Nine years after securing the Miss Universe crown in 2015, Pia Wurtzbach continues to reign supreme.
Pia remains very visible in all platforms: TV, social media, online, print media, runway.
Clearly, hers is a constant face in international fashion and beauty events.
Pia says she considers this an achievement, having been advised that beauty pageant titleholders are generally given three years of fame and then are forgotten.
With 37 endorsements and collaborations with international high-end fashion brands from September 2023 to September 2023, Pia is deserving of the title "Ultimate Queen" in PEP.ph’s Most Influential list for 2024.
All the popular and in-demand celebrities on the list were ranked by influencer marketing platform Klear based on the estimated value of their paid Instagram posts. Here, Pia secured the 7th spot.
Read: PEP Most Influential in Entertainment 2024: How it took shape
PIA ALMOST A DECADE AFTER MISS U CROWN
Safe to say Pia honed the skills for remaining relevant through her many years in showbiz.
She started her career at 13 years old. Launched as part of Star Circle (now known as Star Magic) Batch 11, she was with fellow beginners Pauleen Luna, Rayver Cruz, and Glaiza de Castro, among others.
However, Pia managed to have only a lukewarm impact in showbiz.
When she tried her luck in pageantry, it took her three tries in national beauty contests before she won.
She was first runner-up in 2013 and Top 15 finalist in 2014. Finally, in 2015, she bagged the Bininibing Pilipinas-Universe crown.
This allowed her to compete in the Miss Universe 2015 pageant.
She won! She became the third Filipina to win the Miss Universe title after Gloria Diaz and Margie Moran.
But winning the coveted Miss Universe crown was only the start of her journey.
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PIA BEATING THE ODDS
In an interview with PEP.ph in 2023, Pia revealed that she was told in no uncertain terms that a titleholder’s career spanned just three years.
"And then after that, you're going to go back to what you were doing before," Pia said candidly in the PEP interview. "I guess in a way tumatak sa akin yun.
"Sabi ko, ‘No, I'm going to use this as a stepping stone into the other things that I want to do.’”
She thoughtfully expanded her horizons. In addition to being a celebrity, endorser, and beauty queen, Pia ventured into content creation.
This proved to be a wise decision. With this, Pia strengthened her social media presence.
Currently, she is the most-followed Miss Universe titleholder on Instagram with 14.5 million followers.
This served her well, paving the way for her to get invited to annual international fashion weeks in the U.S. and in Europe.
Her presence at the Milan Fashion Week in 2023 was said to be worth PHP192 million in media impact value.
Pia explains that media impact value refers to the estimated amount of one's post on Instagram, based on engagements and reach.
Her presence in international fashion runway shows also translated to her getting invitations from foreign fashion brands to attend their fashion events.
This year, Pia was listed by Launchmetrics as one of the “top evangelists” of fashion and beauty at the Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2024-2025 in Paris, France.
According to its site, Launchmetrics is a brand performance tool for fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands.
Eventually, the recognitions that Pia received opened opportunities for her to be an endorser for foreign fashion brands.
In June 2024, Pia was named the first Filipino ambassador for Bulgari, a prominent Italian luxury fashion brand.
Read: Pia Wurtzbach in front row at 2024 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show
In the first quarter of the same year, 2024, Pia flew to Singapore for the unveiling of her wax figure at Madam Tussauds, the well-known wax museum.
Pia is one of only five Filipinos to have been honored with wax figures, the other four being Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray, boxing champ Manny Pacquiao, Broadway star Lea Salonga, and actress Anne Curtis.
Pia is now also an author, having launched her debut book in 2023, titled Queen of the Universe.
A TRUE QUEEN
Being a public figure, Pia is easy prey to critics and bashers.
Recently, Pia was dragged into a controversy after being pitted against Heart Evangelista, another huge fashion influencer.
But no matter the clear malice in accusations hurled at her, Pia chose to be quiet.
The decision to keep mum has, arguably, served her well because, although silence does not clear up the issue, it does stop adding fuel to the fire.
What’s more, the controversy does not prevent her from going about her daily concerns and routines, thus sending the signal that this is one celebrity who uses her energy well.
In her 2023 PEP interview, Pia highlighted how she, indeed, wants her energy focused on something productive.
She noted that while one does not have control over all events in one's life, one has the power to control how one reacts to these.
Pia is living proof of this. She has shown time and again that, even when events in her life were not always favorable, she was able turn her life around to land on the ground, successfully and with grace.
She said, “Even when you feel like the odds are against you or you're in a situation where you can't control things: because your parents separated; because you didn't enroll in the school you wanted; or it's not the course you wanted; or it's not the school you wanted to enter; or it's not the job you wanted—you always have a choice.”
Read: Pia Wurtzbach stuns on the runway at Paris Fashion Week 2024
THE JOURNEY CONTINUES
While Pia is busy with a serious career, she makes time for more personal and significant endeavors.
She married Scottish-Colombian businessman Jeremy Jauncey in March 2023.
They seem to be physically apart most of the time, with Jeremy mainly based in Dubai for his business, while Pia is often in the Philippines, if she is not travelling.
Pia says they try to see each other at least once a month.
It is an unconventional setup, but Pia is not worried at all.
She says that it gives both of them the time and space to grow individually, and that “even when we don't see each other for weeks at a time,” she does not harbor trust issues with her husband.
Beaming, Pia says, “This guy loves me. I'm sure of it. It's a nice feeling to know that I feel safe enough in the relationship where it's giving me room to have more focus in my career."
Most recently, Pia held a gala to auction her pre-loved items in her pageant journey, incuding gowns, outfits, sashes, shoes, and a personal notebook.
And it’s all for a good cause.
This is to help Love Yourself Inc., an HIV advocacy group that Pia has been supporting for years.
Pia said about the items she would be auctioning: “These things hold a lot of meaning to me, and they are very sentimental…
“All the years that took me to acquire all those things, it reminds me of years and hard work, and all of the dreams and all of the sacrifices, and that whole journey.
“But it’s also time, I think. And I can’t think of a better way to make something more lasting out of these items. I feel good letting them go.”
The money generated from the auction will be used to build a Love Yourself Inc.’s youth center in Taguig City.
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