Sushmita Sen celebrates 29 years of her Miss Universe win with pic from when she was 18: 'It brings me to tears of joy'

Sushmita Sen won the first-ever Miss Universe crown for India 29 years ago. On Sunday, she shared a post celebrating her historic win.

Actor Sushmita Sen penned a long note as she clocked 29 years of winning the Miss Universe crown. Taking to Instagram on Sunday morning, Sushmita shared a monochrome picture of herself clicked nearly three decades ago. In the closeup photo, Sushmita placed her hands on either side of her face as she looked into the camera. (Also Read | Sushmita Sen spends Mother's Day with gifts, games and more, daughter Alisah cooks lunch)

Sushmita Sen won the first-ever Miss Universe crown from India 29 years ago.

Sushmita wrote, "This picture is exactly 29 years old, shot by the epic man & photographer Prabuddha Dasgupta. In the rawness of this picture, he beautifully captured an 18-year-old me… with a smile he said, you realise you’re the first Miss Universe I’ve ever shot… I proudly added, it’s actually INDIA’s first ever Miss Universe."

She also added, "The privilege of representing & winning for my Motherland is an honour so profound, it brings me to tears of joy even today... 29 years later!!! I celebrate and remember this day with great pride as History bears witness, INDIA won Miss Universe for the first time ever on 21st May 1994 in Manila Philippines (Mahal Kia)."

Sushmita concluded her note, "Thank you all for the love, goodness, & the most beautiful messages… forever cherished!!! I love you guys!!!!" She also added the hashtags – happy 29th anniversary, Miss Universe 1994, India, yours truly and dugga dugga. Sushmita competed against contestants from 77 countries around the world and became the first Indian woman to clinch the Miss Universe title in 1994. That same year, Aishwarya Rai was crowned Miss World.

Fans will see Sushmita next in Aarya season 3 which will stream on Disney+ Hotstar. Aarya marked Sushmita Sen's comeback on-screen and her digital debut. Sushmita made a thrilling comeback with Aarya in June 2020. In the series, the actor plays a tough woman, who goes beyond boundaries to protect her family from the world of crime.

The first season was even nominated for Best Drama series at the International Emmy Awards. Directed by Ram Madhvani, the series also stars Namit Das, Manish Chaudhari, Sikandar Kher, and Vinod Rawat among others in pivotal roles. The second season of the show was released in December 2021 and the release date of the third season hasn't been revealed by the makers yet.

Apart from that, she also has Taali in the pipeline which is based on the life of transgender Shreegauri Sawant. She was one of the petitioners in the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) case of 2013, in connection with which the Supreme Court recognised a transgender person as the third gender.