Maureen Neliya Hingert (born January 9, 1937) is a Sri Lankan model, dancer and actress. She is a Miss Universe pageant titleholder.
She was heralded a favorite for the world beauty crown together with “Miss Sweden,” “Miss USA,” “Miss England,” and “Miss El Salvador.” The Judges stated, “she is the most beautiful entrant we have ever had”.
Due to her win 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 Mabel De Run. Her father, of Dutch people Dutch ancestry. He was the President of the Bank of Ceylon and he had extensive tea estates. The family lived in a large mansion in Ceylon
Hingert attended school at the Holy Family Convent in Colombo until she was eighteen. She studied world history, languages (English, French, Spanish, Hindustani, and Tamil), nursing and dancing.
In 1954, Hingert was crowned Miss Ceylon in her country and subsequently selected as a contestant in the 1955 Miss Universe pagent.
Following her victory in the contest, Hingert was put under contract to Universal International Studios and 20th Century Fox.
Some of the movies she appeared in include: The King and I, Fort Bowie, Gun Fever, The Adventures of Hiram Holiday, Moroccan Halk Moth, Pillars of the Sky, Dangerous Search, Gunman from Laredo, The Rawhide Trail and the British TV Series Captain David Grief. -Wikipedia-
Miss Ceylon Universe 1955 absolutely facinating. I wish I could meet her. May God bless you Maureen.
Bill Buchheister