Maria Thattil

Maria Thattil is a 9Honey columnist and beauty presenter.

She was Miss Universe Australia 2020 and is a South-Asian Australian diversity advocate, media personality, speaker, writer, model and creator. As the 3rd woman of colour to represent Australia after 69 years of the Miss Universe competition and standing at 5"3 tall, she placed in the Top 10 globally, breaking several barriers for women and people of colour. Her multi-hyphen career is a curation of projects that champion critical social justice issues including anti-racism, diversity, inclusion, representation, youth empowerment, mental health and gender equality advocacy.

Since winning the Miss Universe Australia title in October 2020, Thattil's growth has continued to escalate, with her personality and ability to speak eloquently on challenging but relevant social and cultural matters leading to her being in demand in Australian media. She has featured on all TV networks, headlined national campaigns as a face and ambassador, served as a guest columnist for Australian publications and is a guest speaker for global conglomerates like Verizon Media, Procter and Gamble and L'Or¨¦al and partaken in a variety of guest interviews with podcasts, commercial radio and written outlets.

She is an insightful and skilled opinion writer authoring powerful pieces on racism, leadership, sexism and empowerment, leveraging her degrees in Psychology and Management in her creative endeavours. Currently residing in Melbourne, Thattil plans on developing her career in Australian entertainment with an interest in presenting, hosting and acting. You can catch Maria on Nine's Today Extra where she appears regularly.