This is a list of the Philippines' representatives and their placements at the Big Four international beauty pageants.^[1] The Philippines, widely considered a beauty pageant powerhouse,^[2][3][4][5] has won in all four pageants, with a total of 103 placements and 15 victories:

• Four – Miss Universe crowns (1969 • 1973 • 2015 • 2018)
• One – Miss World crown (2013)
• Six – Miss International crowns (1964 • 1970 • 1979 • 2005 • 2013 • 2016)
• Four – Miss Earth crowns (2008 • 2014 • 2015 • 2017)

Hundreds of beauty pageant competitions are held yearly, but the Big Four are considered the most prestigious, widely covered and broadcast by media. Various news agencies collectively refer to the four major pageants as "Big Four", namely—Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss International and Miss Earth.^[6][7][8]

National organizations and franchises

The Philippine franchise holders of the four major beauty pageants are:

• Shamcey Supsup-Lee (Empire Philippines Holdings, Inc.) – Miss Universe Philippines.^[9]
• Arnold Vegafria (ALV Pageant Circle) – Miss World Philippines.^[10][11]
• Stella Araneta and Jorge L. Araneta (Binibining Pilipinas Charities Incorporated) – Binibining Pilipinas for Miss International Philippines.^[12][13]
• Ramon Monzon and Lorraine Schuck (Carousel Productions) – Miss Philippines Earth.^[14][15]

The criteria for the Big Four inclusion are based on specific standards such as the pageant's international prominence and prestige accepted by mainstream media; the quality and quantity of crowned delegates recognized by international franchisees; the winner's post pageant activities; the pageant's longevity, consistency, and history; the execution of the pageant's specific cause, platform, and advocacy; the overall pre-pageant activities, production quality and global telecast; the enormity of internet traffic; and the extent of popularity across the globe.^[16]

History

Precolonial and indigenous Philippines already had established, well-defined ideals and standards of beauty. Most of the precolonial and native languages of the Philippines saw and described beauty as natural—meaning, what is pleasing to the eyes and to the other senses, in nature, is considered beautiful. Precolonial Filipinos were recorded to describe what was the ideally beautiful person. For both men and women, precolonial Filipinos defined beauty with long, healthy, shiny black hair that was well-tended to and well-combed. Healthy skin, of good sunkissed complexion, was also a determinant of beauty. Excellent personal hygiene and observance of community sanitation, including bathing in the morning, before the day's activities, and bathing again in the evening, before retiring for sleep, was seen as a precursor to health and beauty. Bathing, too, was a necessity before and after sexual intercourse, and was heavily imposed socioculturally. Tattoos, especially in the Visayas, were also believed to elevate and accentuate one's beauty. A person's beauty, too, was not only limited to their physical appearance, but was also defined by their character, intellect, sense of community, altruism, and other values—which were greatly emphasized and required by indigenous Filipinos for one to be "truly beautiful". A darker sunkissed skin complexion than women's were seen on men as determinant of beauty. A harmonious and proportional distribution of well-developed muscles on the body, from working in the fields, hunting, or building, was also another determinant of beauty for precolonial Filipino men. For precolonial Filipino women, beauty of physique was determined by the overall harmony and symmetry of the body, healthy, sunkissed skin, long black hair, and how subdued they carried themselves. Elegance was seen as a paramount valuable trait, and was one of the precolonial Filipino woman's determinants of beauty beyond the physical. Men and women alike, in indigenous Philippines, adorned themselves with gold, jade, diamonds, rubies, and other precious stones believed to accentuate, emphasize, and elevate one's beauty.^{[17][18][19][20][21]}

The Philippines then inherited the practice and promotion of beauty pageants from the Kingdom of Spain and United States during its colonial history, and reflected their keen interest in pageantry through the Santero culture.^[22]

The first officially recorded beauty pageant competition in the Philippines was held in 1908 during the Manila Carnival,^[23][24] which organized both American and Philippine diplomatic relations,^[23] with the aim to exhibit achievements in commerce and agriculture.^[24] The winner of the competition was crowned, and came to be known, as the “Carnival Queen.”^[25] The competitions were held annually from 1908 to 1938.^[24]

In 1926, the Manila Carnival conceptualized and held the first national beauty pageant using the title Miss Philippines to represent the Philippine islands; contestants came from all over the country with the following regional titles: Miss Luzon, Miss Visayas, and Miss Mindanao. This new competition gained greater popularity, resulting in the phasing out of the “Carnival Queen” title in 1938.^[26]

National pageants

The following are national pageants which serve as qualifiers for the Big Four pageants.

