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{{short description|Indian model and television personality}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2019}}
{{Infobox pageant titleholder
| name = Nafisa Joseph
| native_name =
| image = Nafisa Joseph.jpg
| height =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1978|3|28|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Bangalore]], [[Karnataka]], India
| death_date = {{death date and age|2004|7|29|1978|3|28|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Mumbai]], [[Maharashtra]], India
| title = [[Femina Miss India|Femina Miss India Universe 1997]]
| competitions = [[Femina Miss India|Femina Miss India 1997]]<br>(Winner)<br>[[Miss Universe 1997]]<br>(Top 10)
| alma_mater = [[St. Joseph's College, Bangalore|St. Joseph's College]]
| occupation = [[Model (person)|Model]], [[TV Presenter]], Actress
}}
'''Nafisa Joseph''' (28 March 1978 – 29 July 2004) was an Indian model and MTV [[video jockey]]. She was the winner of [[Femina Miss India|Femina Miss India Universe 1997]] and was a finalist in the [[Miss Universe 1997]] pageant in Miami Beach.

== Early life ==
Nafisa Joseph was born on 28 March 1978 in [[Delhi]], and was brought up in [[Bangalore]], [[Karnataka]].<ref name="Bhakoo">{{cite news |last1=Bhakoo |first1=Shivani |title=City's hospitality wins glamourous hearts |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020602/ldh2.htm |accessdate=24 June 2019 |work=[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]] |date=2 June 2002 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20020626121637/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020602/ldh2.htm |archivedate=26 June 2002 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Nafisa Joseph 1978-2004|url=http://www.mid-day.com/entertainment/2004/jul/88970.htm|publisher=[[MiD DAY]]|accessdate=2011-04-23|date=2004-07-31}}</ref> She was the younger of two daughters born to father Nirmal Joseph, and mother Usha Joseph, a [[Bengali people|Bengali]], who was a descendant of [[Rabindranath Tagore|Tagore]]. Nafisa studied at [[Bishop Cotton Girls' School]] and [[St. Joseph's College, Bangalore|St. Joseph's College]], both at Bangalore. She owed her [[Islamic]] first name to the fact that her paternal grandmother may have been [[Muslim]].{{citation needed|date=August 2014}}

== Career ==
Joseph started modelling at age 12 when her neighbour got her an opportunity to model for a Wearhouse ad. She was groomed as a model by [[Prasad Bidapa]]. Joseph was the youngest participant at the Miss India pageant in 1997, which she won.
Joseph participated in the Miss Universe Pageant in Miami Beach, Florida on 16 May 1997, and was among the 10 semifinalists in the pageant.

In 1999, she was a judge for the [[MTV India]] [[MTV VJ Hunt|VJ Hunt]] and was also a VJ for MTV. A week later she was called for a screen test to host a show on MTV . She ran the ''MTV House Full'' show for close to five years. She also acted in a television series ''[[C.A.T.S. (TV series)|C.A.T.S.]]'', an Indian version of ''[[Charlie's Angels]]'' for [[Sony Entertainment Television (India)|Sony Entertainment Television]]. In 2004, she hosted a show ''Style'' on [[Star World]]. She also launched a television programming unit ''2's Company'' with the help of her fiancé, Gautam Khanduja. She edited a magazine called ''Gurlz''. She also had a brief cameo in the [[Subhash Ghai]] film ''Taal''.

In addition to modeling and hosting duties, Joseph was a lover of animals and campaigned for Welfare of Stray Dogs (WSD), [[People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals]] (PETA) and [[People for Animals]] (PFA), organizations for animal protection, and wrote a weekly column called ''Nafisa for Animals'' in the Bangalore edition of the ''[[Times of India]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://feminamissindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/22458123.cms |title=Nafisa Joseph profile on Femina Miss India |access-date=30 July 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717154349/http://feminamissindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/22458123.cms |archive-date=17 July 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Death ==
Joseph [[hanged]] herself in her flat in [[Versova, Mumbai|Versova]] on 29 July 2004. She was to marry businessman Gautam Khanduja in a few weeks' time. According to her parents, Joseph took the step because her marriage was called off. This was due to Joseph having discovered that Khanduja was still married, although having told her he had been divorced for two years. When confronted, Khanduja refused to answer questions about his marital life or produce divorce papers that he had previously claimed he had filed. Instead, press reports at the time mention that he then threatened her with blackmail, probably after she threatened to confront his wife.<ref>Goshwami, Kanta. [http://www.indiadaily.com/editorial/07-30b-04.asp "Nafisa Joseph - murder or suicide? The behind the scene real story." ''India Daily''. 30 July 2004.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060427070722/http://www.indiadaily.com/editorial/07-30b-04.asp |date=27 April 2006 }}</ref>

Joseph's parents filed a police report accusing her fiancé for her death, claiming that Khanduja had been desperate to get out of the wedding for some time, and sought his custodial interrogation. In November 2005, the trial against Khanduja was stayed by the [[Bombay High Court]] until January 2006.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.hindu.com/2005/11/30/stories/2005113004470400.htm| archive-url=https://archive.today/20130125080124/http://www.hindu.com/2005/11/30/stories/2005113004470400.htm| url-status=dead| archive-date=25 January 2013| work=[[The Hindu]]| title=Trial in Nafisa Joseph suicide case stayed| date=30 November 2005}}</ref> Khanduja claimed that there was no evidence to prove that breaking off the engagement had led to Joseph's suicide.

== Trivia ==
Nafisa was signed on to play the lead antagonist role of Mallika Seth in ''[[Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin]]'' a fictional TV show on [[Sony Entertainment Television]]. She even shot for the pilot episode but was later replaced by TV actress and host [[Rakshanda Khan]]. This was confirmed by Rakhshanda herself in a social media post.{{cn|date=January 2019}}

== See also ==
* [[Suicide in India]]
* [[Jiah Khan]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{succession box |
before=[[Sandhya Chib]]|
title=[[Femina Miss India|Femina Miss India Universe]]|
years=1997|
after=[[Lymaraina D'Souza]]
|}}
{{s-end}}
{{Miss Universe 1997 delegates}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Nafisa}}
[[Category:1978 births]]
[[Category:2004 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian actresses]]
[[Category:Actresses from Bangalore]]
[[Category:Femina Miss India winners]]
[[Category:Female models from Bangalore]]
[[Category:Indian television actresses]]
[[Category:Miss Universe 1997 contestants]]
[[Category:Suicides by hanging in India]]
[[Category:Indian VJs (media personalities)]]
[[Category:2004 suicides]]

Nafisa Joseph - Revision history

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