We got our Miss. Universe 2018 in a competition concluding Monday in Bangkok; the Philippines’ Catriona Gray won the crown, besting contestants from across 93 other countries. The 67th Miss Universe pageant’s theme was ‘Empowered Women’ which was also judged by seven women including former pageant winners, businesswomen, and a fashion designer. The contestants of the pageant spent about a month in Thailand competing in preliminary rounds wearing elaborate national costumes, they also visited famous tourist sites and met the country’s prime minister.
The 24-year-old edged out first runner-up Tamaryn Green of South Africa and third-place Sthefany Gutierrez of Venezuela. The Philippine beauty wore a sparkling red dress which was inspired by a volcano in the Philippines. She also said that she wore red because when she was13 her mother told her that she dreamt about her winning the Miss. Universe crown in a red dress.
The office of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte congratulates their fourth Filipina to be named Miss Universe. In their country, pageants are a popular attraction, and this gave Gray’s countrymen to cheer wildly and jump for joy when she was declared the winner. ‘Ms. Gray truly made the entire Philippines proud when she sashayed on the global stage and showcased the genuine qualities defining a Filipina beauty: confidence, grace, intelligence and strength in the face of tough challenges,’ said the President in a statement from the presidential palace. ‘In her success, Miss Philippines has shown to the world that women in our country have the ability to turn dreams into reality through passion, diligence, determination and hard work.’
Catriona was born in Cairns, Australia and moved to the Philippines when she was 18 and her father Ian Grey is Scottish and mother Normita Magnayon a Filipino. She apparently used her modelling money, brought a plane ticket from Australia to the Philippines in order to begin her career which eventually, with hard work and determination, won her the crown. She is also a singer with a very captivating voice.
Gray is very vocal about poverty in the Philippines and has her own project called Paraiso: The Bright Beginnings Project. She has been working to raise money for a preschool and hopes to ease poverty among children. Catriona, who apparently has a signature twirl which she employs on the runway, known as the ‘slow-mo twirl’, loves travelling around the world. She writes about her travel explorations in her blog which is mainly filled with her travel tales of Philippines, the United States, Vietnam and China.
