(Eagle News) – Miss Philippines Catriona Gray is Miss Universe 2018 besting 93 other contestants who participated in the beauty pageant.
With the win, Gray becomes the fourth Philippine candidate to win the crown after Pia Wurtzbach in 2015, Margarita Moran in 1973, and Gloria Diaz in 1969.
In the 2018 Miss Universe competition held in Bangkok, Thailand, Miss South Africa was declared first runner-up while Miss Venezuela was second runner-up.
During the question and answer competition, all three candidates were asked: “What is the most important lesson you’ve learned in life and how would you apply it to your time as Miss Universe?”
Gray, who was the first candidate among the three called to answer the question, gave this winning answer:
“I work a lot in the slums of Tondo, Manila and the life there is very poor and it’s very sad, and I’ve always taught myself to look for the beauty in it, to look in the beauty of the faces of the children and to be grateful and I will bring this aspect as a Miss Universe to see situation in a silver lining, to assess where I could give something, where I could provide something as a spokesperson and this I think if I could teach people also to be grateful, we can have an amazing world where negativity could not grow and foster, and children will have a smile on their faces.”
Gray stood out in her “lava-red” gown. She had earlier wowed the audience with her “lava walk” that included a slow-motion turn during the swimwear competition.
In the earlier question and answer portion after the selection of the top five candidates, Gray was asked about her views on the legalization of marijuana.
She said that she agreed with the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes only, and not for recreational use.
“I’m for it being used for medical use, but not so for recreational use. Because I think if people will argue then what about alcohol and cigarettes? Everything is good but in moderation,” she said.
Gray is Filipina-Australian.
The 24-year old beauty was born in Cairns, Queensland to a Scottish-born Australian father, Ian Gray, and a Filipino mother, Normita Ragas Magnayon who hails from Oas, Albay. Gray is reportedly named after her paternal grandmother, Catherine Gray, who is an immigrant to Western Australia from Scotland.
Gray studied at Trinity Anglican School in Cairns and later earned her Certificate in Music Theory from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.
Aside from this, she also obtained a Certificate in Outdoor Recreation and a black belt in Choi Kwang-Do martial arts when she was just 12 years old.
Gray is also a singer and an actress, and in fact, starred in local productions of Miss Saigon. She came to the Philippines after finishing high school, and also worked as a commercial model.
She had immersed herself in various impoverished communities even before winning the Binibining Pilipinas crown, and had made education for less fortunate children one of her main advocacies.
Gray had also represented the Philippines in 2016 in the Miss World competition held in MGM National Harbor in Maryland, United States where she landed in the top five.
