How Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach Became Miss Universe
Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach (born September 24, 1989), once professionally known as Pia Romero, is an actress, model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 2015 on December 20, 2015 after becoming Miss Universe Philippines 2015 at the Binibining Pilipinas 2015 pageant on March 15, 2015. Wurtzbach speaks fluent Cebuano, English and Tagalog. She also speaks rudimentary German, describing it as "Enough to get myself a bratwurst."
Early life and education
Career
Binibining Pilipinas
Miss Universe 2015
Wurtzbach was born in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, in then West Germany, to a German father and Filipino mother. Her middle name of "Alonzo" is her mother's maiden name which is a naming practice in the Philippines and based upon Spanish naming customs. She later moved to Cagayan de Oro on the island of Mindanao where she attended kindergarten at Kong Hua School and primary school at Corpus Christi. Her parents separated when she was 11 years old and she became the family's main money-earner until the age of 18 by doing modeling and acting. After being raised in the Philippines, she spent several years in England. She finished her secondary education at ABS-CBN Distance Learning School in Quezon City, Metro Manila and studiedculinary arts at the Center for Asian Culinary Studies in San Juan, Metro Manila.
Wurtzbach is a professional model, actress, host and TV personality. She began acting at age 14 under the stage name "Pia Romero". Managed by ABS-CBN's theatrical agency, Star Magic, she was included on the Star Circle Batch 11. Among her TV credits are the teen-oriented series K2BU, the concert variety program ASAP, the romance anthology Your Song, the sitcom showBora, and the drama series Sa Piling Mo. She appeared in films such as Kung Ako Na Lang Sana (2003), All My Life(2004), and All About Love (2006). She went on to become a stylist, makeup artist and beauty writer for Philippine Daily Inquirer's2bU section.
Wurtzbach joined the Binibining Pilipinas Pageant three times before she winning the Binibining Pilipinas Universe title. During Binibining Pilipinas 2013, she was the 1st Runner-Up (5th place). She joined the Binibining Pilipinas 2014, but only placed in the Top 15. A controversy erupted when she failed to win any title following her question-and-answer portion. She was asked a question in Tagalog by a Filipino judge, Senator Sonny Angara, which she answered in Tagalog. Online commentators wondered if the question and answer in Tagalog cost her points from the international judges and therefore any title that year. On her third attempt in 2015, she won the highest title, Miss Universe Philippines, and went on to compete in the Miss Universe 2015 Pageant.
Wurtzbach represented the Philippines in the Miss Universe 2015 held on December 20, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. At the end of the show, host Steve Harvey announced Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutiérrez as the winner. However, after Gutiérrez's crowning, Harvey returned to the stage and stated that he had misread the results and that Wurtzbach was the actual Miss Universe 2015. Miss Universe 2014 Paulina Vega then removed the crown from Gutiérrez's head and placed it on Wurtzbach's head.Wurtzbach became the third Miss Universe from the Philippines after Gloria Diaz in 1969, and Margarita Moran in 1973.
