Meenakshi Chaudhary was born on in Panchkula, Haryana, India. Her late father B.R Chaudhary was a colonel in the Indian Army.[2] She completed her schooling from the St. Soldier International Convent School in Chandigarh. She is also a state level swimmer and badminton player.[3] Chaudhary completed her bachelor's degree in dental surgery from the National Dental College and Hospital in Dera Bassi, Punjab.[4]
Pageantry
Miss IMA 2017
In 2017, Chaudhary was adjudged as Miss IMA during the Indian Military Academy Autumn Ball Night, which is held towards the end of each term, to mark the culmination of the training schedule of military cadets.[5][6]
Chaudhary auditioned for the Fashion Big Bazaar sponsored Campus Princess 2018 where she was crowned as one of the winners from Patiala auditions.[7] She then auditioned for the title Femina Miss Haryana 2018, which she eventually won.[citation needed] She represented the state of Haryana in the annual Femina Miss India competition.[8]
Later, it was revealed by the Miss India Organization that Chaudhary had been considered as Miss Grand India, and would represent India at Miss Grand International 2018 pageant.[12] She was officially crowned as Miss Grand India 2018 by the then reigning Miss Grand International 2017, María José Lora of Peru.[13]
Chaudhary represented India at Miss Grand International 2018 pageant in Yangon, Myanmar, where she made it to the top 5 of the Miss Popular sub-contest.[14] At the end of the event, she won the first runner-up title to the eventual winner, Clara Sosa of Paraguay.[15] She is the first Indian woman to reach the said placement at the pageant.[16][17]
In May 2019, Chaudhary was voted to the 2nd place in the list of "Times 50 Most Desirable Women of India 2018", in an internet survey conducted by The Times of India.[18] At the Femina Miss India 2019 sub-contest crowning ceremony, she was felicitated by the Miss India Organisation for her accomplishments at Miss Grand International.[19]
Acting career
Chaudhary made her acting debut with the web series, Out of Love, is an official adaptation of BBC drama series Doctor Foster. She played the role of Alia Kashyap, a 22-year-old who faces adversity, stress and the repercussions for having a relationship with a married person.[20]
In 2020, she was cast as a lead opposite Sushanth in the Telugu movie Ichata Vahanamulu Niluparadu.[21] Apart from pursuing her dental degree and modelling assignments, Chaudhary had enrolled in workshops. It was here that she initially met the actor.[22] In connection with her debut film alongside the actor, she expressed – "Funnily, neither of us knew who the other was. I did not know he was an actor and he did not know I was a pageant winner". A month after the workshop, she was called by Sushanth to discuss a film script, which she accepted. She stated – "In other words, it was my workshop that became my audition trials."[22] She was later signed up for Ramesh Varma Penmetsa's film titled Khiladi.[23]
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