Nina Davuluri

Nina Davuluri is an acclaimed filmmaker, activist, actor, & entrepreneur. She first gained international recognition by becoming the first South Asian to win the title of Miss America - solidifying her place in history. Her most recent venture combines the network she has cultivated, her love for advocacy, and disrupting global beauty standards by producing the documentary, #COMPLEXion, which was released on Amazon in February 2023. As a global leader in redefining beauty standards, she spearheaded a campaign against colorism, #SeeMyComplexion. This led to her being invited by the CEO of L’oreal to join the L’oreal Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Board, which she currently serves on. Since then, she went to Harvard Business School to study the Business of Entertainment, Media, & Sports. Davuluri truly believes entertainment & media are the most impactful mediums to create lasting change.

To further her mission of dismantling beauty standards, Davuluri gave a viral TED Talk, The Cost of Beauty From A Miss America, fighting against toxic beauty standards & the harmful effects social media has had on perpetuating these standards. Being 8 years removed from winning Miss America, Davuluri realized that there is a significant cost to beauty that is never discussed. As someone who was deeply entrenched in the beauty industry, she understands the unique voice she has to continue to lead this conversation & increase representation in mainstream media.

Davuluri is no novice to disrupting systems & creating change; her work in activism became apparent when she was first recognized by President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama. She was invited to collaborate with the First Lady on her campaign, “Let’s Move, Let’s Read” & “Let Girls Learn”. She then went on to help launch “Act to Change,” an anti-bullying campaign led by the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI). Davuluri was also invited to be a speaker at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Kenya & was honored to be the youngest speaker on the main stage sharing her experiences as a trailblazer in the field of diversity. She then embarked on a fourteen day tour in India that was sponsored by the U.S. Department of State promoting education, women's empowerment, and diversity. Davuluri was incredibly proud to return to her homeland of India and focus on key issues between both countries.

The tour culminated in an invitation from President Obama to a Women’s History Month reception held at the White House.

She has also worked with top technology companies such as Google, NASA, Dell, Vanguard, & Texas Instruments in addition to the Sacramento Kings Foundation to further their women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) initiatives.

Over the past 10 years, Davuluri has traveled around the world to address an array of audiences on her platform: “Celebrating Diversity through Cultural Competency.” Davuluri is proud to have spoken at 50 different universities including Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Duke, University of Pennsylvania, Cambridge University (UK), and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in both Bombay and Hyderabad. Davuluri has also taken her platform internationally, speaking in the United Kingdom, Philippines, Kenya, and India.

She has been featured on Anderson Cooper 360, CNN's Outfront with Erin Burnett, LIVE! with Kelly & Micheal, Fox & Friends, The View, MSNBC, CBS Morning Show, NPR, BBC World, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Canada’s Breakfast Television, and The Morning Show, among many others local media outlets both national and international. Most recently, Ms. Davuluri was featured in the New York Times for the advocacy work she's done around colorism.

Davuluri is humbled by her experiences and excited to continue her journey in the filmmaking, advocacy, & entertainment arenas. In her spare time, Davuluri enjoys walks in the West Village with her rescue pup, Dobby and moonlighting as #SousChefNina experimenting, creating, and tasting fusion recipes!