Gloria Diaz

The first Filipino to bring home the Miss Universe crown in 1969. She was approached by an individual who believed she would do well in the Miss Universe competition and groomed the young woman. Díaz was only 18 when she became Miss Universe in 1969 after outsmarting other candidates on the question on how to welcome the first men that had just landed on the moon -- Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin and Michael Collins -- as soon as they were back on the planet. She was crowned in the international American-owned pageant in 1969 in Florida, U.S. after their footage was set on the Statue of Liberty in New York.