Maureen Hingert , who represented Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in the 1955 Miss Universe pageant and went on to become an actor in such films as Gunmen From Laredo and The King and I as well as several 1950s TV series, died June 30 at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, Calif.. She was 88.
Her death was announced on Facebook July 1 by Sri Lankan actress and Angela Seneviratne.
Maureen Neliya Ballard was born on January 9, 1937, in Columbo, Ceylon, to Bank of Ceylon president Lionel Hingert and Lorna Mabel del Run. In 1955, at the age of 18, she was crowned Miss Ceylon and that same year was selected as a Miss Universe contestant (she finished as second runner-up).
She subsequently moved to Los Angeles and in the mid-1950s had several small, uncredited roles in films, the most notable of which was 1956’s The King and I . In 1958, sometimes under her stage name Jana Davi, she appeared in the films Gun Fever, The Rawhide Trail and Fort Bowie and an episode of Death Valley Days .
The following year she starred in the Western film Gunmen From Laredo and an episode of the short-lived series Captain David Grief , based on Jack London stories, before retiring to raise a family. She is survived by a daughter.
Get our Breaking News Alerts and Keep your inbox happy.
Signup for Breaking News Alerts & Newsletters
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy . We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Get our latest storiesin the feed of your favorite networks
We want to hear from you! Send us a tip using our annonymous form.
Deadline is a part of PMX Global, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Media Corporation. © 2026 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. All rights reserved.
Loading comments…