| | | Following up to Message 27605583
<<we (my two best buddies and i) have and are doing some claims filing on old mines in utah>>
one, of JPM, moved from California to Florida, and the other permanently relocated from Utah to Manila, and just received some news from step-daughter #1
am fairly sure buddy have no particular issues
unsure about the pageant platform
scmp.com
Meet Michelle Dee, the new bisexual Miss Universe Philippines: the Makati-born beauty queen and daughter of Melanie Marquez broke boundaries when she revealed her LGBT identity after her big win
- Happy Pride Month? After Michelle Dee won Miss Universe Philippines 2023 on May 13, she came out to a magazine as bisexual, saying she is ‘attracted to all forms of beauty, all shapes and sizes’
- She spent her childhood in Utah, US before returning to her hometown, and hails from a well-connected family – her grandfather’s brother is Dee Ching Chuan, founder of China Bank
Published: 8:00am, 2 Jun, 2023
Michelle Dee was named Miss Universe Philippines 2023. Photo: @michelledee/Instagram
The Philippines is known as a beauty pageant powerhouse, with many treating the competitions like a national sport.
This year’s Miss Universe Philippines winner has been attracting even more attention than usual though. Weeks after being crowned with the esteemed beauty pageant title on May 13, Michelle Dee came out as bisexual, telling a fashion magazine that “I’m attracted to all forms of beauty, all shapes and sizes.”
As the Philippines is home to a majority Roman Catholic population and known as relatively conservative regarding LGBTQ+ issues, this news is considered a big deal. Especially when the rising model is proudly speaking up and ready to take the world by storm.
Let’s meet the beauty queen who hopes to show her country that she’s a transformational leader using her new platform for good.
How Miss Universe Philippines Michelle Dee came out as bisexual
Miss Universe Philippines 2023 Michelle Marquez Dee. Photo: @michelledee/Instagram
Dee said she decided to put an end to the speculation around her sexuality by disclosing her sexual orientation. She told Mega, “I’m attracted to all forms of beauty, all shapes and sizes.” The pageant queen said she has always identified as bisexual but decided not to speak about it during the national beauty contest because “it wasn’t the right time”.
Michelle Dee wearing Noel Estopito Couture in April. Photo: @michelledee/Instagram
She said she wanted to speak about her sexual orientation in her own time and coming out during the competition would “cloud everyone’s judgment”. She added that, after she was crowned, old images of her were being circulated and the model knew there was a malicious intention to “make me feel like I was not worthy of the crown”.
She said by taking matters into her own hands, she was controlling the narrative around her own life and wouldn’t allow people to dictate to her. Since then, Dee has proudly posted on several social media outlets that she’s bisexual.
Her big beauty pageant win
Michelle Dee won Miss Universe Philippines in May. Photo: @michelledee/Instagram
During the final night of the Miss Universe Philippines pageant, contestants were all asked the same question: “Recently, the Department of Tourism has adopted a new branding campaign. ‘We give the world our best.’ For you, what is the best that we could offer to the rest of the world?”
It was Dee’s response that appeared to resonate well with the crowd and judges. She said that “the true heart and soul of the Philippines [is] with the way we are hospitable, with the warm smiles … And we are the reason why the world keeps coming back for more.” She said she would always be proud to “call myself Pinoy”.
The competition wasn’t her first rodeo though. In 2019, she was crowned Miss World Philippines and represented her country in the global competition in London, England. But she told Mega that the Covid-19 pandemic didn’t allow her to maximise her reign. Now, as Miss Universe Philippines, she’s got the platform she always wanted.
She had an international upbringing
Michelle Dee wearing Jaz Cerezo in May. Photo: @michelledee/Instagram
Although the model declared that the Philippines would always be considered home, according to Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, she had an international upbringing.
She was born in Makati, Metro Manila. TheSmartLocal reports her family left the Philippines for the US when she was three. There, her stepfather had a ranch in Utah and that was where the model learned how to ride horses and herd animals, states the source.
According to Mega, her family returned to the Philippines when she was around 10. It was during this time that she focused on creative arts like photography, editing and media creation.
She’s a diver
Michelle Dee enjoys diving. Photo: @michelledee/Instagram
Dee has been outspoken about her active lifestyle and has a particular love of the water. She is a free diver and posted an image of herself under water at Flower Island Resort, Palawan last year. Free diving relies on natural breath holding until resurfacing instead of using apparatus like scuba gear.
She’s an international model
Filipina beauty queen Michelle Marquez Dee. Photo: @michelledee/Instagram
Once look at her Instagram page and you’ll see that Dee is an accomplished model. Per Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, she is signed to Click Model Management in New York and has worked with a number of well-known brands such as Longchamp.
According to TheSmartLocal , Dee delved into showbiz in 2019 and hosted lifestyle show Glow Up. She has starred in other TV projects including I Left My Heart in Sorsogonand Mga Lihim Ni Urduja.
She comes from a well-known family
Mimilanie Laurel Marquez and her daughter Michelle Dee as a baby. Photo: @michelledee/Instagram
Her mum is Melanie Marquez, an actress and model who won Miss International Philippines in 1979. According to TheSmartLocal, her grandfather’s brother was Dee Ching Chuan, the founder of China Bank. |
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