Kaziah Liz Mejo became Miss Universe India 2026 on August 23, at the age of 19. A law student from Mavelikkara in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, Kaziah earned the title from among 51 contestants in a close competition.
The teenager has taken her modelling career seriously for a while, finishing as the first runner-up at Miss Teen International 2025, where she represented India, and then winning Miss Universe Kerala, before succeeding at the national level.
In an interview with ANI at Jaipur, where the Miss Universe India 2026 finale event took place, Kaziah gushed about her win, saying, “I won this crown at the age of 19, and in 64 years I’ve brought the first crown home to Kerala. I’m so, so incredibly happy, so incredibly grateful; this is an opportunity of a lifetime, and I’m so incredibly grateful that I can show what India means to the universe.”
Thanking God and chalking the path for her future
Kaziah attributed her success to God’s grace, saying, “God showed me what my purpose was in life at a very young age, and I’m so grateful because I’m following his path, what he has created for me, and I believe I’m so incredibly blessed by our Almighty that I’m able to sit here today.”
“I always look up to others, but I think in today’s generation, we forget to appreciate ourselves; we forget to remind ourselves how far we’ve come, how much we’ve worked for the life that we’ve wanted,” she added.
The teenager shared that she aims to showcase India’s diversity, culture, talent, and the strength of the new generation to the world. Her next goal is to step into the film industry alongside her modelling career.
In her words, “The first goal is to bring the crown back to India, the crown of Miss Universe, that has always been my dream, and I want to represent India in absolutely everything that I do. Hopefully, I am able to enter the industry of movies as well and in that as well be able to carry the name of India internationally.”
Expressing pride in being a part of Gen Z
Kaziah also opened up about the pride she felt for her country, saying, “India is a country with so much talent, so much potential, so much fire. My message is to take your roots with you wherever you go, carry that within you, carry the pride of the tricolour behind you in everything that you do, and I promise you success will follow.”
Adding to that, she also voiced her pride in her generation, Gen-Z, who have been the face of activism in the country in 2026.
“I am proud of the generation that we have become, from being criticised as being outspoken to that being one of our biggest strengths, to being able to change the world with our voices. That is the most powerful thing that any human in the world can do,” she said.
