Gloria Diaz – The First Filipino to win the Miss Universe crown

Gloria Diaz – The First Filipino to win the Miss Universe crown, At the age of 18, and as student Diaz won the 1969 Miss Universe in Florida, USA. She was not a favourite to win the pageant. However, she stood out because of her bubbly personality and wit, and by outsmarting her competitors when asked how they would entertain a man from the moon (Neil Armstrong took the first ever human step on the moon at the time the 1969 Miss Universe Pageant).

Diaz went on to have a career as an actress in the Philippine film and TV industry. She has received the most-coveted FAMAS Award (the Philippine equivalent of the Oscars) of the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences for Best Supporting Actress in her role as a spinster adoptive mother in the FAMAS Best Picture Nasaan Ka Man (2005).