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Michelle Dee. Image: Dennis Sulit via Instagram/@michelledee
Being “unapologetically authentic” is what Michelle Dee held close to her heart throughout her reign as Miss Universe Philippines 2023.
The moment Dee was named Miss Universe Philippines 2023, she vowed to celebrate her authentic self until her final chapter. This was evident in her many pursuits, such as promoting autism awareness and inclusivity, actively promoting advocacies close to her heart, being firm about her coming out story, and donning ensembles different from the usual beauty queen.
“In the first two pageants that I joined — of course — I was trying to shine as my own woman. But I was still trying to conform to what I believe the stereotype of a beauty queen is — especially what a Filipina beauty queen is,” recalled Dee when asked by INQUIRER.net how she viewed herself from her Miss World Philippines to her Miss Universe Philippines reign.
Dee was named Miss World Philippines and ended her Miss World journey in the Top 12 in 2019.
“This year I said, I’m going to be unapologetically authentic because this is the person I’m also celebrating,” she said. “I embraced my uniqueness and story, and I made sure to take everybody along the journey with me so we can experience the Miss Universe journey with me.”
Touching on her milestones as the reigning queen, Dee said she’s happy that being firm with her true self worked wonders.
“I am the most authentic version of myself compared to my previous pageants. I guess that authenticity has proven to be successful,” she said.
The titleholder also advised fellow beauty queens to “know themselves and live their lives” as they aim to make a mark in pageantry on their own terms.
“Get hurt, fall, get up, and try again because you can never win everything — but you can always learn from these experiences. You can always find [something to be] grateful for within yourself and you can offer the world your true self,” she said.
Dee said making a unique mark matters more than “trying to be everyone else” in hopes of reaching a certain achievement as a beauty queen.
“If you’re trying to be everyone else, then might as well get someone who is like everyone else. But you have to make your unique mark in this world. You have to embrace yourself because you will not find a single person who is the same. Embrace that uniqueness,” she said.
The crossover beauty queen will pass her title to her successor at the Miss Universe Philippines 2024 pageant in Pasay City on May 22.
Even though Dee ended her Miss Universe journey in the Top 10, her successor still has huge shoes to fill after she bagged four special awards at the global tilt.
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