Nicole Faria is an Indian model and film actress. She is the first Indian woman to be crowned as Miss Earth. She is also the title holder of Femina Miss India 2010 and Miss India South 2010. She is also known for making a huge contribution in spreading awareness about the exceedingly harmful effect of pollution on Rabindra Sarobar Lakes present in Kolkata, West Bengal. Nicole is honoured with the title of First Ladies of the country.
Wiki/Biography
Nicole Faria was born on Friday, 9 February 1990 (age 31 years; as of 2021) in Bangalore, India. Her zodiac sign is Aquarius. She attended Sophia High School, Bangalore for her primary and secondary education. Later, she got herself enrolled at Mount Carmel College, Bangalore to earn a bachelor’s degree in arts.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 9″
Weight (approx.): 55 kg
Figure Measurements (approx.): 34-26-34
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
Nicole Faria was born to a Goan father and Punjabi mother. Nicole’s father, Ian Faria, is a motivational speaker and a corporate trainer, and her mother, Anita PM Faria, is an entrepreneur and runs a beauty and wellness salon named ‘We MORPH.’
Nicole Faria with her father
Nicole Faria with her mother
Nicole Faria has an elder brother, Craig Faria, who is a real-estate businessman.
Nicole Faria with her brother
Husband
Nicole Faria got married to Rohan Powar on 6 January 2021, after dating each other for more than five years. Rohan is an Indian origin businessman settled in America. The couple first met when Rohan visited India during an internship in the automotive manufacturing industry. In 2018, Powar returned to the United States to complete his MBA at Carnegie Mellon. However right before Rohan was about to leave for America, Nicole and their friends decided to throw him a farewell party, which apparently turned out to be a party for Nicole too. Rohan Powar surprised Nicole Faria with the marriage proposal to which Faria said yes and the farewell party turned into an engagement party. Talking about the surprise, Nicole Faria said,
He proposed during his farewell party, for which he had called close friends and family. Everyone knew that he was going to ask me to marry him — everyone except me, of course. He got down on one knee at the party and proposed in front of everyone. I was so shocked that I couldn’t move for a while. He is the most amazing person I have met; he is very understanding and we get along so well. This is the most exciting chapter of my life and I can’t wait to start a life with him.”
Nicole Faria’s proposal picture
Nicole Faria and Rohan Powar got opted to perform two religious ceremonies for their wedding, including a Hindu wedding ceremony and a Christian style wedding ceremony.
Nicole Faria’s Hindu wedding picture
Nicole Faria’s Christian wedding picture
Career
Beauty Pageants
Nicole Faria was inclined towards beauty and fashion since childhood and thus started her modelling career at the age of just 15. She walked the runway for various renowned fashion designers in Indian as well as Sri Lankan fashion industry. Nicole Faria started her pageantry journey in 2010 by participating in the Miss India South 2010 beauty pageant. She used her preexisting modelling skills and presented her acting and dancing skills during the different rounds at the competition and later went on to be crowned as the Miss India South 2010. After winning the Miss India South 2010 beauty pageant, Nicole Faria qualified as the top 20 finalists for the Femina Miss India 2010 where she managed to impress the judges with her abilities and later emerged as the winner of the Femina Miss India Earth 2010 title.
Nicole Faria, in her post-winning speech, revealed that she was more inclined towards winning the Femina Miss India World 2010 title. She said,
I was very happy to win the Miss India Earth Tittle. My main aim was to win the Miss India World Tittle as I wanted to go for the Miss World Pageant. I guess everything happens for a reason and I believe in Destiny, Karma and all of that. No Girl from India had won the Miss Earth Title so I was a little excited about that and things just took off from there. From the beginning, I had a feeling that I am going to win the title, but I never felt overconfident. That excitement and nervousness were exactly what happened after winning the title!”
Nicole Faria who became the Miss India Earth 2010 earned the opportunity to represent India at the Miss Earth 2010 beauty pageant held in Vietnam. 84 contestant from all across the world represented their respective countries at the pageant. Nicole Faria wore a shimmering white and gold outfit for the evening gown round and stunned everyone with her walk. She won the Miss Talent title for the belly dance during the pageantry competition. Talking about her win, she said,
I love music, and I love dancing like a free bird. I won the Miss Talent title for the belly dance I performed for Miss Earth Contest. It was not well prepared, just a 2 hours practice at the airport, but I could make it up with my interest. Everything I have done is through pure passion. Nobody forced me to do anything like you are Miss Earth so do this and do that.”
Acing every coming round, she was among the top three contestants at the competition and was declared as the Miss Earth 2010 in the final round.
Nicole Faria was crowned as Miss Earth 2010
During the media interaction, when asked about her journey of Miss Earth, Nicole Faria said,
It feels wonderful to have won from among 84 contestants, but more than that I will cherish the experience of having met some wonderful girls from a confluence of cultures. It was especially nice to have my parents and other familiar faces by my side during the time it was all unfolding. My expectations weren’t very high. I never cared about winning or losing. It’s just the experience, the journey I have been through a meeting that girl, interacting with them, all were very interesting. Some of them are still my close friends. Miss Scotland, Miss Japan and a few others still talk to me on Skype or BBM. It’s been a joy ride, a learning experience and it’s been a life-changing experience for me.”
Miss Earth Reign
Nicole Faria, after winning the Miss Earth 2010 title, travelled to many countries around the globe to raise funds for various social causes. In May 2011, she travelled to the United States and met members of the Filipino American and Indian American communities living there. The community made discussions regarding some crucial environmental issues including global warming, environmental hazards, ecotourism, and nature imbalance. Nicole Faria also walked the runway for a fund-raising event organised by Samsung held at Time Warner Center. In April 2011, Nicole Faria returned to India to participate in different fundraising and awareness spreading events organized across India, including the India Cyclothon held in Mumbai, which was the largest mass mobilization cycling event ever held in Mumbai for promoting a greener and cleaner future.
