When we think of beauty pageants, modelling and acting, not many of us would think of an Indian Guyanese woman choosing that career path in the years gone by and succeeding in the quest. But successful she was! I’m referring to none other than Shakira Baksh. Some folks even called her the “Guyanese Goddess”!
Born to a Muslim family on February 23rd, 1947, Shakira was the eldest of four children. Unfortunately, at the age of 5, she lost her father. As the daughter of a dressmaker, she aimed to follow in the footsteps of her mother and become a fashion designer. Shakira is not only endowed with beauty, but she also has brains as well. She is an avid student of languages, and though she hates admitting it, she reads Philosophy for pleasure. “I would like to study languages at a good university abroad”, she keeps saying.
Following the death of her father, her 23-year-old mother started to design and sew stunning dresses in order to take care of her four children. Shakira’s dreams and aspirations of a career in fashion designing were put on hold when she went to work as a secretary in order to assist her family. There, her boss saw her unique features and potential and encouraged her to enter the Miss Guyana contest. Shakira not only won that contest but she became the first Miss Guyana to place in an International Competition, when on the London stage in 1967, at the tender age of 19, she placed third in the Miss World Competition. But this was not the first stage victory for Shakira. She was chosen out of nine other young ladies to be Miss Deepavali, 1966.
In 1968, Shakira made a permanent move to England to work as a model and actress. This became her stepping stone into the world of modelling. Thereafter, she worked as a professional model in advertisements for four (4) years, becoming well known for her roles in commercials for brands such as “Maxwell House Coffee” and other popular companies. After her performances as a model and in commercials; her exotic features were noticed by British actor, Michael Caine who dubbed her as “the most beautiful woman in the world he had ever seen”.
On January 8th, 1973 Shakira married Michael Caine in a quiet ceremony in Las Vegas. He is known for films such as Alfie, Get Carter, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, among many others. She then went on to act opposite her husband and Sean Connery in her first and last Hollywood movie “The Man Who Would Be King” in 1975.
Michael Caine and Shakira Caine | Source: https://www.imdb.com/
Life After Marriage
Shakira decided to give up her acting and modelling career to stay home and take care of her only child and daughter, Natasha Haleema, who was born a year earlier in 1974. Shakira is a Muslim while her husband is a Christian.
Always interested in fashion and drawing, Shakira began to design clothes and jewellery, which is now sold in major department stores throughout the UK and USA. Shakira’s creativity has expanded to include painting, and her work has been auctioned for charity.
Today, Shakira lives in England with her husband of 47 years.
Michael Caine and Shakira Caine | https://www.reddit.com/
Article References:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakira_Caine
- https://fabiosa.com/nws-rshdr-auemm-at-71-shakira-caine-a-woman-who-took-part-in-the-1967-miss-world-contest-is-still-one-of-the-best-dressed-females/
- http://guyanachronicle.com/2014/04/19/shakira-baksh-caine-did-guyana-proud
- Main Image: http://missworldguyana.gy/members/
