Celeste Cortesi

Silvia Celeste Rabimbi Cortesi (born December 15, 1997) is a Filipina actress and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2022.

Silvia Celeste Rabimbi Cortesi was born on December 15, 1997, in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines, to a Filipino mother, Maria Luisa Rabimbi, and an Italian father who was born in Venezuela.

Her mother was from Camarines Sur, Bicol and was also of distant Spanish and Chinese descent.

Her parents met at an Italian restaurant in Manila which her father owned and her mother worked at.

Cortesi grew up in a multicultural household, exposed to both her Filipino and Italian ancestries.

Cortesi was initially brought up in a neighborhood in Pasay, where her older sister Monica was raised.

When she was six months old, her family moved to Parma, Italy, where she spent most of her upbringing.

After her father died of a heart attack when she was ten years old, her mother raised both her and her sister as a single parent.

As a teenager, Cortesi worked as a model and store cashier in Parma.

She would also join several pageants in secret, which her mother discovered and allowed as long as she maintained good grades in school.

Cortesi represented the Philippines at the 71st edition of the Miss Universe competition but was unplaced, officially ending the Philippines' twelve-year streak of consecutive placements in Miss Universe, from 2010 through 2021.

R'Bonney Gabriel of the United States won the said pageant.

Cortesi is in a relationship with Filipino national football player Mathew Custodio, of United City F.C..

She has residences in Taguig and Pasay.

Cortesi is concurrently completing her degree in real estate management (Bachelor of Science in Real Estate Management) from the Lyceum of Alabang, and pursuing her Philippine real estate license.

On February 10, 2023, Cortesi made her acting debut in the finale episode of Philippine superhero television series, Darna, as Queen Kevnar of Marte.

On July 20, 2023, she signed a contract with Sparkle GMA Artist Center, joining the roster of GMA Network's talents.

Cortesi became interested in pursuing pageantry as a career and exploring her Filipino roots after being informed by her mother of Pia Wurtzbach's win representing the Philippines at Miss Universe 2015, and watching her performance during the event.

Initially unsure of her career path at 18 years old, she was motivated by Wurtzbach's win to go into pageantry.

She moved back to the Philippines in hopes of representing the country in Miss Universe despite only knowing her native Italian and not being fluent in English and Filipino; she eventually learned both languages her own.

She stated that she faced discrimination in both Italy and the Philippines because of her heritage and upbringing.

Cortesi is the inaugural winner of the Miss Philippines Earth-Italy pageant in Rome.

She joined the pageant as she was encouraged by her mother.

Cortesi was previously crowned Miss Earth Philippines 2018 and represented the Philippines at Miss Earth 2018, where she finished in the top 8.

Cortesi represented the Filipino community of Rome, Italy at Miss Earth Philippines 2018.

On May 19, 2018, she was crowned as Miss Earth Philippines 2018 by the outgoing titleholder Karen Ibasco.

After winning the Miss Earth Philippines 2018 pageant, she gained the right to represent the Philippines at Miss Earth 2018.

At the end of the competition, she finished as a Top 8 finalist.

Nguyễn Phương Khánh of Vietnam won the said pageant.

On April 6, 2022, representing Pasay, Cortesi was confirmed as one of the 32 official contestants for the Miss Universe Philippines 2022 competition.

At the end of the competition, Cortesi was crowned by outgoing Miss Universe Philippines 2021 Beatrice Gomez as Miss Universe Philippines 2022.