Maria Gloria Aspillera Diaz (; born April 5, 1951) is a Filipino actress, model and

beauty queen A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes so ...

who won Miss Universe 1969, becoming the first Filipino to hold the

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...

title.

Early life and family

Diaz is one of the twelve children of lawyer Jaime Diaz and model and socialite Teresa Aspillera. Her sister, Rio Díaz, was also an actress and beauty queen.

Pageantry

Aged 18, while studying in college, Díaz entered and won

Binibining Pilipinas Binibining Pilipinas (abbreviated as Bb. Pilipinas or BBP; ) is the oldest active national beauty pageant in the Philippines. Founded in 1964, it currently selects Filipina representatives to compete in one of the Big Four international beau ...

1969. Díaz then entered and won Miss Universe 1969, at

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

on July 19, 1969. In the final question round, her answer to the question regarding "men in the moon" charmed the audience and the judges. She was the first

Filipina Filipinos () are citizens or people identified with the country of the Philippines. Filipinos come from various Austronesian peoples, all typically speaking Filipino, English, or other Philippine languages. Despite formerly being subject to ...

to win the Miss Universe crown. News of her victory (and her measurements) were communicated to the

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...

crew members during their space mission. During her reign, Díaz travelled through several countries to promote the advocacies supported by the

Miss Universe Organization Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

as well as appeared in many public and television events in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Acting career

Beginnings

Shortly after her reign as Miss Universe ended, she pursued an acting career in the Philippines, and in 1975, she was cast in her breakthrough performance as Isabel in the critically acclaimed '' Ang Pinakamagandang Hayop sa Balat ng Lupa''. Her performance in the film was met with praise by film critics and was considered one of the most promising breakthroughs of any actress in Philippine cinema. Later that year, she was nominated for a

FAMAS Award The Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards, or simply the FAMAS Awards, are the annual honors given by the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS), an organization composed of writers and movie columnists, for achieveme ...

for Best Performance by an Actress in a Lead Role. Miss Universe 2017 stampsheet of the Philippines

Díaz continued acting in film for many years before trying out starring in television. It was in 1996 when she first appeared in the drama series ''

Anna Karenina ''Anna Karenina'' ( rus, Анна Каренина, p=ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə) is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Tolstoy called it his first true novel. It was initially released in serial in ...

''. She garnered popularity after appearing in the

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

'' Kool Ka Lang'' on

GMA Network GMA Network (an acronym of its legal name, Global Media Arts and commonly known as GMA) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine commercial broadcast network, serving as the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network (company), ...

in 1998. That same year, she appeared in the biopic film ''

Jose Rizal Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. Given name Mishnaic and Talmudic periods * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean * Jose ben Halaft ...

'' where she played Rizal's mother Dona Teodora Alonso. Her portrayal of Rizal's mother won a Best Supporting Actress award at the 1998 Metro Manila Film Festival. In 2006, Díaz was cast in the psychological thriller '' Nasaan Ka Man'' alongside award-winning actress

Hilda Koronel Hilda Koronel (born Susan Reid; January 17, 1957) is a MMFF, FAMAS, Luna and Urian award-winning Filipino actress. Born to a Filipino mother and an American father who was a serviceman in Clark Air Base, she has starred in around 45 films, m ...

Claudine Barretto Claudine Margaret Castelo Barretto (; born July 20, 1979) is a Filipino actress, who made her screen debut on the youth-oriented variety show, '' Ang TV''. She became a mainstay in several sitcoms, including ''Home Along Da Riles'', ''Oki Dok ...

, Diether Ocampo and

Jericho Rosales Jericho Vibar Rosales (; born September 22, 1979), also known as Echo, is a Filipino actor, singer, songwriter and film producer. Known primarily for his leading man roles in romantic drama, he has starred in some of the most distributed Phil ...

. For her role as Lilia, a woman trying to suppress her distraught as she tries to keep her family together, Díaz was once again nominated and eventually awarded as FAMAS Best Supporting Actress. In 2009, she once again won a FAMAS Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the highly acclaimed film ''Sagrada Familia''. In 2010, she starred in two GMA projects, ''

Beauty Queen A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes so ...

'' and ''

Diva Diva (, ) is the Latin word for a goddess. Diva is a name from Roman mythology, and is associated with the nouns divus, diva, which means god, goddess, and the adjective divinius, which means divine or heavenly. It has often been used to refer t ...

