January 2016 up to 2018. He led the BJP to victory in the 20 ...
, the
Chief Minister of
Tripura state made a controversial statement regarding Hayden during a public speech. Deb questioned the rationale behind crowning Diana Hayden as Miss World in 1997 and claimed that all international beauty pageants were a farce. Deb expressed - "Tell me, did she
ianadeserve it? People might say I am creating a controversy. I can understand Aishwarya Rai getting it, at least she has traits of an Indian beauty." Deb went on to add that "for Indians,
Goddess Lakshmi and
Saraswati exemplify beauty. I don't understand the beauty of Diana Hayden."
Deb's remarks received massive backlash from netizens and social activists. Hayden responded to Deb's comments by stating:
Deb later expressed regret and apologized for his remarks on Hayden.
Filmography
Films
Television
See also
*
Reita Faria
Reita Faria Powell (née Faria; born 23 August 1943) is an Indian physician, former model and the winner of the Miss World 1966 pageant. Born in Bombay to Goan parents, Faria is the first Asian woman to win the beauty contest. She is also the ...
*
Yukta Mookhey
Yukta Inderlal Mookhey is an Indian civic activist and the winner of Miss World 1999. She is the fourth Indian woman to win Miss World and was previously crowned as Femina Miss India World in 1999. She is a former model and actress, and has wo ...
*
Manushi Chhillar
Manushi Chhillar (born 14 May 1997) is an Indian actress and model, who was the winner of the Miss World 2017 pageant. She represented her state of Haryana at the Femina Miss India 2017 pageant, which she won, and went on to become the sixth r ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayden, Diana
1973 births
Femina Miss India winners
Anglo-Indian people
Indian Christians
Indian beauty pageant winners
Indian film actresses
Living people
Miss World winners
Miss World 1997 delegates
Actresses from Hyderabad, India
Actresses of European descent in Indian films
Actresses of European descent in Bollywood films
Alumni of the Drama Studio London
Beauty pageant contestants from India
Female models from Hyderabad, India
Bigg Boss (Hindi TV series) contestants