Nafisa Joseph was an admired Indian model and MTV video jockey. She was born on March 28, 1978 and was the winner of Miss India Universe 1997. She was a semi-finalist in the Miss Universe pageant.
Nafisa Joseph has spent her childhood in Bangalore. She was the youngest sister and had two elder sisters born to father Nirmal Joseph, a Keralite and mother Usha Joseph, a Bengali. Her mother was a descendant of Rabindranath Tagore and first cousin of Sharmila Tagore. Nafisa was admitted to Bishop Cotton School and later at St. Joseph`s College, both situated at Bangalore. Nafisa Joseph was a Catholic, but as her paternal grandmother was a Muslim, she owed her Islamic name.
Nafisa Joseph started her modeling career at age 12 when her neighbor brought to her an opportunity to pose as a model for a Wearhouse ad. Prasad Bidapa groomed her as a model. At the Miss India pageant in 1997, Nafisa Joseph was the youngest participant and finally she won the crown. In 1999, she was one of the judges for the MTV VJ Hunt [VJ Hunt].
That was just the beginning for her. Very soon, she herself was called to host a show on MTV. Nafisa Joseph was the adorable host of the MTV House Full show for almost five years. Nafisa Joseph also acted in a television series C.A.T.S, which was an Indian version of Charlie`s Angels for Sony Entertainment Television. She hosted a show Style on Star World in 2004. Nafisa Joseph also launched a television programming unit 2`s Company in co ordination with her fiancé, Gautam Khanduja. Nafisa Joseph was also the editor of a magazine called Gurlz.
Other than modeling and hosting duties, Nafisa Joseph was actively into animal welfare. Being a lover of animals, she campaigned for Welfare of Stray Dogs (WSD), People for Animals (PFA), People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and many other organizations for animal protection. She wrote a weekly column called Nafisa for Animals in the Bangalore edition of the Times of India.
The sudden and unexpected death of Nafisa Joseph shook the industry with shock and grief. Nafisa hung herself in her flat in Mumbai on 29 July 2004.
