Kaziah Liz Mejo, who is 19 and from Kerala, has won the title of Miss Universe India 2026 and thus will be representing India at the 75th Miss Universe pageant in Puerto Rico later this year.
Mejo was crowned national title winner at the grand finale which took place at Zee Studios in Jaipur on Sunday, August 23, following Miss Universe India 2025 Manika Vishwakarma, who crowned her at the event.
Mejo’s achievement is especially noteworthy since she is juggling her increasing involvement in pageants with her studies in law.
Who is Kaziah Liz Mejo?
Mejo, who is 19 and studying law as well as being a model, hails from Mavelikkara in Kerala and was largely brought up in Abu Dhabi.
Her interests go far beyond pageantry. She has been training in classical dance for about 12 years and has experience in singing, acting and music; it is reported that she plays the violin and the drums.
She is by no means a competitor for the first time.
Mejo won the Miss Teen Diva title in 2024 and then went on to represent India at the Miss Teen International 2025 event, where she came in as first runner-up. She won the Miss Universe Kerala title earlier in 2026 before moving on to the national competition.
A Competitive Finale in Jaipur
The final event of the Miss Universe India gathering included contestants coming from all over the country.
Different published accounts vary in their portrayal of the field; some state that there were 52 finalists, whereas others claim that Mejo beat 52 other contestants. It is therefore most accurate to say that she won from among over 50 contestants.
Vaishnavi Gannesh from Tamil Nadu came in as the first runner-up, and Anushri Satavlekar from Gujarat was awarded the title of second runner-up.
The panel of judges consisted of some of India’s most well-known figures in the field of international pageantry, such as former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen, together with Urvashi Rautela, Celina Jaitly and Miss Universe India 2024 Rhea Singha.
The Answer That Helped Her Win
A defining moment of the finale occurred in the question-and-answer round.
When asked to describe “the sound of silence” in her life, Mejo linked the concept to the calm she feels right before stepping onto a stage, a state she has experienced over the years as a classical dancer, performer and pageant contestant.
Her reply showed a theme which had often occurred in her experience: feeling at ease on stage yet at the same time keeping on building her confidence when she was not on stage.
From Kerala to Miss Universe
By winning the national title, Mejo will have earned the right to carry India’s sash at the Miss Universe pageant which is scheduled to take place in Puerto Rico in November 2026.
She will take part in an international competition in which India has a well-earned reputation.
India has already had three winners of the Miss Universe title: Sushmita Sen in 1994, Lara Dutta in 2000 and Harnaaz Sandhu in 2021. Mejo now has the chance to win a fourth title for the country.
A New Face Representing India
Mejo has remarkably quickly progressed from winning state and teenage pageants to claiming the national title.
At the age of 19, she has already acquired international pageant experience along with studying law, has a background in modelling, and has years of training in the performing arts. Her win as Miss Universe India now takes her onto a bigger stage.
The Jaipur crown is, for Mejo, her greatest achievement to date in her pageant career.
For India, attention now turns to Puerto Rico, where Kaziah Liz Mejo will represent the country at Miss Universe 2026 in November.
