9 min readNew DelhiSep 11, 2026 08:03 PM IST
Anjali Mendes was rejected for being too dark. (Photo: galeriadosgoesesilustres.blogs)Rock for one, diamond for another. There is a reason we say, “Johri hi heere ki parakh jaanta hai” (Only a true connoisseur can recognise the worth of a diamond) — and in this story, the heera was Anjali Phyllis Mendes. A dark-skinned Indian model who was rejected in her home country, Anjali found fame and success in Paris when legendary designer Pierre Cardin hired her on the spot for the very reasons she had been rejected in India — she was too tall, too dark-skinned and too skinny.
Born a year before India’s Independence, Anjali’s original name was Phyllis Mendes. “I was born as Phyllis Mendes. I climbed trees, played cricket and did all I could to show off in front of boys”, she told in an interview with Times of India.