Miss Universe 1994 pays gratitude to PH, where she was crowned 25 years ago

“Your wishes came pouring in & have me overwhelmed, THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH!” (Photo: @sushmitasen47/Instagram)

Forty-three-year-old Sushmita Sen, India’s very first Miss Universe, commemorates the silver anniversary of her crowning by thanking the Philippines for being her “second home” since her victory in 1994 through a lengthy Instagram post shared with her 4.2 million followers last week.

In the series of images, Sushmita is seen wearing toy crowns with the rest of her family, faced with a two-tier cake that is embellished with images during her reign. She describes, “What a journey! As we celebrate twenty-five years of making history of India winning Miss Universe for the very first time, I want to remember and thank the people of my second home, the Philippines.” She continues, “I thank God for the privilege of having won Miss Universe in [the Filipinos’] beautiful country, they continue to overwhelm me with their love and belonging to this day, even naming their children ‘Sushmita,” referring to her 2017 interview on GMA 7’s Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho where she met four girls named after her. In the post, Miss Universe 1994 uses the hashtag #MahalKitaPhilippines.”

The rest of Sushmita’s post pays “love, respect, and adulation,” to her home country, India, to the former President of the Miss Universe (MU) organization Martin Brooks, “all the chaperones, travel managers, and the resident manager for being such a force of change.” She attests all of this to be the ones who taught her 18-year-old self “the power of professionalism, value for one’s word, earning of reputation, commanding of respect and [how to] always have an inclusive global view.”

She concludes, “Thank you God, family, friends, my children and all of you, who have consistently inspired me to keep growing and be more of my authentic self! Your wishes came pouring in and have me overwhelmed. Thank you so much! May the Universe always conspire in your favour.”

Since her crowning in the Philippines 25 years ago, Sushmita went on to become one of Bollywood’s biggest stars. Filipina Charlene Gonzales was her competitor during the prestigious pageant, but bested her out during the final question and answer round where she was asked about “the essence of being a woman.” Sushmita’s answer has since been iconic, stating, “The origin of the child is the mother and is a woman. A woman is one who shows a man what love and sharing and caring is all about. That is the essence of a woman.”