Maria Thattil is an Australian author, media personality and pageant winner who was crowned Miss Universe Australia 2020 and then represented Australia 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 ...

, where she was placed in the top 10.

Early life

Thattil is

Indian Australian all of this entry re immigration is a complete fabrication Indian Australians or Indo-Australians are Australians of Indian ancestry. This includes both those who are Australian by birth, and those born in India or elsewhere in the Indian d ...

. She was born in Melbourne after her parents migrated from India to Australia in the early 1990s.

Career

Thattil was named

Miss Universe Australia Miss Universe Australia is a national beauty pageant that selects Australia's representative to the Miss Universe pageant. Miss Universe Australia is not only a beauty pageant but a self-development program that provides a platform for the coun ...

in October 2020, and was placed in the top 10 of the global competition as only the third woman of colour to represent Australia. In January 2022, Thattil appeared as a contestant on the eighth season of '' I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! Australia''. She was the second contestant to be eliminated. While in the jungle, she came out as bisexual. Thattil is a supporter of diversity, inclusion and equality. She is an advocate for women, the LGBTQIA+ community and anti-racism. In 2023, she became an author with ''Unbounded'', a book that navigates the complexities of identity.

Personal life

Thattil identifies as bisexual and is in a relationship. She revealed that she had an abortion at age 21. She lives in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

References

External links

Living people Miss Universe 2020 contestants Miss Universe Australia winners Australian people of Indian descent Year of birth missing (living people) Australian bisexual people Models from Melbourne {{Pageant-bio-stub