3. Legal and Regal: Anna Theresa Licaros (Miss Universe Philippines, 2007)
Here’s another beauty queen who’s as brainy as she is beautiful, Miss Universe Philippines 2007, Anna Theresa Licaros. An achiever through and through, she has been a consistent honor student since elementary and high school. In 2005, she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Broadcast Communication at the University of Philippines-Diliman. Her general weighted average was 1.161.
She went to study law at the University of the Philippines College of Law, where she no less graduated salutatorian. When she took the 2009 Philippine Bar Examinations, she was one of the 1,451 examinees who passed the bar, out of 5,903 examinees that year.
Her impressive answer to the final question of the Miss Universe pageant that year made her one of the crowd favorites. She was asked to choose between love life or the crown, and she chose the crown, “precisely because it is a once in a lifetime opportunity”. She goes on to say that being crowned Miss Universe would give her a chance to reach out to “more people and be of greater service.” She ends her statement with a self-assured “I am very confident that my love life will be there once the crown is no longer on my head and I’ve passed it on.” Lawyered.
2. Rising from a Fall: Miriam Quiambao (Miss Universe Philippines, 1999)
Miss Universe 1999. Miriam composes herself, getting ready for her evening gown walk. Midway in her confident stride, one of her heels got entangled in the trail of her gown, making her slip on one of the world’s biggest beauty pageant stages. You’d think she’d show signs of embarrassment and fluster. But ever a queen, she picked herself up like nothing happened and continued on with her gait. #QUEEN
Miriam’s life after Miss Universe has since then become a “series of rising and falling”. She failed to bring home the crown that year but things were still looking up for her as she received several acting and hosting jobs upon returned to the Philippines. But Miriam knew she wanted a family. She married Italian businessman Claudio Rondinelli, however their marital bliss was short lived. Miriam divorced Claudio because of emotional neglect, even going on to share experiencing suicidal episodes in their marriage.
But Miriam is no stranger to rising up again from a fall. After a conversation with a close confidant, she re-ignited her faith which she claims she’d forgotten when her showbiz career took off. She has found happiness once again with husband, Ardy Roberto.
Miriam’s story teaches us that life is a series of ups and downs. If you fall from grace, you need only regain your composure, pick yourself up, and keep striding.
1. Third Time’s the Charm: Pia Wurtzbach (Miss Universe, 2015)
It certainly was a dramatic (and quite awkward) win for newly crowned Miss Universe, Pia Wurtzbach. Her road to the crown has been met with several bumps and stops but this beauty queen is truly a living testament to the age-old adage, try and try until you succeed. For her first few tries (2013 and 2014), Pia was bested by other beauty queen hopefuls for the coveted crown. But this year, she clinched the Miss Universe title and in dramatic, soap opera fashion.
There were three people on the stage who were at a loss for what to do and were evidently confused. Steve Harvey, the mistaken host who incorrectly announced the winner, the clearly heartbroken Ms. Colombia whose victory was harshly revoked in a matter of minutes, and a stunned Ms. Philippines who could only hold her mouth agape and in disbelief.
But alas, Steve Harvey has expressed his sincere apologies which both contestants graciously accepted.
If there’s anything we learned from Pia, we should strive to achieve our goals, accept apologies gracefully, and have faith that life will give you your crowning glory moment. Hopefully not in the same way that Pia did.
In the mean time, because the internet is a collective of funny, crazy, creative netizens, we’ll be enjoying funny tweets, videos, and memes in the aftermath of Miss Universe 2015.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Miss_Universe_titleholders
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines_at_major_beauty_pageants
https://www.manilatimes.net/gloria-diaz-life-as-a-beauty-queen/55107/
https://www.ibtimes.com.au/best-answers-history-miss-universe-pageant-1323095
https://8list.ph/miss-philippines-universe-2013/
https://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/46415-remembering-the-year-of-gemma
https://www.kristakleiner.com/
https://mrcheapjustice.wordpress.com/2012/08/05/the-pretty-filipino-lawyers/
https://www.spot.ph/print_article.php?id=49315
https://www.manilaspeak.com/ms/the-best-worst-of-pinay-beauty-queen-qas/
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/332757/publicaffairs/powerhouse/the-miriam-quiambao-story-a-series-of-rise-and-falls#sthash.rO4gSyfE.dpuf