Maureen Hingert

Who is Maureen Hingert?

Maureen Neliya Hingert is a Sri Lankan dancer, model and actress. She is the only Sri Lankan representative to win an award at a Miss Universe pageant after finishing as the runner-up at the 1955 event.

She was heralded a favorite for the world beauty crown together with “Miss Sweden,” “Miss USA,” “Miss England,” and “Miss El Salvador.”

Due to her very high placement in the Miss Universe Pageant, she has long been revered as "putting Sri Lanka on the map" and being an ambassador to her country, Sri Lanka.

Hingert was born on January 9, 1937 in Colombo, Sri Lanka to Lionel Hingert and Lorna De Run. Her father was the President of the Bank of Ceylon and a holder of extensive tea estates in Sri Lanka. Both of her parents are of Dutch Burgher ancestry, originating from Amsterdamn. The family lived house in a mansion by the beach on Lorensz Road, Bambalapitiya, Colombo.

Hingert attended school at the Holy Family Convent in Colombo until she was eighteen

In 1954, Hingert was crowned Miss Ceylon in her country and subsequently selected as a contestant in the 1955 Miss Universe pageant.