Taanusiya Chetty’s journey to becoming second runner-up at Miss World 2026 was shaped by much more than beauty-pageant preparation. Behind the Malaysian teacher and activist’s success is a personal story of loss, resilience and a long-term commitment to helping children through education.

The 26-year-old finished third at the Miss World 2026 final in Nha Trang, Vietnam, on September 5. Her result matched Malaysia’s best performance in the competition, previously achieved by Lina Teoh in 1998. Chetty also earned the Miss World Asia title and won the competition’s Beauty With a Purpose award.

Her achievement came after more than 19 months of preparation for the international competition. Throughout the nearly month-long Miss World program, Chetty gained attention for her consistency, communication skills, cultural performances and humanitarian work.

Who is Taanusiya Chetty?

Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Taanusiya Chetty is an educator, model and social activist. She stands 1.73 meters tall and has pursued a Bachelor of Education specializing in Teaching English as a Second Language.

According to her official Miss World profile, Chetty works as a secondary-school English teacher and is fluent in four languages: Bahasa Melayu, English, Mandarin and Tamil. Her interests also include martial arts, running, badminton, water sports, music and volunteering.

Education, however, has become the central theme of both her career and her social work.

That purpose was shaped by an experience she went through at just 14 years old.

Losing her mother at 14 changed the direction of her life

Chetty has spoken publicly about a difficult period during her teenage years when her family experienced two major losses within a short time.

Her cousin, who had been studying in Australia, died. Soon afterward, Chetty’s parents were involved in a serious road accident while traveling to attend the funeral. Her father survived, but her mother died.

Chetty was only 14.

She suddenly found herself helping her father care for her younger brother while the family adjusted to life without her mother. On the website for her humanitarian organization, Chetty describes that period as one that forced her to grow up quickly.

During those difficult years, another woman became an important source of support for the family. A single mother herself, she traveled long distances to help them and offered compassion without attempting to replace Chetty’s mother.

She later became Chetty’s stepmother.

Chetty has said the experience changed her understanding of what it means to support another person. Rather than seeing empowerment only as personal success, she began to view it as the ability to help someone else rebuild their life.

That belief eventually influenced both her decision to pursue education and her involvement in community work.

From teacher to founder of Be The Change Malaysia

In April 2022, Chetty founded Be The Change Malaysia, initially developed as a youth-led initiative focused on education, mentorship and personal development for children.

The project later expanded into a formally registered nonprofit organization known as Pertubuhan Suara Perubahan Insan Murni.

Its programs have reached rural communities, Orang Asli children, special-needs centers and hospital-based classrooms while also addressing emotional development and educational access.

Her organization has also worked on specialized initiatives for Orang Asli children, including a school-in-hospital program designed to help young patients continue learning while receiving medical care.

Chetty told Bernama that her initiatives have reached thousands of children through community outreach and educational programs.

That work became a major part of her Miss World campaign.

At Miss World 2026, Chetty won the Beauty With a Purpose award, one of the pageant’s most significant competitions recognizing contestants for their social-impact projects. The victory helped secure her place among the Top 6 finalists.

Taanusiya Chetty delivers Miss World speech in four languages

Chetty also attracted widespread attention during the Head-to-Head Challenge on August 23.

During her presentation, she spoke in English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil while discussing her personal loss and explaining how those experiences led her toward education and humanitarian work.

Her multilingual presentation was widely shared online in Malaysia and became one of the standout moments of her Miss World campaign.

For the talent portion of the competition, Chetty highlighted another part of Malaysian culture by performing tarian silat, the graceful, artistic form associated with traditional Malay martial arts.

She had spent months training for the performance before competing internationally.

A teacher’s answer during the Miss World 2026 final

When Chetty reached the Top 6, her final question focused on protecting the environment for future generations and encouraging children to participate.

Rather than separating the question from her profession, she answered from the perspective of a teacher.

Chetty said she would encourage children to plant trees while they are young, using the process of watching a seed slowly grow as a lesson in patience, responsibility and care for the natural world.

She then introduced another image that reflected her broader philosophy about education: a person walking through a storm without anyone to offer shelter.

For Chetty, a teacher should be the person willing to provide that metaphorical umbrella to students regardless of where they come from. Her answer connected environmental responsibility with the same principles that guide her humanitarian work—support, patience and opportunity.

Malaysia returns to the Miss World Top 3 after 28 years

At the end of the September 5 final, Joheirry Mola Dominguez of the Dominican Republic was crowned Miss World 2026. Spain’s Elisabeth Reynes Alabern finished as first runner-up, while Chetty took second runner-up.

The result brought Malaysia back into the Miss World Top 3 for the first time in 28 years and matched Lina Teoh’s third-place finish in 1998.

Yet Chetty has repeatedly emphasized that the pageant result is only one part of what she hopes to accomplish.

After the competition, she highlighted the continued growth of Be The Change Malaysia as one of the most meaningful outcomes of her Miss World journey. Her larger goal remains expanding educational opportunities, emotional support and community programs for children who may otherwise lack access to them.

For a woman whose own path changed dramatically at 14, education has become more than a profession.

It has become the way she turned personal loss into a purpose—and a platform she now hopes can reach far beyond the Miss World stage.