Harnaaz Sandhu

Sandhu was born in the village of Kohali in Gurdaspur district, Punjab, to parents Pritampal Singh Sandhu and Rabinder Kaur Sandhu. Her father is a Realtor and her mother is a gynecologist. She also has one sibling. Sandhu was raised in a Punjabi Jat Sikh family.

In 2006, she moved to England, before returning to India two years later and settling in Chandigarh. She attended Shivalik Public School and the Post Graduate Government College for Girls, both in Chandigarh. Prior to becoming Miss Universe, Sandhu was pursuing a master's degree in public administration. In addition to her native language Punjabi, Sandhu is also fluent in Hindi and English.

Sandhu began competing in pageantry as a teenager, winning Miss Chandigarh 2017 and Miss Max Emerging Star India 2018. She participated in Miss Diva 2018 and a finalist.

After winning Femina Miss India Punjab 2019, Sandhu competed in Femina Miss India 2019, where she was placed in the top 12.

During the Miss Diva 2021 preliminary competition held on 22 September, Sandhu won the Miss Beautiful Skin award and became a finalist for Miss Beach Body, Miss Beautiful Smile, Miss Photogenic, and Miss Talented.

At the end of the event Finale, Sandhu was crowned as the winner by the outgoing titleholder Adline Castelino, and went on to represent India at the Miss Universe 2021.

Sandhu represented India at Miss Universe 2021 on 13 December 2021 in Eilat, Israel.

Sandhu was announced Miss Universe 2021 by host Steve Harvey and crowned by the outgoing titleholder Andrea Meza of Mexico.

As Miss Universe, Sandhu traveled to Israel, various cities within the United States, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Africa, Colombia, Thailand, and her home country of India.