Srilanka, July 1 -- Maureen Nelia Ballardney Hingert, Sri Lanka's first beauty queen to break into Hollywood, has passed away at the age of 88. The news was announced by former Miss Sri Lanka and actress Angela Seneviratne via Facebook.

Maureen made history by winning the Miss Ceylon title in 1955 and went on to represent the country at the Miss Universe pageant, where she was crowned second runner-up-a milestone achievement at the time.

Following her success, she entered the film industry and starred in several Hollywood productions. In 1958, she appeared in the film Gun Fever, and a photograph from the movie shoot was later published in Playboy magazine in September 1957-making her the first and only Sri Lankan woman to be featured i...