Ameeksha Dilchand; (born 26 October 1988) is a

Mauritian Mauritians (singular Mauritian; ; Creole: ''Morisien'') are nationals or natives of the Republic of Mauritius and their descendants. Mauritius is a melting pot of multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious peoples. Mauritian is made up ...

beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned

Miss Mauritius Miss Mauritius is a national beauty pageant held in Mauritius that selects representatives for Miss World and Miss International, two of the Big Four international beauty pageants. History Miss Mauritius is the oldest beauty pageant in Maur ...

2012. Ameeksha attended the Notre Dame de la Confiance RCA school for her primary education then joined the

Loreto College of Rose-Hill Loreto College Rose Hill is a private secondary girls' school in Rose Hill, Mauritius. One of seven Loreto College campuses in Mauritius, it opened in 1951. Cathy de Cazanove is the current rector and the asst. rector is Geraldine Bouquet Andr ...

for her secondary studies. Ameeksha completed her LLB(hons) from

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

(UCL). She was crowned Miss Mauritius in the year 2011. In October 2012, she became the second Mauritian woman to win an award for Mauritius, after Anaïs Veerapatren. She participated in

Miss Universe 2012 Miss Universe 2012 was the 61st Miss Universe pageant, held at the PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on December 19, 2012. The contest was won by Olivia Culpo of the United States, who was crow ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

and at the

Miss International Miss International (''Miss International Beauty'' or ''The International Beauty Pageant'') is a Japan-based international major beauty pageant organized by the International Culture Association. First held in 1960, it is the fourth largest page ...

2012 where she finished 17th. Following her election as Miss Mauritius, Ameeksha has joined a NGO to be able to help kids who suffer from

Cleft lip and palate A cleft lip contains an opening in the upper lip that may extend into the nose. The opening may be on one side, both sides, or in the middle. A cleft palate occurs when the palate (the roof of the mouth) contains an opening into the nose. The ...

as the Operation Smile Ambassador. She is also a member of the Lupus Alert, helping to raise awareness about the life-threatening disease,

lupus Lupus, formally called systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Common ...

Early life

Ameksha was born on 26 October 1988 in Mauritius to Dilchands - her father worked as a teacher and her mother, as a nurse. Ameeksha attended the Notre Dame de la Confiance RCA school for her primary education then joined the

for her secondary studies. Ameeksha is an LL.B. (hons) holder from the

. Ameeksha also received a scholarship from the IIFT for a course in "Fashion and Design" in India during the Miss Mauritius Pageant 2011. She played football at national level. She has also been lately very active on her personal blog, revealing a lot of wrongdoings of her surroundings. She is also a Manchester United fan. Following her election as Miss Mauritius, Ameeksha has joined a NGO to be able to help kids who suffer from

as the Operation Smile Ambassador. She is also a member of the Lupus Alert, helping to raise awareness about the life-threatening disease,

. Ameeksha, also announced on her Facebook account that she now holds the franchise of Miss Supranational Mauritius which means that Mauritius will now participate in Miss Supranational as well.

Competitions

Dilchand was crowned as the Miss Mauritius 2011 during the annual ceremony held on Saturday night, August 6, 2011, at the J & J Auditorium, Phoenix. A week prior to the finale, she also won the Miss Talent Award which is a preliminary of the Miss Mauritius contest. She also came as runner up for the beach beauty-swimsuit competition. At the

2012 which was held at

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

, Japan on 21 October 2012, Ameeksha ranked fifth in Miss Internet Popularity and fourth in Miss Talent, ranking 17th overall and won the Miss Friendship award. Being the Miss Mauritius 2011, the winner represented Mauritius in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, United States on 19 December 2012, competing for the crown with 88 others.

References

External links

Official Miss Mauritius website
* Ameeksha Dilchand in List of Mauritian models {{DEFAULTSORT:Dilchand, Ameeksha 1986 births Living people People from Plaines Wilhems District Mauritian beauty pageant winners Mauritian people of Indian descent Mauritian female models Mauritian Hindus Female models of Indian descent Miss Universe 2012 contestants Miss International 2012 delegates Alumni of University College London Mauritian expatriates in the United Kingdom