Pia Wurtzbach

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 a Filipina 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 source of income by modelling 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".

Wurtzbach is a professional model, actress, host and TV personality.

She began acting at age four under the stage name Pia Romero.

Managed by ABS-CBN Corporation's talent agency, Star Magic, she was included on the Star Circle Batch 11.

Among her TV credits are the teen-oriented series K2BU, the concert variety program ASAP, the romance anthology Your Song, the sitcom show Bora, and the drama series Sa Piling Mo.

Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach-Jauncey ( ; born September 24, 1989), formerly known professionally as Pia Romero, is a Filipina model, actress and beauty queen who is known for winning Miss Universe 2015.

She appeared in films such as Kung Ako Na Lang Sana (2003), All My Life (2004), and All About Love (2006).

She went on to become a stylist, makeup artist and beauty writer for Philippine Daily Inquirer ' s 2bU section.

Wurtzbach entered Binibining Pilipinas 2013 pageant where she was named as the first runner-up alongside the Miss San Miguel Zero Fit and Sexy Body award.

She entered Binibining Pilipinas 2014, but only reached the top 15, but won the Miss Philippine Airlines and She's So Jag awards.

Controversially, failed to win any title following the question-and-answer portion.

She was asked a question in Tagalog by a Filipino judge, Senator Sonny Angara, which she answered in Tagalog.

She entered the Binibining Pilipinas three times, and won in 2015 on her third attempt.

She then represented Philippines at Miss Universe 2015, winning the title, becoming the first Filipina to win in four decades.

On her third attempt for the title in 2015, she won Miss Universe Philippines, alongside the Miss Cream Silk awards and went on to compete in the Miss Universe 2015 Pageant.

During the question and answer portion of the pageant she was asked by then-Camarines Sur Representative Leni Robredo: "Social media is now a very powerful tool on communication. Can you tell us your thoughts about internet censorship?"

She answered:

"I think that we should be careful about what we post online especially our thoughts and our opinions, that we don't hurt anybody especially selfies, we have to be careful with what we post especially in our bodies, in our faces. So always think before you click."

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.

The whole ensemble was designed by Filipino designer, Albert Andrada.

She wore a red sleeveless crepe de chine gown by Filipino designer Oliver Tolentino at the preliminary evening gown competition.

At the coronation night, Wurtzbach reached the top 15.

She wore a black and white two-piece bikini at the swimsuit competition and advanced to the top ten.

She wore Albert Andrada's figure-hugging, strapless serpentina gown, inspired by the Philippines, "Pearl of the Orient".

She then advanced to Top 5.

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:

"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:

On April 17, 2016, Wurtzbach crowned Maxine Medina as her successor at the Binibining Pilipinas 2016 pageant held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Philippines.