Kaziah Liz Mejo Crowned Miss Universe India 2026

Miss Universe India 2026 is 19-year-old Kaziah Liz Mejo of Kerala who has won the right to be the representative of India at the Miss Universe 2026 in Puerto Rico that will take place in November this year. The winner was declared among 52 contestants after the final round that took place in Zee Studios, Jaipur on August 23. The crown of Miss Universe India 2025 was given by Manika Vishwakarma to her successor. This win for Kaziah Liz Mejo comes after almost three years of preparations.

Kaziah Liz Mejo Crowned Miss Universe India 2026

Mejo won the national title after competing against contestants from various states of India at the finale held in Jaipur.

After winning the title, the contestant from Kerala said that this was an achievement that she had been working for more than three years. She also revealed her dreams of representing India and Kerala in the international event.

At the young age of 19 years, Mejo said that some of her toughest tasks have been to overcome doubts about herself and build the courage to participate on such a massive scale.

Who Will Represent Kaziah at Miss Universe?

As Miss Universe India 2026, Kaziah will represent India in the 75th Miss Universe contest set to take place in Puerto Rico in November 2026.

Her biggest dream as Miss Universe India is to win the Miss Universe title for India. The international appearance will help highlight the journey of Kaziah in the world of pageants and also showcase her home state of Kerala.

Miss Universe India 2026 First Four

Several other contestants were also recognized in the contest,

Vaishnavi Gannesh – First Runner-up and Miss International India 2026
Anushri Satavlekar – Second Runner-up
Tejaswini Shrivastava – Third Runner-up
Anubha Vashist Chaudhary – Fourth Runner-up

Who Were The Judges?

The judges were made up of a number of notable names from the Indian pageant and entertainment world.

This panel consisted of Sushmita Sen, the first Indian to win the Miss Universe title, former Miss Universe India Urvashi Rautela, Miss Universe India 2024 Rhea Singha, and environmentalist and film producer Pragya Kapoor.

Celina Jaitly, who has been a Miss India Universe as well as the first runner up of the Miss Universe, was also among the judges of this event.

Message by Mejo After Victory

After her victory, Mejo talked about the significance of confidence and strength of character. She emphasized that competing in an event at such a young age needed quite a bit of courage and self-belief.

Now her ambition is not only limited to winning the national crown, she wants to make her way to the international platform representing India and Kerala.