Participation in international pageant competitions

From Venus Raj's participation at Miss Universe 2010 (marking the Philippines' first semifinal placement at the pageant in the 21st century and since Miriam Quiambao placed second to Botswana at Miss Universe 1999) to Beatrice Gomez's stint at Miss Universe 2021, the country placed in the Miss Universe semifinals each year, scoring 2 Top 10 placements in 2014 and 2017, 2 Top 5/6 placements in 2016 and 2021, 4 consecutive runner-up finishes in the Top 5 from 2010 to 2013,^[46] and 2 crowns in 2015 and 2018. As a result, the Philippines is the country from the Eastern Hemisphere with the longest overall streak of Miss Universe semifinal appearances (and third overall by any country in the world), totaling 12 consecutive years. It is also the first country in the world to place non-stop at Miss Universe semifinals for at least a full decade beginning any year of the 21st century.^[47]

The Philippines won multiple Big Four pageant crowns in the same year twice – in 2013 with Bea Santiago (Miss International) and Megan Young (Miss World), and in 2015 with Angelia Ong (Miss Earth) and Pia Wurtzbach (Miss Universe), making it the most recent country as of 2023 to win multiple Big Four pageant crowns in the same year.

From 2010 to 2019, the Philippines has only unplaced twice in each of the Miss World, Miss International and Miss Earth competitions, and has won an additional 6 crowns from these pageants alone, making it the country with the single most successful decade in terms of Big Four beauty pageant results in the world. Since 2010, the Philippines has been gaining worldwide attention for its pageant training mechanisms.^[47]

Summary

The following table details the placements of the Philippines' representatives in the Big Four pageants.

Color Key

× Did not compete
↑ No pageant held

Placements

Pageant	Placements	Best result
Miss Universe	27	Winner (1969 • 1973 • 2015 • 2018)
Miss World	21	Winner (2013)
Miss International	35	Winner (1964 • 1970 • 1979 • 2005 • 2013 • 2016)
Miss Earth	20	Winner (2008 • 2014 • 2015 • 2017)
Total	103	15 Titles

Hosting

The Philippines first hosted its major international pageant in 1974 for Miss Universe. It has also hosted Miss Earth several times, as the pageant originated in the country.^[22][46]

List of crossovers

Crossover winners of a national pageant wins in another major national pageant and then participate in the line of international beauty pageants.^[51]

• Carlene Aguilar – was the first crossover candidate to accomplish this feat. Aguilar initially won Miss Philippines Earth 2001^[52][53] and later won title Binibining Pilipinas World in Binibining Pilipinas 2005. She became the first Filipina to win two major national crowns in Philippine pageantry.^[54][55] She placed in the Top 10 in the Miss Earth 2001^[56][57] and in the Top 15 in the Miss World 2005 pageant.^[58][59]
• Catriona Gray – became the second crossover candidate who initially won Miss World Philippines 2016 and later Miss Universe Philippines 2018.^[51][59] Gray competed internationally and finished in the Top 5 at the Miss World 2016 competition held in Washington, D.C.,^[59] and eventually won as the 67th Miss Universe in 2018 in Thailand, making her the first and so far only Filipina to win two major national crowns in Philippine pageantry and also win a Big Four international pageant crown at the same time.^[60][61][62]
• Celeste Cortesi – became the third crossover candidate, winning Miss Earth Philippines 2018 and later Miss Universe Philippines 2022. She competed at Miss Earth 2018, where she finished in the Top 8, and later competed at Miss Universe 2022, but failed to advance to the Top 16 semifinals.
• Michelle Dee – became the fourth crossover candidate, winning Miss World Philippines 2019 and later Miss Universe Philippines 2023. She competed at Miss World 2019, where she finished in the Top 12, and later placed in the Top 10 at Miss Universe 2023 in El Salvador.

References

External links