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,
British Ceylon on 9 January 1937. Her parents, Lionel Hingert and Lorna Mabel del Run, were of
Dutch Burghers ancestry.
Her father was an employee of the Bank of Ceylon with extensive tea holdings.
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.
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.
The couple had three daughters, one of whom –
Gina Zamparelli (died 2018) – achieved fame in arts and entertainment and was active in the field of historic preservation.
In July 1970, Hingert divorced Zamparelli, and in 1976 she married William J. Ballard in Los Angeles, United States.
Hingert died of liver failure in Pasadena, California, on 29 June 2025, at the age of 88.[ Sri Lanka’s First Hollywood Starlet and Miss Universe Finalist, Passes Away at 88]
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.
She was sometimes billed in films as Jana Davi.
External links
