Indian-Australian Maria Thattil Crowned Miss Australia Universe 2020
Continuing from the tradition of last year, 2020’s Miss Universe Australia is once again of South Asian descent. Last night Maria Thattil from Victoria was crowned the new queen and became the official representative of Australia at Miss Universe 2020.
As reported in Angelopedia, Maria Thattil was a front-runner and a favorite for the crown ever since the beginning of the competition. She is an Indian Australian beauty expert, fashion blogger, and digital influencer. The stunning beauty is also an advocate of fierce self-love inclusivity & empowerment. At the finale as well, her answers showed confidence, fluency, and her staunch belief that she could be an ideal contender. Aside from winning the title, Thattil was also named Miss Congeniality.
“Not seeing a lot of South Asian representation meant the majority of kids would ask me things like whether my dad was like Apu from ‘The Simpsons’ because all they saw were exaggerated stereotypes,” Thattil told girl.com.au. “There was a lot of cultural insensitivity.”
Born and raised in Melbourne, Maria Thattil is of Indian descent.
She has degrees in psychology and management and is a multihyphenate. Aside from working in People and Culture for the Victorian government, she is also a model, beauty expert, fashion blogger, digital influencer, fashion stylist, and makeup artist.
“The platform I have in the fashion and beauty industry has allowed me to unlearn self-rejecting conditioning, reconcile seemingly disparate cultures, my Eastern roots, and Western upbringing, to proudly embrace my hybrid identity and represent us in a public sphere,” Maria Thattil told Pop Sugar. “I hope that has shown other South Asian people that they can do the same.”
She succeeds Miss Universe Australia 2019, Priya Serrao, who was born in India, but later spent most of her early childhood living in Oman and the United Arab Emirates. When she was 11, the family immigrated to Australia and settled in Melbourne.
