Maureen Hingert

Maureen Neliya Ballard (née Hingert; 9 January 1937 – 29 June 2025), also professionally known as Jana Davi, was a Sri Lankan actress, dancer, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Ceylon 1955 and represented her country at Miss Universe 1955 where she placed 2nd Runner-Up.

Life and career Hingert was born in Colombo, Ceylon on 9 January 1937. Her parents, Lionel Hingert and Lorna Mabel del Run, were of Dutch Burgher ancestry. Hingert attended school at the Holy Family Convent in Bambalapitiya, Colombo until she was eighteen and continued her college education in Los Angeles, California in the United States.

In 1955, Hingert was crowned Miss Ceylon and subsequently selected as a contestant in Miss Universe 1955 pageant. Due to her high placement in the contest, she was revered as "putting Ceylon on the map" and being an ambassador for her country, Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka).

She was also a dancer, and gave solo performances at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles and other major Los Angeles venues.

Personal life and death Hingert married an American designer and artist Mario Armond Zamparelli in 1958. Zamparelli was best known for his work as designer of Howard Hughes's empire. Ballard died in 2012.

Filmography Following the Miss Universe contest, Hingert was contracted to Universal International Studios and 20th Century Fox. Some of the movies she appeared in include The King and I, Fort Bowie, Gun Fever, The Adventures of Hiram Holiday, Moroccan Halk Moth, Pillars of the Sky, Dangerous Search, Gunmen from Laredo, The Rawhide Trail and the British TV Series Captain David Grief.