A Brentwood medical student has proven she has beauty and the brains after being crowned the Face of Europe.

Arathi Menon, 19, was crowned the winner of the beauty pageant in Disneyland Paris, after winning the London heats.

Arathi, a second year medical student at Imperial College London, said: “The Face of Europe was the first beauty pageant I had ever entered, so I was thrilled and very surprised when I won first place in the London heats.

“But to win the European final was amazing! And I didn’t expect it at all.

“I am only 5 feet tall, so I never thought that I had what it took to win a pageant, but Face of Europe is very different from many other pageants as there is no height restriction.

“The judges really do look for the whole package, so my mum convinced me that I should apply and try it out.

“I now hold the title of Face of Europe 2012 and will have various duties to carry out over the year for fundraising and raising awareness for Face of Europe’s two charities.”

The budding doctor has also dabbled in acting and has appeared in TV shows including Crimewatch, The Bill and BBC 1 spy drama Hunted last month. She said her dream job would be appearing as a doctor in Holby City or ER.