COLOMBO, December 2019: 27-year old Sri Lankan beauty queen Caroline Jurie, who just shot to international fame after winning the Mrs.World 2020 crown at the Mrs. World Pageant held in Las Vegas in the US on December 6, returned home in the early hours of December 10 to a warm and rapturous welcome from family, friends, fans and well wishers.
The vivacious Caroline beat contestants from 51 countries to win the Mrs.World title, a longstanding global pageant that celebrates the uniqueness of the married woman, her family and her community. She becomes only the second Sri Lankan to win this prestigious international glamour award, the first being Rosie Senanayake, the current Mayor of Colombo, who was adjudged Mrs.World at the inaugural Mrs.World Pageant 35 years ago in Australia.
Caroline, who is a sales professional with a wealth of sales experience in Sri Lanka and the Middle East, first won the Mrs.Sri Lanka World title prior to making her way to the top of the international pageant.
In a Facebook post, Caroline says: “Work hard, and never give up on your dreams, even when nobody else believes, they can come true.”
Former Mrs.World Rosie Senanayake was among those who congratulated Caroline while President Gotabaya Rajapaksa thanked her in a congratulatory post on Facebook for bringing glory to the motherland and creating ‘a proud Sri Lankan moment for all of us’.
Addressing a press conference after returning to the island, Caroline said she would like to first of all thank God for ensuring her victory and called on people of all faiths to repose their trust and confidence in God if they wished to be successful in whatever they planned to do.
A visibly emotional Caroline revealed that apart from the support she received from her close family and friends and the local organisers, she was virtually left on her own in competing with many professionally trained participants, and as a novice on the international stage, she wished she had received the country’s support and encouragement when she left for the US to take part in the Mrs.World Pageant. Fortunately for Caroline, she received unexpected and incredible support and guidance from Alica Lee Gianetta from Hong Kong, who took the Mrs.World crown in 2018, and who provided her with invaluable tips that played a pivotal role in Caroline winning the 2020 title.
“My fervent appeal is that if there are Sri Lankans participating in such events on the international stage, please support them because they are representing our country,” she said to loud applause from the guests and media present at the press conference.
Caroline’s win is a timely boost to Sri Lanka’s rapidly recovering tourism industry as it could help further raise awareness of destination Sri Lanka around the world. In fact, at a Tourism and Cultural Evening held in Dubai on 8 December to celebrate 40 years of bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and the UAE, a presentation promoting Sri Lanka’s tourism industry ended with the spotlight falling on Sri Lanka winning the Mrs.World title.
Here, Caroline is seen waving to fans and well wishers who gathered outside the Bandaranaike International Airport, as she set off for her home town Kandana near Negombo in a motorcade, and below, with family including her husband and daughter just after arrival.
Congratulations! What an amazing achievement.
Well done Caroline. This is a much-needed confidence booster for Sri Lankans around the world.
Hope you will be a great role model for women in Sri Lanka and all over the world.