Maureen Neliya Ballard (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Hingert) (born 9 January 1937), also professionally known as Jana Davi is a former

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

n dancer, model, actress and beauty pageant titleholder.

Biography

Hingert was born on 9 January 1937 in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. Her parents, Lionel Hingert and Lorna Mabel del Run, were of Dutch Burgher ancestry. Her father was an employee of the

Bank of Ceylon Bank of Ceylon (BOC; Sinhala: ලංකා බැංකුව ''Lanka Bænkuwa'', Tamil: இலங்கை வங்கி ''Ilangai Vangi'') is a state-owned, major commercial bank in Sri Lanka. Its head office is located in an iconic cyli ...

. Hingert attended school at the Holy Family Convent in Bambalapitiya, Colombo until she was eighteen and continued her college education in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In 1955, Hingert was crowned Miss Ceylon and subsequently selected as a contestant in

Miss Universe 1955 Miss Universe 1955, the 4th Miss Universe pageant, was held on 22 July 1955 at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California, United States, with 33 female competitors. This was the first Miss Universe pageant to be aired on televis ...

pageant. She was the first Ceylonese representative to win an award at the

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

pageant, after ended up as the second runner-up. Due to her very high placement in the contest, she has been revered as "putting Ceylon on the map" and being an ambassador to her country, Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka). She was also a dancer, and gave solo performances at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles and other major Los Angeles venues.

Filmography

Following the Miss Universe contest, Hingert was contracted to

Universal International Studios NBCUniversal International Networks, formerly NBC Universal Global Networks and Universal Networks International, is a part of NBCUniversal, owned by Comcast. History When NBCUniversal was formed in 2004, it owned many entertainment television c ...

and

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

. Some of the movies she appeared in include ''The King and I'', '' Fort Bowie'', '' Gun Fever'', '' The Adventures of Hiram Holiday'', ''Moroccan Halk Moth'', '' Pillars of the Sky'', ''Dangerous Search'', '' Gunmen from Laredo'', ''

The Rawhide Trail ''The Rawhide Trail'' is a 1958 American Western film directed by Robert Gordon and written by Alexander J. Wells. The film stars Rex Reason, Nancy Gates, Richard Erdman, Ann Doran, Rusty Lane and Maureen Hingert. The film was released on Januar ...

'' and the British TV Series ''

Captain David Grief ''Captain David Grief'' (also known as ''The Jack London Stories'') is an American action/adventure television series that aired in syndication from October 1957 to 1960. The program was based on a series of Jack London short-stories centered on t ...

''. She was sometimes billed in films as Jana Davi.

Personal life

Hingert married an American designer and artist

Mario Armond Zamparelli Mario Armond Zamparelli (June 4, 1921 – September 8, 2012) was an American artist and designer, best known for his connection with Howard Hughes. Life Zamparelli was perhaps best known for his connection with Howard Hughes. For 18 years, Zampar ...

in 1958. Zamparelli was best known for his work as designer of

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...

' empire. The couple had three daughters, one of whom –

Gina Zamparelli Gina N. Zamparelli (8 May 1959 – 21 May 2018) was an American, Los Angeles–based, concert promoter. Family Zamparelli was the daughter of Sri-Lankan model and Miss Universe title-holder Maureen Hingert and American designer Mario Armond Zam ...

(died 2018) – achieved fame in arts and entertainment and was active in the field of historic preservation. In July 1970, Hingert divorced Zamparelli, and in 1976 she married with William J. Ballard in

. Ballard died in 2012.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hingert, Maureen 1937 births 20th Century Studios contract players 20th-century Sri Lankan actresses Alumni of Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya Burgher models Living people Miss Universe 1955 contestants People from Colombo People of British Ceylon Sri Lankan female dancers Sri Lankan film actresses Sri Lankan people of Dutch descent