Stay tuned for real-time updates from the Miss Universe 2023 event!
Image: Instagram/@michelledee
The Philippines’ bet Michelle Dee is “overall happy” after she finished her closed-door interview for the 2023 Miss Universe pageant, wherein she spoke about her individuality.
The beauty queen-actress graced the interview in a barbie pink suit dress by Mark Bumgarner, as seen on her Instagram page on Thursday, Nov. 16.
“Closed-door interview: finito,” she said in the caption. “Overall happy with how everything went! Glad that I was able to highlight the most important aspects about my individuality and I pray it was well received and understood by the judges.”
Cheering fans, fellow celebrities and beauty queens then showered Dee with compliments via the comments section.
Image: Instagram/@michelledee
Image: Instagram/@michelledee
Image: Instagram/@michelledee
Meanwhile, Dee also surprised pageant fans after she used “Filipinas” instead of the Philippines in her greeting in a recent Instagram post.
The beauty queen-actress addressed the country in the same name as well during her introduction at the preliminary competition.
Dee is up against 83 other delegates to inherit the Miss Universe crown from reigning queen R’Bonney Gabriel. She topped the pageant’s “Voice for Change” online voting, ahead by more than 100,000 votes from her closest competitor.
Backing up her campaign for the crown is her twin advocacy for autism awareness and inclusivity. Having grown up with two brothers in the autism spectrum, Dee has made it her mission to be a voice for them who could not speak. She also admitted that she is a bisexual a few days after she was crowned the country’s representative to the Miss Universe pageant.
The global tilt’s preliminary competition and national costume show will be held in El Salvador on Nov. 15 and Nov. 16 (Nov. 16 and 17 in the Philippines), respectively. The coronation night, meanwhile, is scheduled on Nov. 18 (Nov. 19 in the Philippines).