Maureen Hingert
Encyclopedia
Maureen Neliya Hingert is a Sri Lanka
n model, dancer and actress. She is the only Sri Lankan representative to win an award at a Miss Universe
pageant after finishing as second runner-up at the 1955 event.
She was heralded a favorite for the world beauty crown together with “Miss Sweden,” “Miss USA,” “Miss England,” and “Miss El Salvador.”
Due to her very high placement in the Miss Universe Pageant, she has long been revered as "putting Sri Lanka on the map" and being an ambassador to her country, Sri Lanka
.
Hingert was born on January 9, 1937 in Colombo, Sri Lanka to Lionel Hingert and Lorna Senanayake Mabel De Run. Her father, of Dutch
ancestry. He was the President of the Bank of Ceylon and he had extensive tea estates.
Hingert attended school at the Holy Family Convent in Colombo until she was eighteen. She studied world history, languages (English
, Sinhalese, French
, Dutch
, Spanish
, Hindustani
, Sanskrit language, and Tamil
), nursing and dancing.
In 1954, Hingert was crowned Miss Ceylon in her country and subsequently selected as a contestant in the 1955 Miss Universe pageant.
Following the contest, Hingert was put under contract to Universal International Studios and 20th Century Fox.
Some of the movies she appeared in include: The King and I, Fort Bowie, Gun Fever, The Adventures of Hiram Holiday, Moroccan Halk Moth, Pillars of the Sky, Dangerous Search, Gunman from Laredo, The Rawhide Trail and the British TV Series Captain David Grief
.
She was also an accomplished dancer and gave solo performances at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles and other major Los Angeles venues.
She married designer/artist Mario Armond Zamparelli
in 1958. Mario Armond Zamparelli is an American artist and designer, best known for his connection with Howard Hughes. For 18 years, Zamparelli was Chief Executive Designer of Hughes’ empire.
Their daughter Gina Zamparelli
would achieve fame in the arts as a concert promoter and is active in the field of historic preservation. They had two other daughters as well, Marisa and Andrea Zamparelli.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
n model, dancer and actress. She is the only Sri Lankan representative to win an award at a Miss Universe
Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. The pageant is the most publicized beauty contest in the world with 600 million viewers....
pageant after finishing as second runner-up at the 1955 event.
She was heralded a favorite for the world beauty crown together with “Miss Sweden,” “Miss USA,” “Miss England,” and “Miss El Salvador.”
Due to her very high placement in the Miss Universe Pageant, she has long been revered as "putting Sri Lanka on the map" and being an ambassador to her country, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
.
Hingert was born on January 9, 1937 in Colombo, Sri Lanka to Lionel Hingert and Lorna Senanayake Mabel De Run. Her father, of Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
ancestry. He was the President of the Bank of Ceylon and he had extensive tea estates.
Hingert attended school at the Holy Family Convent in Colombo until she was eighteen. She studied world history, languages (English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Sinhalese, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Hindustani
Hindustani language
Hindi-Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language and the lingua franca of North India and Pakistan. It is also known as Hindustani , and historically, as Hindavi or Rekhta...
, Sanskrit language, and Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
), nursing and dancing.
In 1954, Hingert was crowned Miss Ceylon in her country and subsequently selected as a contestant in the 1955 Miss Universe pageant.
Following the contest, Hingert was put under contract to Universal International Studios and 20th Century Fox.
Some of the movies she appeared in include: The King and I, Fort Bowie, Gun Fever, The Adventures of Hiram Holiday, Moroccan Halk Moth, Pillars of the Sky, Dangerous Search, Gunman from Laredo, The Rawhide Trail and the British TV Series Captain David Grief
Captain David Grief
Captain David Grief is an American syndicated television series that aired via syndication between 1957 and 1960. The cast included the Irish-born Maxwell Reed as Captain Grief, Tudor Owen as Elihu Snow, Mickey Simpson as Boley, Mel Prestidge as Jackie-Jackie, and Maureen Hingert as Anura.Among the...
.
She was also an accomplished dancer and gave solo performances at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles and other major Los Angeles venues.
She married designer/artist Mario Armond Zamparelli
Mario Armond Zamparelli
Mario Armond Zamparelli is an American artist and designer, best known for his connection with Howard Hughes. For 18 years, Zamparelli was Chief Executive Designer of Hughes' empire and created the entire corporate identity of Hughes Airwest and Hughes Helicopters. He designed Las Vegas hotels...
in 1958. Mario Armond Zamparelli is an American artist and designer, best known for his connection with Howard Hughes. For 18 years, Zamparelli was Chief Executive Designer of Hughes’ empire.
Their daughter Gina Zamparelli
Gina Zamparelli
-Family:Gina Zamparelli is the daughter of Sri-Lankan model and Miss Universe title-holder Maureen Hingert and American designer Mario Armond Zamparelli.-Career:...
would achieve fame in the arts as a concert promoter and is active in the field of historic preservation. They had two other daughters as well, Marisa and Andrea Zamparelli.