Nina Davuluri facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nina Davuluri
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Davuluri at the White House Forum on Minorities in Energy, November 2013
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| Born | April 20, 1989 |
| Education | University of Michigan (B.S. in Brain Behavior and Cognitive Science, 2011) |
| Occupation | Speaker and advocate |
| Title | Miss Southwest Michigan's Outstanding Teen 2005 Miss Michigan's Outstanding Teen 2006 Miss Greater Rochester 2012 Miss Syracuse 2013 Miss New York 2013 Miss America 2014 |
| Beauty pageant titleholder | |
| Major competition(s) |
Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2007 (first runner-up) Miss America 2014 (winner) |
Nina Davuluri (born April 20, 1989) is an American public speaker and advocate. She also hosts a TV show called Made in America on Zee TV America.
Nina made history when she became Miss America 2014. She was the first ever Indian American to win both the Miss New York and the Miss America Competition. She is also the second Asian American to be crowned Miss America.
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Early Life and Education
Nina Davuluri was born on April 20, 1989, in Syracuse, New York. Her family is Telugu from India. Her mother works in Information technology, and her father was a doctor. Her sister is also a doctor.
When Nina was a baby, she lived in India with her grandmother and aunt for a short time. She returned to the United States when she was two and a half. Every summer, she went back to India to study Indian dance. She can also speak Telugu.
Nina moved to Oklahoma when she was four and then to St. Joseph, Michigan when she was 10. Living in different places helped her understand different cultures. This experience later became the basis for her Miss America project, "Celebrating Diversity Through Cultural Competency." This project helps people learn to talk about diversity in a kind and respectful way to stop bullying.
As a child, Nina learned ballet, tap, and jazz dance. In high school, she was in the marching band, played tennis, and was part of the Science Olympiad team. She graduated in 2007.
Nina first went to Michigan State University for college. She then moved to the University of Michigan. She graduated in 2011 with a degree in brain behavior and cognitive science. After college, she took more science classes at Le Moyne College.
Journey to Miss America
Miss Michigan's Outstanding Teen
When Nina was 16, she became interested in beauty pageants. Her sister, Meena, had won a local title, which inspired Nina. Nina learned that pageants could help her earn money for college through scholarships.
She first competed in the Teen division of the Miss America pageant in Michigan.
- She won Miss Southwest Michigan's Outstanding Teen in 2005.
- Then, she won Miss Michigan's Outstanding Teen in 2006.
- She was the first runner-up at the Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2007 pageant.
Nina won almost $25,000 in scholarships. After this, she stopped competing for a few years to focus on her studies.
Miss New York
After finishing college, Nina returned to pageants to help pay for graduate school.
- In 2012, she won Miss Greater Rochester.
- She was the second runner-up in the Miss New York 2012 pageant.
Nina tried again the next year and won Miss Syracuse 2013. Soon after, she was crowned Miss New York 2013. Nina believes that "you don't need to be a certain size to be healthy."
Becoming Miss America
Nina Davuluri became Miss America 2014 on September 15, 2013. She held the title until September 14, 2014. She was the first Indian American to win the pageant. She was also the second Miss New York in a row to win. Before her, Vanessa Williams (Miss America 1984) was the first African American winner. Nina was the second Asian American to win, after Angela Perez Baraquio in 2001.
For her talent performance, Nina performed a dance. She combined Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam, which are traditional Indian dance styles. She danced to the song "Dhoom Taana" from the movie Om Shanti Om. This was the first time Bollywood dance was performed on the Miss America stage. Nina later shared that some people told her she would "never win with a Bollywood talent."
During the final moments of the pageant, Nina and Miss California Crystal Lee were the last two contestants. Nina said they were "so proud" and were "making history right here, standing here as Asian-Americans." She later called that moment "very surreal."
I really wanted to help effect a change in beauty standards . ... Miss America's branding is so associated with the girl next door, which has always meant blonde hair and blue eyes with only a few exceptions, but the girl next door must evolve as the country evolves. When I was younger I wanted to fit in, but I was aware growing up that I didn't fit that mould, and I really wanted to help make a change that meant young girls wouldn't feel like that.
After Winning Miss America
After Nina was crowned Miss America 2014, some people on social media made negative comments. These comments were xenophobic (dislike of people from other countries) and racist. News media compared this to what happened to Vanessa Williams when she won in 1984. Nina said she was ready for these comments because she faced similar reactions when she won Miss New York.
Many people supported Nina. Students from Duke University and Yale University made videos and photo campaigns to speak out against the attacks. Miss Kansas Theresa Vail also spoke out against the comments. Actor George Takei posted on Facebook that he was surprised by the "uproar over an Indian-American winning." He wondered if people had learned anything about acceptance.
Munmun Khan, a student at the University of Michigan, said that even though she doesn't like beauty pageants, she hates "racism and bigotry even more." She added that Nina being the first Indian Miss New York and Miss America was "all cause for celebration."
Her Platform
During her year as Miss America, Nina promoted her platform: "Celebrating Diversity Through Cultural Competency." She also encouraged students to study STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). She explained that her platform, called "Circles of Unity," uses social media to spread cultural awareness and fight against ignorance.
She also met with President Barack Obama at the White House to support Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.
Speaker and Advocate
Since her time as Miss America ended in September 2014, Nina Davuluri has continued to work as a public speaker. She advocates for diversity, gender equality, and STEM education.
- In September 2014, she helped host a talk by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Madison Square Garden.
- In July 2015, she took part in the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Nairobi.
- In March 2016, she traveled to India as part of a tour for the U.S. State Department. She discussed women's education and spoke at events for International Women's Day.
Nina often speaks at colleges about diversity and STEM.
- In October 2014, she talked about the harassment she faced as a child at East Carolina University.
- The next month, she spoke about women in STEM at Northeastern University.
- In March 2015, she spoke at Harvard's gender-equality campaign.
- Later that month, she discussed diversity at Princeton.
Other Achievements
- She received the India Abroad Face of the Future Award in 2014.
- In February 2015, she was elected as a trustee to the Miss America Foundation Board. She was the first Miss America to be elected to this board.
- In August 2014, fashion designer Tony Bowls created a shoe named "The Nina" in her honor.
See also
- Indians in the New York City metropolitan area