Nicole Faria at the Mumbai cyclothon 2011
Nicole Faria, during her Miss Earth Reign, started a major campaign in India wherein she focused on cleaning the Rabindra Sarobar Lakes present in Kolkata for which she got involved with the local United Way in an initial lake cleanup project with the government and has also partnered with the Sherwood Institute, a nonprofit arm of Sherwood Design Engineers, a San Francisco, California-based firm with proven results in international projects of scale relating to fresh, clean water. Other than this, she also promoted the use of solar energy as a better source of power and for this, she joined hands with a Bangalore company (U Solar) to promote awareness about using the sun’s renewable energy that can greatly reduce humanity’s dependence on fossil fuels. Nicole Faria along with Miss Earth Air 2011 Victoria Shchukima, Miss Earth-Water 2011 Watsaporn Wattanakoon, and Miss Earth-Fire 2011 Yeidy Bosques as a group visited Thailand’s flooded areas to provide moral support, distribute food and assistance. She also travelled to Vietnam, Australia, Dubai, South Africa, Philippines, Switzerland, Washington state, New York City, Thailand, Finland, Fiji, Kuwait, and London for supporting various other social and environmental causes.
Acting
Nicole Faria made her acting debut in 2014 with Indian Hindi-language romantic film “Yaariyan” directed by Divya Khosla Kumar. The film showcased the story of 5 close friends who are in college, experiencing different relationships, and learning new values. The film was released on 10 January 2014 under the banner of T-Series Super Cassettes Industries. Nicole Faria played the role of Jia, a young and extremely hot college girl, opposite Himansh Kohli. Nicole broke the stereotype of choosing to play a decent lead actress and instead she opted to play the character no one believed she will ever do. During the promotions of the film, the media question her choice of role, to which she replied,
I do not believe in fitting into stereotypes. I would like to be recognized for my personality and my acting capability. Looks are a bonus. I feel comfortable with my body and I do not believe I flaunt it. However, yes… I am proud of how I am able to maintain myself.”
The biggest hurdle for Nicole Faria while auditioning for the movie was her not too good Hindi speaking skills. She had taken French in school, and so it was tough for her to speak Hindi, but Divya and her team helped Nicole Faria with her Hindi. Although, the film did not performed well at the box office and mainly received negative reviews from the critics but the songs from the film proved to be huge hits.
Next in 2015, Nicole Faria featured in Nikkhil Advani produced and directed romantic comedy film “Katti Batti.” The lead cast of the film included Imran Khan, Kangana Ranaut, Vivan Bhatena, Mithila Palkar, Suparna Marwah, and Nicole Faria. The story of the film is about a couple who were in a five-year live-in relationship but broke up due to some reasons. Nicole Faria played a character named Devika in the film. Apart from Bollywood Nicole Faria has also acted in a Turkish film titled “Bir Baba Hindu.” Turkish actor, director and screenwriter directed the film featuring Nicole Faria and Sermiyan Midyat himself in lead roles. The Turkish name Bir Baba Hindu means A Father Hindu in English and the film showcased the story of a Turkish man, who fells in love with his yoga instructor. Talking about how she got selected for the film, Nicole Faria said,
I was told that they auditioned around 2,000 girls in Mumbai, and I was the last one to walk in. They were impressed by my dialogue delivery.”
Awards & Honours
On 20 January 2018, Nicole Faria was felicitated by the Ministry of Women and Child Development with the First Ladies Award by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind for winning Miss Earth 2010. 112 women from across India who had achieved a significant milestone in their respective fields were selected for the prestigious honor. Ministry of Women and Child Development India collaborated with Facebook in 2015 to recognise ‘100 Women Achievers’ who have excelled in diverse sectors of public work.
Favourites
- Actress: Madhuri Dixit, Helen Mirren
- Quote: “Great things happen to those who don’t stop believing, trying, learning, and being grateful.”
- Book: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Facts/Trivia
- Nicole Faria first walked the international runway at the Colombo fashion week which was followed by Lakme fashion week, Delhi fashion week, shows in Dubai, New York, all across the UK.
- Nicole Faria is associated with a number of NGO’s across India. She has also been honoured with the title ‘Pride of Karnataka’ for marking the gorgeous Indian dusky complexion on the beauty map and also working on social welfare projects.
- Nicole Faria enjoys having a lavish English breakfast.
- Nicole Faria is often spotted drinking alcohol at various social events.
Nicole Faria enjoying alcohol with her friends
- 2010 proved to be a glorifying year in the life of Nicole Faria. She earned the title of Miss India South (regional), Miss India Earth (national), and Miss Earth 2010 all in the same year.
- Nicole Faria is a nature lover and enjoys taking care of the plants at her home.
Nicole Faria watering plants at her home
- Nicole Faria has featured on the international fashion and lifestyle magazine covers, like Elle, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, JFW, and Man’s World Magazine.
Nicole Faria on the cover of Femina magazine
- Nicole Faria has aced every field where she stepped in including modelling, acting, and beauty pageants. During a media interaction when she was asked,
What is more gratifying – facing the camera or walking the ramp?”
She replied,
Each has its own challenges and each has its own highs. I would say that both are good, but I would prefer to go forward as an actor as it gives me many more options…. A good ramp model may not make it to acting. I am glad I got an opportunity to be in Bollywood,” Nicole said, adding she would love to play a role like Angelina Jolie in Mr and Mrs Smith in Bollywood.”
- Nicole Faria was ranked tenth on the list of the Times’ 50 Most Desirable Women of 2010.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education