Who is Shree Saini? Here's everything you need to know about Miss World America 2021

Shree Saini, of Washington State, became the first Indian-American to win the crown of Miss World America 2021 in Los Angeles. She is among the most unique pageant winners to be crowned.

After winning the prestigious title, Saini in a statement said, "I'm now your first American of Indian origin and the first Asian to become Miss World America. Because of the historicness of my crowning, I believe this is a collective win. It's not just my win. It's a win for our inclusive "America", It is a win for our diverse America, for every race, for everyone. I am honored to represent that inclusivity that America has," she wrote on her website.

In a statement after her win, Saini thanked her parents and Miss World America for the honour. She said, "I am happy and quite nervous. I can't express my feelings (in words). All the credit goes to my parents, especially my mother because of whose support I am here. Thank you Miss World America for this honour."

Who is Shree Saini?

Shree Saini was born in Ludhiana, Punjab, and later moved to the United States at age of 5. At the age of 12, she was diagnosed with a low heartbeat with an average of just 20 beats per minute. Since then she has had a permanent pacemaker. Later in life, she met with a major car accident that resulted in her suffering from serious facial burns, and the doctor had said she would need a year to recover, however, she resumed her classes after just two weeks.

These two incidents motivated the 25-year-old to become an advocate for heart health. Her work has been recognised by United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and Doctors Without Borders among others.

Before winning Miss World America, she held the title of Miss World America Washington and the prestigious position of Miss World America's Beauty with a Purpose National Ambassador. 

Shree Saini - A pacemaker patient and burns survivor

Her profile on Instagram describes her as a pacemaker patient and burns survivor. She has 341 posts and 80.7k followers on Instagram. After being crowned Miss World America by Former Miss World Diana Hayden, she posted a heartfelt note on the photo-blogging site. She wrote, "Thank you God for blessing me with the service job of Miss World America 2021 🙏 I feel so endlessly grateful to everyone who has held my hand, encouraged me, corrected me when needed, and guided me on my life journey. It's not just my win, but OUR collective win: it's a win for our inclusive and diverse "America", for every race, for every culture, for everyone. It's a win for endless kindness, resilience and perseverance in tough times."

Take a look:

Image: Facebook/Shree Saini