If you're one of those who watched Catriona Gray's slow-mo twirl over and over again in the Miss Universe preliminaries, then you probably know that she has a black belt in taekwondo.
But that's not the only interesting thing about our bet to this year's pageant. Below are some other fast facts about Gray:
- She has a master's certificate in Music Theory, which she received from the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
- She first joined and won a beauty pageant (Little Miss Philippines in Sydney) at the very young age of five. She also shot her first commercial when she was just 16.
- She was born in Australia. Gray's mother, Normita Magnayon, hails from Oas town, Albay, while her father is a Scottish-born Australian named Ian Gray. Her parents have a 20-year age gap.
- She moved to the Philippines after turning 18, using the money she earned from modelling as a teen to buy a plane ticket.
- She counts adobo and balut among her favorite Filipino food.
- Travelling is her favorite hobby. Her favorite place in the Philippines is Palawan.
- She was hailed Miss World Philippines in 2016. She finished in the top five of Miss World that year, which was ultimately won by Puerto Rico's Stephanie del Valle.
- She started her own charity project dubbed Paraiso: The Bright Beginnings Project, which aims to raise funds for a preschool in Tondo, Manila's Smokey Mountain.
- She's currently in a relationship with Filipino-German actor Clint Bondad. They have been together for more than six years.
- She's an HIV/AIDS advocate at Love Yourself PH, and volunteers as a teacher's assistant to the students of Young Focus NGO.
- Asked to choose between "korona or pag-ibig," she picked the latter in an episode of "Tonight With Boy Abunda."
*She considers herself "stubborn" and a "visionary."