Who Is Shree Saini, Miss World Runner-Up And First Indian-American Miss World America?
I believe that there are two types of people in this world—one that succumb to their tough situations and give up, and the other that fight through the tough situations and win at life. Looking at where I am now in life, I’d like to believe that I belong to the latter category. But no matter how unsure I might be about my type, I know for a fact that Shree Saini definitely belongs to the second category too. Don’t know who Shree Saini is? Let me introduce you. Shree Saini is the first-ever Indian American to be crowned Miss World America. Pretty cool, right? But her list of accomplishments doesn’t stop there. She has been crowned Miss India Worldwide 2018 and is also the first-ever Indian-origin contestant to represent America on a global platform. And quite recently she became the first runner-up in Miss World 2021!
Shree Saini of Washington State is among one of the pageant contestants that had participated and later on became the first runner-up in Miss World 2021. She was also crowned Miss World America 2021. The Punjab-born woman is the first Indian-American to be crowned with the title of Miss World America.
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But her journey hasn’t been an easy one. Since she was 12 years old, Shree Saini has had a permanent pacemaker and has grown up to become an advocate for heart health. She has also overcome a major car accident that left burn marks all over her face. But that never stopped her from achieving her dreams.
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In fact, Shree, who has been dancing since she was three years old, was told that after the pacemaker, she wouldn’t be able to dance. But her dedication and passion pushed her to regain her strength so she could dance. Now, she is a trained ballet en pointe, contemporary, jazz, and clogging dancer. She also got her degree in journalism from the University of Washington.
Her journey then led her to the Miss World America headquarters in Los Angeles where she was crowned. Diana Hayden was the one to crown the first Indian-origin contestant to represent America globally. After her coronation, when she was asked about how she felt being crowned Miss World America 2021, Shree Saini said in a statement, “I am happy and quite nervous. I can’t express my feelings (in words). All the credit goes to my parents, especially my mother because of whose support I am here. Thank you Miss World America for this honour.”
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Shree Saini also took to her Instagram to share the news of her win. She shared a picture of herself with the crown and captioned it, “Thank you God for blessing me with the service job of Miss World America 2021 ? I feel so endlessly grateful to everyone who has held my hand, encouraged me, corrected me when needed, and guided me on my life journey. It’s not just my win, but OUR collective win: it’s a win for our inclusive and diverse “America”, for every race, for every culture, for everyone. It’s a win for endless kindness, resilience, and perseverance in tough times.”
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Update:
March 16, 2022, after many rounds of delay, the night finally came when the finale of Miss World 2021 took place in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Though the crown of Miss World 2021 was honoured to Poland’s Karolina Bielawska, the first runner-up of Miss World 2021 was none other than Shree Saini. Yep, she now has one more achievement under her belt!
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If you ask me, her journey through childhood till now is so inspiring! Where most people give up and succumb to their fate, Shree Saini went ahead and took charge of her own life. Today she has achieved so much and there is still such a long way to go for her. We wish her, quite fittingly, the world!
