Name : Yukta Mookhey Height : 5' 11" Date of Birth : 1977 Titles won : Miss World 1999, Miss India Runner Up 1999

On Dec.5, 1999 India's newspapers screamed :
London : India's Yukta Mookhey, 20, was crowned Miss World early today in the last Miss World contest of the millennium at a glittering ceremony at Olympia theatre here.

From Hindustan Times : Mookhey, who hails from Mumbai, was chosen for the title from among 94 hopefuls in a keenly-contested pageant which saw Miss Venezuela Martina Thorogood and Miss South Africa Sonia Raciti win the second and third places respectively.

"It is the best day of my life because I had this as a beautiful dream as a child and now it's come true," Mookhey, the fourth Indian to bag the coveted title, said. Rita Faria was the first Indian to be crowned Miss World in the sixties. The last five years have seen the crown come thrice to India with Aishwarya Rai and Diana Hayden being crowned Miss World 1994 and 1997 respectively. Indian beauty reigned supreme in 1994 when Rai was crowned Miss World after Sushmita Sen brought home the Miss Universe title.

Mookhey said after winning, "It's going to take a very long time for this to sink in. I know the people at home will be very ecstatic." The slender brunette clad in a pale blue evening gown won the hearts of the judges with her simple replies to their queries and sashayed away with the 100,000 US dollars prize. When asked whom she would like to emulate as a role model, the new Miss World replied she would like to have been born Hollywood actress Audrey Hepburn whom she admired for her "inner beauty, compassion and great aura."

Mookhey told the judges that Thai food was her favourite and that she would love to go to France. "It's a country of models and that's the place where I would like to be." Mookhey’s family is from northern India but she was educated in West Asia because her father's work took the family there. She has also studied classical music for three years.

MUMBAI: “We are all very happy and delighted — me, mummy, daddy and grandmother,” Mookhey told her younger brother, Kanwal, an engineering student, when she called him up at their residence this morning. Mukta’s parents and grandmother also attended the pageant. A resident of Lav Kush building at suburban Mulund, Mookhey graduated in zoology from Kelkar College this year. The phone has not stop buzzing since early morning when Yukta was crowned the winner,” Kanwal said, adding “friends, relatives and well-wishers are calling up to congratulate us”. “It was my mother who was Yukta’s main motivator and encouraged her to enter the Femina Miss India contest,” he said.

Yukta’s mother Aruna runs a grooming workshop, Swiss Chalet, at Santa Cruz here while her father Inderlal is the managing director of Ragz Clothing Company.

HER BIODATA BEFORE MISS WORLD :

Why are you called by this name :
Yukta - means a person who is full of ideas and plans and that is who I am.

Academic achievements *Previous *Present, if any
Completed second year in Bsc Studying in TYBsc (Majoring in Zoology)

Other pursuits (including professional, if any) :
Computers (1 year diploma from Aptech) Hindustani Classical Music (3 years) Fine Arts (Drawing-2 years)

Future Plans :
A career in Mass Communication and Computer Graphics (animation)

Any Outstanding achievements (in academic or professional pursuits) so far :
1) Won a number of Essay-writing and Public Speaking competitions
2) Always been a topper in school

Happiest moment of your life, why? :
When I had attended a course on achieving success and I raised that true success comes from fulfilling ones innate potential not the external happings of wealth.

List three of the most unusual things about yourself or unusual things you have done :
1) I can handle embarassing situations comfortably
2) My height-it helps me get a better view of the world.
3) I love to meditate on my inner-self

Your strongest personality trait :
My ability to perform at my best even under pressure. Deadlines motivate me.

Your weakest personality trait:
At times the expressions in my eyes gives away my inner feelings

Food/Dish
Prawns in Garlic sauce.

Book/Author
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen, Magazine India Today, Femina, Movie Seven

Movie Star
Brad Pitt

Song/Music Video
"Imagine" - by John Lennon

Anything else you would like to add about yourself
I welcome every learning experience in life with a smile. I have the determination and perseverance to achieve my goals.

Modelling (if any)
Ramp/Runway/Shows

Name of the choreographer/designer/any other
1) Ramp show for the launche of a perfume by Avon Cosmetics. (choreographer-Meenu
2) Hair show for the introduction of new range of hair colours by L'oreal
3) Other local fashion shows