Life isn’t easy and it has never been and that is one thing I appreciate about it. Because the happiness
and accomplishments that come post hard work and hardships feel the sweetest.
Hello/ namaste, I am Meenu Gupta, I am a mother, I am a businesswoman, a career mentor, a
spokesperson for self-esteem and an activist against domestic violence. I am proudly and gratefully
representing the land of opportunity, a country with huge diversity and still holds unity and a land
where everyone is equal. United States of America. I am beyond humbled to be the very first Indian/
Nepali American woman to represent USA for Mrs. Universe platform.
I came from humble origins. From a very small town called Kichha. We were a family of 5 and my father
used to earn a meager salary and struggled hard to make the ends meet. My mom was always a
homemaker and always dependent on my dad for small things and decisions. I learned very quickly in
my life that I will never be dependent on my dad, brother, or husband financially as an adult.
Growing up, I was not considered someone beautiful and never received any complements on my
physically beauty until in college. it was mostly because of my dark skin color and when you operate in
limited resources, beauty takes a back seat over other need. It developed a very low self-esteem in me.
It did dampen my spirits and pulled me in to the downward spiral. It loomed over me and made me feel
impertinent and worthless.
But that prompted me to strive hard to excel studies and hence I put my 1000% in my educational
endeavors. I still remember my dad used to tell me that if want to continue the same life, don’t do
anything but if you want to live a better life, excel in education, drive attention for your
accomplishments then your beauty. And I followed this mantra religiously.
Due to the financial constraints, I had to cover an extra mile to secure scholarships for my graduation
and post-graduation. I went to Pant Nagar university of Ag and technology for my undergrad and then
secured 4 th rank in all over ICAR exam and did my masters from Punjab Ag university with scholarship
and honors.
While attending my undergrad classes, I used to feel that I am not someone who possess the elegance
and sophistication worthy of notice. I still remember, I used to practice for hours in front of mirror
before my class presentations. And what I learnt was that practice makes you better. Fake it until you
make it. The rub here is you must own up the situation to make anything impactful.
My academic accomplishments even with almost no money was my first major achievement in my life
and my parents played a huge role in it.
I met my husband who was in the US in 2004 when I was pursuing my masters and got married in 2007.
He belonged to an affluent and respected family from Nepal, and I still wonder why he would love
someone like me who was not even at par with him in any perspective. I was blessed to find a beautiful
family in Nepal, and it was the inception of an amazing relationship with an incredible country of Nepal
and its people
I still remember that my father-in-law who is a current member of parliament in Nepal, asked me about
America’s GDP when he came to see me the first time. It was a life changing conversation with him, and
I found him and my in-laws family extremely progressive, loving, caring and beyond any social taboos.
When I was married to my hubby in 2007, I was not a beautiful looking girl and not even groomed like
my husband but I it was a complete blessing to get married to someone as loving and caring as him. It’s
now been 16 years and he makes me feel loved every day!!!
And yes, another lesson I learnt here was, as a woman we should own the full responsibility to whole we
allow to love us. Even though it was a long distant relationship for 2 years, I knew that I am going to
marry someone who will make me feel loved every single day and value me for who I am.
Coming to the US was a life changing experience for me. I learnt so many things like swimming, driving,
SQL coding, MBA, cooking and many more things. I was fortunate to work for companies like Amazon, T-
Mobile USA and Microsoft in leadership positions. Got promoted every other year coz I gave 1000% in
each project that I owned. And it is worthy of mention that they are the ones who sponsored my MBA
program.
I always wanted to be a complete person not just through climbing the career ladder, but to shape my
persona by honing my skills as a performer and an ambassador for the women and girls in need.
Whether it is a dance performance, or a beauty pageant contest, I always ensure that it has some
purpose behind it. Definition of beauty for me is owning your identity and expressing yourself with self-
esteem and resplendent confidence. You should exude confidence as you walk with grace, holding
yourself calm and composed, with a perfect poise. I knew that changing the definition of beauty for me
was somewhere in my core and hence I became a career mentor for women in technology, a
spokesperson for women’s self-esteem, supported many NGOs in Indian and Nepal for child education,
women trafficking and domestic abuse. Finally in 2019 I decided to compete for Mrs. ASIA USA (My first
pageant) and huge thanks to virgelia production for giving me the opportunity. As I walked in day 1 and
seeing all amazing women around me, I told myself of what’s my chances of winning, but I went with a
feeling that I will eventually learn something. I ended up winning that competition with my hard work,
perseverance, dedication and with the support of my loved ones and coaches.
Fast forward, now I have been recently crowned as MRS. USA and I am beyond humbled to be the first
Indian/ Nepali woman in the history of America to represent USA for Mrs. Universe platform. I came to
the US as an immigrant and USA embraced me and gave me all amazing opportunities. I now honorably
represent woman of color and diversity and I strongly believe that as an immigrant you are as America
as someone who is born and raised here. I feel honored to not only represent 338 million people here in
the US but also 1.4 B people in India and 30 million in Nepal. I would love to continue to build the self-
belief in women through my campaigns, career mentorship and through my fights against domestic
violence/ women trafficking issues.
Today, I want to take this moment and share my gratitude and huge thank you to my parents who
instilled such strong values and great attitude in me, my husband who supports my decisions and
dreams and makes me feel like a queen every day, my incredible kiddos, Virgelia productions for giving
me the wings to fly and helping me reach my full potential, my fellow queens, my helpers, my extended
family, my most amazing friends, my neighbors, my mentors, my coaches, my designers, my
photographers, videographers, my make up artists, my costume designers, my directors and the list goes
on……. These are my people, and I cannot imagine my full self without them! I want you all to know that
I love you unconditionally and thank you for your love and support!
As Mrs. USA Universe, I will continue to instill the confidence and hope in all the women and girls who
suffer from domestic violence and those in need of help. For me confidence is lot mightier than make up
and I strongly believe that hard work, perseverance, and a positive attitude can take you a long way in
life!!!
With gratitude,
Meenu Gupta
Mrs. USA Universe 2023
Mrs. Asia USA 2022
Xbox leader at Microsoft
DE&I chair at Microsoft.
Executive director, Face of India
Activist against Domestic violence, supporting Maiti Nepal and Pratham NGOS
India NYFW By Mydream TV USA
