Busy Catriona in first week of 2020
Her reign as Miss Universe may be over, but Catriona Gray’s schedule remains packed.
After Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach made history last year as first Filipino to have an image immortalized at Madame Tussauds in Hong Kong, followed by Filipino boxing champ and senator Manny Pacquiao, Catriona will have hers at Madame Tussauds in Singapore, making her the first Pinoy to do so there.
Catriona announced the news on Instagram with a photo that shows her holding a case full of ceramic eyeballs with the logo of that museum. The wax figure will be wearing a replica of her iconic lava gown by Mak Tumang.
“I am so excited to see the final figure and be a part of this special event! To unveil the figure in my home country with my fans watching is another dream come true,” she said in a statement released by Madame Tussauds on Monday. After Manila, Catriona’s wax figure will be on display at Madame Tussauds Singapore “for a limited time,” followed by stops at the wax museum’s branches in Bangkok and Hong Kong.
Birthday girl
Catriona celebrated in advance her 26th birthday few days ago at Sunday musical variety show “ASAP Natin ’To” where she showcased her talent in singing. She performed “We’re In This Together” along with the beneficiaries of Young Focus Philippines, a charity institution she supports. The beauty queen’s TV appearances didn’t stop there. She did a version of “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” on the noontime variety show “It’s Showtime,” when she was introduced as the newest guest host of the show
“I’m so happy to be part of the ‘Showtime’ family for my birthday week. It’s the best time to celebrate. Gusto ko talaga to be with you all for my birthday, to be with the madlang people, to have a super, super fun time this week,” she said.
Asked to reveal her birthday wish, Catriona said: “’Yung birthday wish ko is lahat ng mga tao na nakita ’yung journey ko, nakita nila ’yung inspiration to give back to the community. Actually today naman po mayroon akong birthday fundraiser para sa Smile Train Philippines.” Aside from the small screen appearances, Catriona is writing her book about “conquering your universe.”
Heart goes out to Australia
The Filipino-Australian artist recently asked her followers on social media to pray for Australia over their tragic bushfire crisis.
“Father God, I pray for Australia. I pray for rains that would come and dispel the fires that are raging. I pray for your protection over the land, all of its people, their families and wildlife. I pray for the volunteers, the firefighters, the servicemen who are putting their lives at risk every day. We ask for a mighty miracle Lord, in the name of Jesus Christ. AMEN,” she wrote.
Catriona said Australia is in a “state of emergency.”
“For two months, we have seen unprecedented heat and catastrophic bushfires sweep across the nation, with today’s forecast to be the worst so far, and the fire season is only just beginning... The damage caused so far devastates me to my core,” she shared, listing some of the facts like “14.5 million acres of land has been lost. That’s six times more than the Amazon fires in 2019” to “Half a billion animals have been burnt alive, with fears some species of animals and natives have been wiped out completely.”
“We are experiencing a national crisis, and it is only going to get worse. Right now we need a miracle to stop these fires. Our firefighters are VOLUNTEERS, taking time off from their paying jobs to put their lives on the line for us.”
She made a call for donations and volunteers “to help the wildlife victims, and help families & communities affected by the fires with food, resources, etc.”