Michelle Dee

Biography

Michelle Daniela Marquez Dee (Tagalog: [miˈʃɛl dɐˈɲɛlɐ maɾˈkɛs di]; born April 24, 1995) is a Filipino actress, model, TV host, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2023. She represented the Philippines at the Miss Universe 2023 competition in El Salvador, where she placed in the Top 10 and won four special awards. Dee previously won Miss World Philippines 2019. She represented the Philippines at the Miss World 2019 pageant in London, England, where she finished in the top 12.

== Early life and education == Michelle Daniela Marquez Dee was born in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines on April 24, 1995, to businessman, film producer, and former actor Frederick "Derek" Dee, and to actress, author, former supermodel, and beauty queen Melanie Marquez, who won Miss International 1979. Through her father, Dee is a third-generation Chinese Filipino. Her paternal grand-uncle was Chinabank founder Dee C. Chuan, who immigrated from China to the Philippines in 1901. Her grandfather Dee K. Chiong was a former Senior Vice President of Chinabank, while her paternal grandmother, heiress and philanthropist Regina Y. Dee, was the daughter of Yu Hung-chun, who served as premier of Taiwan. Former PBA player Joey Marquez is her maternal uncle. Dee's maternal cousin and Joey's daughter is an actress and fellow beauty queen Winwyn Marquez, who won Reina Hispanoamericana in 2017. Dee has one sister, Maxine Dee, and four maternal half-siblings: Manuelito, the son of actor and senator Lito Lapid; Mazen, now 33, was diagnosed with autism, the son of her mother with Arab sheik partner; Abraham; and Adam, who was diagnosed with "delay syndrome, sons of her mother with husband Adam Lawyer. She spent a considerable time of her childhood in their family ranch in Utah, United States, during summers and family vacations. Dee grew up loving farm animals and enjoying the countryside, both in Utah and in her family's hacienda in Mabalacat, Pampanga. She attended the De La Salle University in Manila and graduated with a degree in psychology. In 2021, Dee completed her certificate program in entrepreneurship essentials from the Harvard Business School.

== Pageantry ==

=== Miss World Philippines 2019 ===

On September 15, 2019, Dee was crowned Miss World Philippines 2019 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Metro Manila, the Philippines. The finals night comprised competitions in swimwear, evening gown, and two question and answer rounds. She competed with and won over thirty-nine other delegates, and was crowned by outgoing Miss World Philippines 2018 Katarina Sonja Rodriguez by the end of the event. During the competition, Dee won six special awards: Miss Sportswoman by Fila, Miss GCOX, Miss Best Skin by Cathy Valencia, Miss Bench, Miss Myra E, and Miss Bluewater Day Spa. In the semifinal question and answer round, host Laura Lehmann asked Dee about the lessons and pieces of advice her mother, model and Miss International 1979 Melanie Marquez, gave her in her preparations for her first-ever beauty pageant competition. Dee replied:

The most important advice my mom gave me was to be myself. I'm not here trying to replicate her, but I'm trying to shine as my own woman. In doing so I've learned how to be strong, how to be confident in myself, and to embrace every single part of my being. So thank you, Mom, and thank you to everyone who came tonight and for supporting me. It means a lot to me. In the final question and answer round, Dee was asked which invention from the last century she would love to make a comeback. She answered:

It would probably be polaroid films. I'm an avid lover of art. I love photography and I love the kind of energy and feel that polaroids give me. Just being able to lay everything out and go down memory lane is such a different feeling. Polaroids give me such a vibrant and positive energy.

=== Miss World 2019 ===