The Universe is her Crown

In 2019, Maria saw Priya Serrao win the Miss Australia title, and it inspired her and obliterated any and all self-doubt. She reveals, “When I saw Priya, who was a lawyer and an Indian woman, selected to represent Australia, I realized the misconceptions I held about pageants and what they could be. I had always believed that I don’t fit into the blonde hair, blue eyes, beach babe stereotype, certainly not the Celtic perceptions of an Australian woman.” She was always told that she was too short at 5 feet 3 inches and would never be model material. But the spark had ignited within, and Maria wasn’t having any naysaying. “So, I applied to the pageant and ended up being selected as a finalist. I spent all of 2020 in lockdown because Victoria, where I live, was locked down months on end. And while in lockdown, I was working full time in my corporate job, doing social media and prepping for the Miss Australia competition as well. In October, I ended up winning, and that’s when I decided to take the plunge. I quit my corporate job and completely dedicated my efforts to my social media job. By then, my income had tripled from the previous year from media partnerships and clients because the content I was creating was appealing to colored people, and it was working wonders.”

She hasn’t looked back ever since, having graced the Miss Universe stage, Maria has now become an ambassador for her country. She says, “They say you put six months of focus in and you’ll put yourself five years ahead in life. I did that. Since becoming Miss Australia and then representing my country at the global pageant, I’ve built my career where now I’ve become an opinion writer on subjects like racism, equality, women’s rights, and much more.”