Catriona Gray is a Filipino beauty queen, singer, actress, model and social influencer. She was crowned Miss Universe in the pageant held in Thailand on December 17, 2018.
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Personal Information
Real Name –> Catriona Elisa Magnayon Gray
Nickname –> Cat (Luk Maew – Her Thai nickname)
Birthdate –> January 6, 1994 (Age )
Birthplace –> Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Height –> 5 ft 10.5 in (1.79 m)
Father –> Ian Gray from Scotland
Mother –> Normita Ragas Magnayon from Oas, Albay, Philippines
School –> Trinity Anglican School
College –> Berklee College of Music in Boston Massachussetts
Degree –> Master’s Certificate in Music Theory
Family and Childhood
Catriona Gray is the only child of Ian Gray and Normita Magnayon. In 2011, She graduated from Trinity Anglican School in Cairns where she was a lead singer in a jazz band, a house captain, and a school chorister.
The Road to Miss Universe
At the age of five, Catriona won Little Miss Philippines in Sydney. When she was 13, her mother, Normita dreamt that her only child would someday win the Miss Universe contest in a red dress. That dream was literally fulfilled the night Catriona was proclaimed Miss Universe. She was then wearing a Mayon Volcano inspired red gown designed by Mak Tumang.
After graduation from Trinity School in Cairns, she came to the Philippines to start a career in modelling.
Beauty Pageants
In 2016, She joined Miss world Philippines and won the right to represent the country in the Miss World pageant held in the United States. She landed as one of the Top 5 finalists. Undaunted, Catriona went on quietly to transform herself for another shot at an international pageant.
In 2018, Catriona competed in the Binibining Pilipinas along with two other former Miss World contestants namely, Sarah Margarette Joson and Sandra Raymundo Lemonon. On 18 March 2018, she was crowned as Miss Universe Philippines 2018 by the outgoing titleholder Rachel Peters. She proceeded to Thailand in November that year for the Miss Universe 2018 beauty pageant.
During the national Costume competition, Catriona wore a beaded tribal suit together with an oversized and somewhat heavy parol painted Christmas lantern. For the swimwear contest, she wore a pink swimsuit and performed a “lava walk”, a kind of slow-motion act which elicited praise from many observers.
In the first question and answer portion, Steve Harvey, the host, asked her, “What is your opinion on the legalization of marijuana?”. She answered thus, “I’m for it being used for medical use, but not so for recreational use. Because I think if people were to argue: Then what about alcohol and cigarettes? Well, everything is good but in moderation.”
The final question for the Top 5 finalists was, “What is the most important lesson you’ve learned in your life and how will you apply it to your time as Miss Universe?”. Catriona responded by saying, “I work a lot in the slums of Tondo, Manila and the life there is very… it’s poor and it’s very sad. And I’ve always taught myself to look for the beauty in it; to look in the beauty in the faces of the children, and to be grateful. And I would bring this aspect as a Miss Universe to see situations with a silver lining, and to assess where I could give something, where I could provide something as a spokesperson. And this I think if I could also teach people to be grateful, we could have an amazing world where negativity could not grow and foster, and children will have a smile on their faces.”
Eventually, Catriona Gray was crowned Miss Universe 2018 by her predecessor Miss Universe Demi Leigh Nel Peters from South Africa. She won over other 93 contestants including Miss South Africa who won first runner-up and Miss Venezuela who placed second runner-up. Read: Catriona Gray Wins…
Love Life
On May 23, 2020, actor Sam Milby revealed in his instagram post that he and Catriona are in a special relationship. His caption: “Worth every second of the wait. Most special birthday yet ♥️”
On a televised interview in February, 2019, Catriona revealed that she is single. That means she just broke up with her Filipino-German boyfriend Clint Bondad. Watch the video below to she explains herself why they broke up.
Television Programs
2022 – Top Class (as Host)
2020 – Sunday Noontime Live ( TV5)
2019 – ASAP
Song List
In 2018, Catriona released her first single entitled “We’re in This Together”. Go here to see lyrics and watch and listen to the music video.
Advocacies / Civic Activities
In 2016, Catriona Gray became active with Young Focus Philippines, a non-government organization that provides free and accessible education to Filipino children. Now she is doing her own project called “Paraiso: The Bright Beginnings Project” with the aim of raising funds for children in the Smokey Mountain in Tondo, Manila.
On September 6, 2020, Philippine Red Cross announced that it has selected Catriona Gray as its ambassador.
On July 21, 2020, Catriona Gray chosen to be the ambassadress of the “One Town, One Product” (OTOP) project of the Department of Trade and Industry of the Philippine Government. In January 2020, Catriona was selected as the ambassadress of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCAA) along with Julie Ann San Jose and KZ Tandingan.
She went around the country to showcase the region’s products. Here’s a photo of her visit to Lumban, Laguna Province to check the town’s embroidery industry.
Award
2023 – New Female TV Personality for Sunday Noontime Live by 35th PMPC Star Awards for Television.
RELATED: List of Beauty Queens from the Philippines
See also: Biography of Kathryn Bernardo, Liza Soberano
Pretty lady.
I do not think she had the right to rep. the Philippines. She was born and raised in Aust. And spent 18 years there . Then 4 years in Boston ( Berklee) . She won the title at 24 . And now lives in New York . Not much time in the Philippines. Can she run for President of the Philippines ?