SHAKIRA CAINE was born Shakira Baksh on February 23, 1947 to a Guyanese Muslim family. The daughter of a dressmaker, she aimed to follow in the footsteps of her mother and become a fashion designer. It was while working as a secretary that Shakira was urged by her boss to participate in the 1967 Miss Guyana contest which she won.Shakira went on to compete at the Miss World contest in London, and finished in third place.

The year 1967 was the only one in any grand slam pageant in which three South American countries made it as the final three – Shakira Baksh, Madeleine Hartog Bell (Miss World 1967), and Maria del Carmen Sabaliuskas. Afterwards, Shakira made a permanent move to England to work as a model and actress.

Shakira made her acting debut in “Carry on Again Doctor,” a British comedy film directed by Gerald Thomas and starring Kenneth Williams, Sid James and Charles Hawtrey. There she had an unaccredited role as Scrubba. She resurfaced in 1970 cast as Karl Chambers’ friend on the UK/American comedy/musical film “Tomorrow” which was directed and written by Val Guest and starred Olivia Newton-John, Benny Thomas and Vic Cooper. From 1970 to 1973, Shakira appeared as SHADO Operative on the short lived action/science fiction television series “UFO,” starring Ed Bishop, Mel Oxley and Dolores Mantez.

On January 8, 1973, Shakira wedded British actor Sir Michael Caine in a quiet ceremony in Las Vegas. They met after Caine saw her appearing in a “Maxwell House” coffee commercial and a friend gave him her telephone number. The couple has a daughter, Natasha Haleema.

Always interested in fashion, and drawing on her mother’s career as a dressmaker, Shakira began to design clothing and jewellery which are sold in major department stores throughout the UK and USA. Shakira’s creativity has expanded to include painting, and her work has been auctioned for charity.
She also appeared with her husband in John Huston’s “The Man Who Would Be King”, playing the part of Roxanne.
The following is an original Guyana Chronicle article following Shakira Baksh’s win in 1967, which was reprinted in the Guyana Chronicle’s Christmas Annual of that year.

Shakira Baksh
(By Claudette Earle)
Tall, stately Guyanese beauty Shakira Baksh made world headlines in November this year when she was judged the third most beautiful girl in the world at the Miss World 1967 contest held in London.

The first girl to place Guyana on the map at an international beauty pageant, 20-year old Shakira had months earlier captured the hearts of her compatriots when she claimed the crown easily in the Miss Guyana contest, sponsored by the Jaycees of Guyana.
On the night of the Guyana finals, Shakira made a striking appearance on stage in a scintillating gown of gold sequins. It featured a cold shoulder effect and a train which draped gracefully from her other shoulder.

She was stunning, the rich gold material set off her dusky complexion superbly. The Governor-General Sir David Rose and his wife, members of the diplomatic corps and their wives were among the large audience which cheered Shakira to victory that night.

But this was not the first stage victory for Shakira. She was chosen out of nine other young lovelies to be Miss Deepavali, 1966.

Yet Shakira, is not only endowed with beauty, she has brains as well. It is a common sight to see her promenading the short distance from her home in King Street to the Public Free Library in the afternoons.

She is an avid student of languages, and though she hates admitting it, she reads Philosophy for pleasure. “I would like to study languages at a good university abroad”, she keeps saying.

And now I think her dream has come through. Shakira intends to spend the next few months in England reading languages.

Her success in London has helped her greatly. She was thrilled to bits, as any girl would be, to place third in such a fabulous contest.

Although she was tipped to be among the first five, Shakira was excited and overwhelmed to be placed third. “I am happy to win, and I know that my success will do a lot for tourism in Guyana.”

With success came floods of congratulations from every quarter. She was caught up in a heady whirlwind of special engagements, film and television tests, and swank interviews. Little wonder that, in a letter to her mother, Mrs. Saab Baksh, Shakira confessed that she was becoming a little tired of all the activity.

Shakira’s success has gone further than just making Guyana feel proud. It has made us realise, however late that might be, that the Guyanese beauty is as good as any at international contests. It has made us confident of sending other beauties to future world pageants.
We hope that the day will not be too distant when we will open the annals of our history (and see) the name of the Guyanese who will have captured the title of Miss World.
Well done, Shakira!
By Michelle Gonsalves