India has a new beauty queen.
Kaziah Liz Mejo from Kerala has been crowned Miss Universe India 2026, winning the national title at the grand finale held at Zee Studios in Jaipur on August 23. At just 19, Kaziah emerged ahead of dozens of contestants from across the country and will now represent India at the 75th Miss Universe pageant in Puerto Rico this November.
Miss Universe India 2025 Manika Vishwakarma passed on the crown to her successor, marking the beginning of what could be a very exciting international journey for the young winner.
Who Is Kaziah Liz Mejo?
Kaziah may be only 19, but pageantry is not entirely new territory for her.
Originally from Kerala and raised in Abu Dhabi, she is currently a law student and model. She has also trained in classical dance for several years and is known to have interests in singing, acting and music.
Her pageant résumé has been building steadily too. She previously won Miss Teen Diva 2024, was first runner-up at Miss Teen International 2025, and went on to become Miss Universe Kerala 2026 before taking the national crown.
That mix of stage experience and confidence clearly worked in her favour in Jaipur.
A Competitive Miss Universe India 2026 Finale
Kaziah competed against 52 other finalists at the national finale, making the win no small achievement.
The judging panel also included some very familiar names from Indian pageant history, including Sushmita Sen, India’s first Miss Universe, along with Urvashi Rautela, Rhea Singha, Celina Jaitly and Pragya Kapoor.
The final placements saw Vaishnavi Gannesh of Tamil Nadu named first runner-up and Miss International India 2026, while Anushri Satavlekar of Gujarat finished as second runner-up. Tejaswini Shrivastava and Anubha Vashist Chaudhary completed the Top 5.
The Answer That Helped Seal the Crown
Kaziah’s final-stage performance has also drawn attention online.
As part of this year’s format, finalists were given a set of questions and time to prepare written responses before facing the final round. A video of Kaziah’s winning answer quickly began circulating after the event, adding to the buzz around her victory.
For a 19-year-old stepping onto one of India’s biggest pageant stages, she appeared remarkably composed.
And that may be one of the most interesting things about this win. Kaziah does not come across simply as another model entering a beauty competition. There is already a sense of someone comfortable performing, speaking and presenting herself under pressure.
Next Stop: Miss Universe 2026
The crown now comes with the bigger responsibility of representing India globally.
Kaziah will head to Puerto Rico in November for the 75th Miss Universe competition, where she will attempt to add another Indian name to the pageant’s history books.
India has won the Miss Universe crown three times so far: Sushmita Sen in 1994, Lara Dutta in 2000 and Harnaaz Sandhu in 2021.
That is a pretty formidable legacy to follow, but Kaziah now has a few months to prepare for the international stage.
A Big Moment for Kerala
Kaziah’s win is particularly significant back home as she has been widely reported as the first woman from Kerala to win Miss Universe India.
From growing up in Abu Dhabi to studying law and now wearing the Miss Universe India crown, her journey already feels anything but predictable.
The next chapter will unfold on a much bigger stage.
Glamcheck Verdict
19, poised and already international-bound. Kaziah Liz Mejo has the crown. Now comes the real runway.
