Miss Universe 2015 attends Dior and Bulgari Fashion

Meet former Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach: the German-Filipino actress is a UNAids ambassador and polyglot, attends Dior and Bulgari fashion shows, and wed last year after vowing she never would

Story by Gloria Fung 
South China Morning Post

Being blessed with both beauty and brains will always get you noticed. Happily, actress and model Pia Wurtzbach has leveraged her image and the power of social media for good since finding fame as Miss Universe, using her talents to advocate for sexual and reproductive health, LGBTQ rights and gender equality.

With a whopping 14.7 million followers on Instagram, Wurtzbach began her journey in front of the camera at the tender age of four. Having started out appearing in television shows and adverts, she began actively taking part in pageants in the early to mid-2010s. Eventually, she made it to the big time, and was selected to represent the Philippines at Miss Universe 2015.

She would go on to bring home the crown, making her only the third Filipino, and the first in over four decades, to do so.

The title made her famous overnight and she now uses her platform to speak out in her home country about sexual and reproductive health, women's rights and her support for the LGBTQ community. She has also been named Asia-Pacific goodwill ambassador for UNAids, and had an HIV test in front of cameras in 2016 to encourage people to know their HIV status.

Her talents also extend to writing. Last year, Wurtzbach penned Queen of the Universe: A Novel: Love, Truth, Beauty. Fans noted that the protagonist shares similarities with the beauty queen in her pursuit of success, love and happiness.

In her late 20s, Wurtzbach told her fans that she wasn't planning on marrying or having children. However she had a change of heart after starting a relationship with Scottish entrepreneur Jeremy Jauncey in 2020. The pair dated for two years before getting engaged in 2022 and tying the knot in 2023.

The polyglot - who's half German and was born in Stuttgart - speaks the language along with English, Tagalog and Cebuano. It certainly helps, given the beauty queen's jet-setting lifestyle, travelling the world with Jauncey, appearing on red carpets, at film festivals and at fashion shows.

The 34-year-old has been spotted in the front row at Alexander McQueen and Bally and her fame has led her to several long-term relationships with luxury brands. 

Her Instagram page reveals that she's a frequent guest at Italian jeweller Bulgari's events and regularly walks red carpets in stunning creations from the brand. In March she received a People Of the Year award from PeopleAsia. At the event in Manila, Wurtzbach wore a gold asymmetric gown with a matching Serpenti bag from Bulgari.

True to her beauty queen title, Wurtzbach's style is elegant and feminine, and she often opts for flowing gowns at events.

At a recent Dior show, she showed up in an ensemble that paid homage to the house's iconic 1920s style better known as The New Look. In a blazer belted over a black pleated skirt, Wurtzbach looked every bit the star in a modern and feminine take on the power suit.