In between college-campus visits, Senior Prom planning and mid-terms, 18-year old Sana Idnani was able to fit the Miss Teen New York pageant into her scheduled as she was crowned the 2008 Miss Teen New York. Sana Idnani made history on the 25^th anniversary of the Miss Teen New York contest as she was the first ever Sindhi crown holder. Miss Teen New York, a contest which dates back to 1983, has been an important segment in every teenage girl’s life. It is this contest which allows them to move forward to the Miss Teen USA pageant, representing their state on a National level. Sana stands out from the rest of the past Crown holders because she is the first South Asian-Indian to ever have been given this prestigious title.

The first ever Miss USA competition was won by Jackie Loughery, also a New York-native. The first Miss Teen USA contest was also won by a Miss Teen New York, Ruth Zakarian, who eventually paved her path towards Hollywood. Shauna Cambill won the Miss New York USA crown in 1999 and went to win the Miss USA crown at the national pageant and later took part in the Miss Universe contest. With such an extensive list of past winners and their accomplishments, it’s up to Sana to represent her community, as well as, Sindhi culture, on a national level as she competes against 49 other young, intelligent and beautiful girls for the title of Miss Teen USA.

In between shopping at Sephora in Times Square, Sana and I stopped for some coffee and we talked about her road to ‘the crown,’ her Sindhi heritage and much more!

Born in the city that never sleeps, during the month of love, Noureen DeWulf, one of the most talked about South Asian-American actress today – and our Editor-In-Chief, Tirusha Dave, sat down with Noureen for an ultra-chic exclusive!

Raised in a “strict” and “conservative” Muslim household, she’s taken on the silver screen and has even been rated in Maxim magazine’s “Hot 100″ list. Noureen has had a hit-list of movie releases and her television career also includes guest appearances on CSI:NY, Numb3rs, Love Inc., and Girlfriends. Not to mention she has also starred in 3 network comedy pilots for the WB, Fox, and CBS – talk about getting camera time! In 2007, DeWulf starred as ‘Jizminder Featherfoot’ in Fox Atomic’s football comedy spoof “The Comebacks” – which played in 2,800 theaters nationwide – as the female kicker on the guy’s football team.

Though she might seem in her flirtatious and titillating in her Maxim pictures, she captivated her fans with her performance in the 2007 Academy Award winning musical comedy, West Bank Story, in which she played a Palestinian fast food cashier named Fatima who falls in love with an Israeli soldier. She’s also shared the screen with the ‘who’s-who’ of Hollywood and with all the right moves and slowly, yet steadily, she’s becoming the “it-girl” in Hollywood. I recently had the chance to sit down with this super-star on the rise and it was nothing less than wonderful!