Pia Wurtzbach
Pia Wurtzbach
Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach born September 24, 1989, formerly known professionally as Pia Romero, is a Filipino model, actress and beauty queen who is known for being crowned Miss Universe 2015.
She joined Binibining Pilipinas pageant three times, and won in 2015 in her third attempt. She then represented Philippines at the Miss Universe 2015 pageant, where she eventually won the title, becoming the first Filipina to win the pageant in four decades, and the first Filipina to win the pageant in the 21st century. She is the third Filipina to win the title of Miss Universe, following Gloria Diaz who won in 1969 and Margie Moran who won in 1973, and was succeeded by Catriona Gray three years later, with Gray winning Miss Universe 2018.
Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach was born in Stuttgart, Germany, to a German father and Filipino mother. She has a sister who is two years younger than she is. The family later moved to Northern Mindanao region in the Philippines, first in Iligan city, then settled at Cagayan de Oro city, where she attended kindergarten at Kong Hua School and primary school at Corpus Christi School.
Her parents separated when she was 11 years old, and she became the family's main breadwinner by modeling and acting. After being raised in the Philippines, she spent several years in England. She finished her secondary education at ABS-CBN Distance Learning Center in Quezon City, Metro Manila, and studied culinary arts at the Center for Asian Culinary Studies in San Juan, Metro Manila. Wurtzbach speaks fluent Cebuano, English and Tagalog. She also speaks basic German, which she described as "enough to get myself a bratwurst".
MISS UNIVERSE 2015
Wurtzbach represented the Philippines in the 64th Miss Universe pageant held on December 20, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.
At the national costume competition, Wurtzbach wore a white capiz terno with a matching fan and headpiece.[31][32] The whole ensemble was designed by Filipino designer, Albert Andrada.[33]
At the preliminary competition, Wurtzbach wore a black and white two-piece bikini at the preliminary swimsuit competition and a red sleeveless crepe de chine gown by Filipino designer Oliver Tolentino at the preliminary evening gown competition.[34][35]
At the coronation night, Wurtzbach advanced to Top 15.[36]
She then wore a black and white two-piece bikini at the swimsuit competition that helped her advance to Top 10.[37] She wore Albert Andrada's figure-hugging, strapless serpentina gown. It was inspired by the Philippines, the "Pearl of the Orient".[38][39] She then advanced to Top 5.[40]
During the first question and answer round, Wurtzbach was asked by host Steve Harvey, "earlier this year, there was a controversy in the Philippines about the United States reopening a military base in your country. Do you think the United States should have a military presence in your country?" She answered:[41]
"I think that the United States and the Philippines have always had a good relationship with each other. We were colonized by the Americans and we have their culture in our traditions even up to this day and I think that we're very welcoming with the Americans and I don't see any problem with that at all."
In the final question and answer portion, the top three contestants were asked the same question by Harvey: "Why should you be the next Miss Universe?" and she replied:[41]
"To be a Miss Universe is both an honor and responsibility. If I were to be Miss Universe, I will use my voice to influence the youth, and I would raise awareness to certain causes like HIV awareness that is timely and relevant to my country which is the Philippines. I want to show the world, the universe rather, that I am confidently beautiful with a heart. Thank you."
Lessons from Pia Wurtzbach
On staying focused.
"Don’t let anything distract you, don’t let people who don’t believe in you distract you. Focus, work hard, and every day, you should be working towards your goal. There’s no time to slack off. Nothing is given to you for free. You work hard for it."
On being hopeful.
"I’m so proud that I was finally able to bring back the crown. I’ve always believed that it would happen and it was a long journey getting here."
On never giving up.
"I hope that my story can become an inspiration to all on determination, discipline, faith and hard work. Even after the Miss Universe pageant, I hope that people could learn this lesson from me: never give up on dreams because you’ll never know, it could happen to you."
Holding on and being patient.
"You can’t let go. You have to really believe that you can and you will and it’s not going be easy at all. It might take a while. You have to keep working hard."
On being yourself.
"The most important lesson I’ve learned in joining competitions is that you have to be authentic, you have to be genuine. You can’t fake it because it’s exhausting to do from day one through the day of the pageant night. You can’t pretend to be somebody, you just have to go into the competition and be yourself."
On trying hard until you get it.
"Sometimes you’d throw away 100 percent, and still (have) nothing. But there’s a lesson here. You have to trust what you really want, and it’s there. It’s going take a while but you just have to work hard, have the discipline for it."
On being grateful and staying positive.
"And now as I continue on with my journey as #MissUniverse, I hope I inspired you all. Not just my fellow countrymen but all of you. Keep your faith, fight for what you believe in and hold on to your dreams! They do come true! I know I still have much to learn and a huge responsibility ahead of me. So thank you 2015 and bring it on, 2016!"
Pia Wurtzbach's Advocacies
Over the last few years, Pia has served as an ambassador for World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines, and has used her voice to speak for LGBT+ rights and the HIV/AIDS charity organizations such as UNAIDS Asia-Pacific and LoveYourself Philippines.
She said, "I'm very grateful for Preview for giving me the Advocate award."
Her fiancé Jeremy Jauncey was also among Preview.ph's honorees at the ball, which made it a double celebration for Pia.
"And also, I got Jeremy's award. He also got an award! So, [I'm] really grateful for the recognition."
Talking to PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) exclusively at the ball, Pia said the award was special because she hadn't realized her charity and humanitarian projects were being noticed.
She thought people only saw her glittery lifestyle, "I do a lot of shoots like fashion shoots, endorsements, commercials...
"I've been used to it already because of just the way work is... the OOTD, the outfit, the commercials, the glam side of it.
"But not so much the humanitarian side. And it's always been like that, so I'm used to it.
"But I still get recognition for my advocacy work which, sometimes, I feel like people don't take notice so much...
"Getting an award like this feels like they see what I'm doing. They see the other side of me.
"And it gives me the energy to keep going and to keep working on the advocacies that are close to me.
Sources
Lessons from Pia Wurtzbach https://www.femalenetwork.com/entertainment/7-pia-wurtzbach-quotes-that-will-inspire-you-to-dream-big
Pia Wurtzbach - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pia_Wurtzbach
Pia Wurtzbach grateful to be recognized for her advocacy projects - https://www.pep.ph/lifestyle/lifestyle/168243/pia-wurtzbach-grateful-preview-ball-2022-award-a721-20220905
Photo #1 - https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cosmopolitan.com%2Flifestyle%2Fq-and-a%2Fa51755%2Fmiss-universe-pia-wurtzbach-interview%2F&psig=AOvVaw2HCGDLbQJocVFgVqkKM-E9&ust=1672818026767000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CBAQjRxqFwoTCLCenvTyqvwCFQAAAAAdAAAAABA7