Ornella Mariam Gunesekere – Shines in Thailand

Ornella Gunesekera is easily one of the most beautiful Sri Lankan Beauty Queens to ever to grace the Island Nation, Born on January 23, 1992 in wattala to a closely knitted devout Catholic family, she is adored for not only her beauty but also for her charming personality and humility.

While she is already a superstar in the hearts of those who know her, she has now carved a new place for herself in the international arena, she was Top 15 at Miss Tourism International 2011 (winning Miss Friendship), 2nd Runner Up at Miss Sri Lanka Universe 2010 (winning Miss Personality), was Miss Sri Lanka for Miss International 2010 and now the winner of miss Grand International Sri Lanka and leading the polls in the pageant currently being held in Thailand.

At the age of 17, in December 2009, Ornella entered the industry with a debut modeling assignment at a Fashion Show in aid of Tsunami victims. Her second walk down the ramp would be the following year in February 2010, at Colombo Fashion Week.

Later that year, in July she took part in the Miss Sri Lanka for Miss Universe pageant 2010, where she subsequently placed third from over one hundered applicants that year. She was then nominated and went on to represent Sri Lanka at the Miss International beauty pagenat held in Chengdu, China that same year.

The following year, Ornella, for the second time, walked the ramp of Colombo Fashion Week. In May 2011, she was invited by the Indonesian tourism board to represent Sri Lanka, where she met Professor Philip Kotler at a birthday party held in his honor.
The following month, in June, Miss International Mauritius who Ornella had become friends with at the International pageant in China 2010, visited the island to celebrate her birthday.

2011 saw Ornella in her first music video, ‘Nafas’ recorded in the ancient city of Yapahuwa, where she dances in the video for an Iranian artist, Dani. In the latter part of 2011, again nominated, she represented Sri Lanka in Malaysia, as Miss Tourism International Sri Lanka at the 15th Miss Tourism International beauty pageant.
Ornella made it to the Top 15 out of the 54 contestants from all over the world. She was also voted by the contestants as “Miss Friendship” that year and was awarded a crystal trophy. She made history as this was the first contestant from Sri Lanka to achieve this kind of success at the pageant.

In February 2012, on invitation of Ornella as a Tourism Ambassador, Miss International Singapore 2010 visited Sri Lanka to experience the beauty of the island touring through a Spice garden, turtle hatchery, sandy beaches and also enjoying the city of Colombo.