More than a crown, the title of Mrs. Universe America 2025–2026 celebrates a journey of resilience, ambition, and purpose. A technology professional, actress, model, philanthropist, wife, and mother, she embodies the spirit of a modern woman who dares to embrace every dimension of her identity.
As she prepares to represent America at Mrs. Universe 2026 in Colombo, her story goes beyond beauty and achievement—it is about breaking boundaries, inspiring women, and pursuing dreams without limits. In this exclusive Q&A with The Indian EYE, discover the vision, values, and determination behind her remarkable journey.
Q1. Winning the Mrs. Universe America title is a significant achievement. What did that moment mean to you personally, and what do you feel it represents about your journey so far?
Winning the Mrs. Universe America 2025–2026 title was an incredibly emotional and meaningful moment for me. It was much more than receiving a crown—it represented years of perseverance, growth, sacrifice, and having the courage to continue pursuing my dreams through different chapters of my life.
My journey has never followed just one path. I am a technology professional, an actress, a model, a pageant titleholder, a philanthropist, and, most importantly, a wife and mother. Balancing these different worlds has not always been easy, but I have always believed that a woman does not have to limit herself to one identity or give up one dream in order to pursue another.
This title represents that belief. It reminds me that dreams do not have an expiration date, and our journeys do not have to look conventional to be meaningful.
For me, the crown also carries a responsibility. I want to use the visibility and opportunities that come with it to inspire other women to believe in themselves, embrace every dimension of who they are, and continue pursuing their aspirations with confidence and purpose.
Q2. As you prepare to represent America at Mrs. Universe 2026 in Colombo, what are you hoping to bring to the international stage?
Representing America at Mrs. Universe 2026 in Colombo is an incredible honor and a responsibility that I take very seriously.
I want to bring authenticity, confidence, compassion, resilience, and purpose to the international stage. My own journey has taught me that a woman can embrace many dimensions of her life—career, family, ambition, creativity, service, and personal dreams—without allowing any one of them to define her completely.
America is incredibly diverse, and I am proud to represent a country where women from different backgrounds can dream boldly, create their own paths, and continually reinvent themselves.
Of course, pageantry celebrates beauty and presentation, but I believe the most meaningful beauty comes from our character, how we treat others, the challenges we overcome, and what we choose to do with the opportunities and influence we are given.
When I walk onto that international stage, I want to represent America with grace, confidence, strength, and purpose. More than anything, I hope to create meaningful connections with women from around the world and leave a positive impact that extends beyond the competition.
Q3. Your journey has taken you from earning the Mrs. Universe America title to competing globally. What challenges have shaped you most along the way, and how have they changed you?
One of my greatest challenges has been learning how to balance ambition with responsibility.
I have built a demanding professional career in technology while pursuing acting, modeling, pageantry, media, and community service, all while being a wife and mother. There have been sacrifices, long days, setbacks, and moments when pursuing everything I cared about seemed almost impossible.
Entertainment has taught me resilience in a different way. Rejection is part of acting. You can work incredibly hard for an opportunity and still hear “no.” Pageantry brings its own pressures and expectations. Over time, I learned not to allow either success or rejection to determine my self-worth.
Those experiences have made me more resilient, disciplined, and grateful. They have also taught me that success rarely happens in a straight line.
One of the most meaningful milestones in my journey was making my mainstream Hollywood debut in The Last Rodeo. As an Indian American actress from Houston, I am especially proud to have made history as the first actor from the Kannada film industry to appear in a mainstream Hollywood feature film. Being part of a film alongside established Hollywood talent such as Neal McDonough was not only a personal achievement, but also an important moment of representation for me.
Coming from the Kannada film community and stepping onto a mainstream Hollywood platform reinforced something I deeply believe: representation matters. Sometimes you have to walk into spaces where you may not see many people who share your background and have the courage to believe that you belong there.
Every challenge has made me stronger, but it has also made me more empathetic toward other women who are quietly working through their own struggles while pursuing their dreams.
Q4. Pageants today increasingly emphasize purpose, advocacy, and leadership alongside appearance. What cause or message is closest to your heart, and how do you hope to use this platform to amplify it?
The message closest to my heart is women’s empowerment through opportunity, education, confidence, and representation, particularly for women and children who may not always have access to the same resources or platforms.
Community service has always been important to me beyond pageantry. I serve on the Board of Pragathi, a nonprofit focused on children’s education and women’s empowerment. I have also supported organizations including Sewa USA, the Daya Foundation, and Interfaith Ministries, participating in initiatives ranging from food drives and support for victims of domestic violence to providing hygiene essentials to refugee women.
I am also passionate about encouraging young people and have mentored children and helped raise funds for underprivileged children.
My work in entertainment has made representation deeply personal to me as well. Whether stepping into mainstream Hollywood, appearing on a fashion runway, working in media, or standing on an international pageant stage, I understand the importance of women seeing others break barriers and pursue paths they may not previously have imagined for themselves.
I want to use the Mrs. Universe platform to remind women that their age, profession, family responsibilities, background, or circumstances do not have to define the limits of their dreams.
To me, empowerment is not simply telling someone to dream. It is helping create an environment in which she has the confidence, resources, support, and opportunities to pursue those dreams.
Q5. Colombo will bring together contestants from around the world with very different backgrounds and experiences. What does representing America mean to you in that setting?
Representing America at Mrs. Universe 2026 is an incredible honor and a responsibility I carry with great pride.
America is a country shaped by people from many different backgrounds, experiences, and walks of life. My own journey—as a woman who has built a career in technology while also pursuing acting, pageantry, media, philanthropy, and raising a family—reflects the freedom to dream beyond one identity and create your own path.
When I step onto the Mrs. Universe stage in Colombo, I will be there representing America. I want to represent the confidence, diversity, opportunity, resilience, and spirit of a country that encourages women to dream boldly and pursue possibilities across different chapters of their lives.
I also look forward to meeting accomplished women representing countries from around the world. Each contestant will arrive with her own story, experiences, and purpose. I believe the true beauty of an international platform like Mrs. Universe is the opportunity to learn from one another, build friendships across borders, and recognize that despite our different backgrounds, women share many of the same aspirations and challenges.
My goal is to represent America with grace, confidence, purpose, and authenticity, and to leave the international stage having created meaningful connections and a positive impact.
Q6. When you look beyond Mrs. Universe 2026, what legacy do you want this chapter of your life to create, and what would you like people to remember about your journey?
I hope people remember my journey not simply because of a crown, a film, an award, or a title, but because I used every platform I received to create something meaningful.
I want my daughters and other young women watching my journey to understand that they never have to fit themselves into one box. You can be a mother and still pursue your dreams. You can build a successful corporate career and still follow a creative passion. You can experience setbacks and still begin again. You can achieve personal success while also making time to lift others.
If there is one message I want my journey to leave behind, it is this:
Never allow someone else’s definition of who you should be to become the limit of who you can become.
Mrs. Universe is an extraordinary chapter in my story, but I hope its real legacy extends far beyond the competition. I want to continue using my voice and visibility to advocate for women and children, strengthen representation, create opportunities for others, and encourage women to pursue dreams they may once have believed were impossible.
Ultimately, I want my journey to be remembered as one of resilience, purpose, courage, and giving back—a reminder that success becomes far more meaningful when we use it to inspire and create opportunities for others.