Harnaaz Sandhu of Punjab represented India at the 70th Miss Universe pageant in Eilat, Israel, in 2021.
Harnaaz was crowned Miss Universe 2021 after defeating Nadia Ferreira of Paraguay and Lalela Mswane of South Africa.
India has won this title after 21 years of gap, last winners were Sushmita Sen in 1994 and Lara Dutta in 2000.
She has also been crowned Miss Diva 2021 and Femina Miss India Punjab 2019 and placed in the Top 12 at Femina Miss India 2019.
Harnaaz Sandhu has also appeared in two Punjabi films - Yaara Diyan Poo Baran and Bai Ji Kuttange
She did her schooling from Chandigarh's Shivalik Public School. Currently, she is pursuing master's in public administration from Post Graduate Government College for Girls.
Her mother, Ravinder Sandhu, is a doctor employed as Senior Medical Officer and her father PS Sandhu is in the real estate business.
Harnaaz Sandhu has 269k followers on Instagram. She frequently uses the photo-sharing app to share images from her photoshoots.