Monday, September 20, 2010

Indian origin school girl is America's teen queen

Anysha Panesar, a 16-year-old Indian origin teenager has been crowned America's Perfect Teen. The only problem is she is British.

The teenager from Wales beat a host of American beauties to win the contest while on holiday in Florida and it has not gone down well with the losing candidates.

Parents of the American girls have protested to the organisers of the pageant, which has a USD 2,000 first prize, and an USD 18,000 scholarship to train as a TV broadcaster, reported Daily Mail online. But Anysha has hit back, arguing the outcry is just sour grapes.

"Some people did say I shouldn't have won because I'm British. But really I think the people who said that just said it because they didn't win," said the brunette beauty. Anysha entered the teenage beauty pageant while at the family holiday home in Kissimmee, Florida.

The 'America's Perfect Teen' contest, which included girls as young as 13, has a big following in the States. But Anysha was stunned to beat the other 30 contestants from across US. "My mum was sitting there crying her eyes out and my dad didn't know what to do with himself. My grandparents were on the phone, they were all so proud," said Anysha.

Anysha lives with her family in the village of Llangan in Vale of Glamorgan and is now back in classes at Howells School in Cardiff. Anysha won the scholarship to learn broadcasting in the US, which she plans to take up after her A-levels. She is also in talks to have her own TV show about her year as 'America's Perfect Teen'.