''. She returned to GMA for ''

Mistaken Identity Mistaken identity is a defense in criminal law which claims the actual innocence of the criminal defendant, and attempts to undermine evidence of guilt by asserting that any eyewitness to the crime incorrectly thought that they saw the defend ...

'' after a brief stint in '' 100 Days to Heaven''. In 2011, she played a supporting role in her first TV5 project, '' Glamorosa'', as Dra. Claudia Montesilva-Herrera.

Recent works

From 2012 to 2018, Díaz has appeared in several ABS-CBN television dramas including '' Kung Ako'y Iiwan Mo'', '' May Isang Pangarap'', '' Mirabella'', '' Dream Dad'' and had roles in '' MMK'' and an appearance in '' Ipaglaban Mo''. She returned to GMA again in 2018 to play an evil mother role on '' Pamilya Roces''. She also appeared in the comedy films '' Sisterakas'' and '' Kung Fu Divas''. In 2019, Díaz returned to ABS-CBN and was recently cast in the afternoon drama series '' Los Bastardos'' where she portrayed the role of Soledad Cardinal, the long-lost wife of Don Roman Cardinal (

Ronaldo Valdez James Ronald Dulaca Gibbs (November 27, 1947 – December 17, 2023), popularly known by his screen name Ronaldo Valdez (), was a Filipino actor whose career spanned almost five decades. Career Valdez started his earlier career as a leading ma ...

), and Consuelo Cuevas, the mother of Lorenzo Cuevas ( Joseph Marco). She also appeared as a fictional version of herself in the second season of the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series '' Insatiable'' with

Dallas Roberts Dallas Mark Roberts (born May 10, 1970) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Milton Mamet in the third season of AMC's '' The Walking Dead'' (2012–2013), Eliot Delson in ''Unforgettable'', and Owen Cavanaugh in '' The Good ...

and

Debby Ryan Deborah Ann Ryan (born May 13, 1993) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She started acting professionally onstage at the age of seven, and was later discovered during Disney Channel's nationwide search for new talent. She had starrin ...

. In 2020, Díaz returned to TV5 to play the role of Belinda "Tyang Bella" Vasquez on '' Oh My Dad!''. In 2022, Díaz returned to ABS-CBN to play the role of Helena "Helena Agcaoili-Wilson" on ''

2 Good 2 Be True ''2 Good 2 Be True'' is a Philippine romantic comedy television series broadcast by Kapamilya Channel. Directed by Mae Cruz-Alviar, it stars Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla. It aired on the network's Primetime Bida line-up and worldwide on ...

''. Via

Kapamilya Channel Kapamilya Channel () is a 24-hour Filipino pay television network owned and operated by ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Its headquarters is located at the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center in Quezon City and serves ...

And A2Z In 2023, Díaz Herself / Guest judge In Drag Race Philippines on

HBO Go HBO Go was an authenticated video-on-demand streaming service of the pay television network HBO. The service originally allowed subscribers to access HBO's on-demand programming via the HBO website, mobile apps, and digital media players, among ...

And

WOW Presents Plus WOW Presents Plus (also called World of Wonder Presents Plus or WOWPresents+) is a subscription-based streaming service owned by production company, World of Wonder. The subscription service was founded in November 2017, by Randy Barbato and ...

Personal life

Diaz married businessman Gabriel Daza III in 1986, and had three children, including Isabelle Daza. They separated in 1995, and she has since been in a relationship with Michael Osmeña de Jesus, a Filipino banker. In 2010, the Cebu chapter of the Vice Mayors League declared Gloria Diaz ''persona non grata'' after her Miss Universe comments on Cebuano models. Through her sister, Diaz is an aunt of Georgina Wilson.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

Controversy

In a ''

TV Patrol ''TV Patrol'' is a Philippine television news broadcasting show broadcast by ABS-CBN, Kapamilya Channel, A2Z and All TV. Originally anchored by Noli de Castro, Mel Tiangco and Robert Arevalo, it premiered on March 2, 1987, on the netw ...

'' interview shortly after the

Miss Universe 2010 Miss Universe 2010 was the 59th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on August 23, 2010. At the end of the event, Stefanía Fernández of Venezuela crowned Ximena Navarrete of Mexic ...

pageant on August 23, Díaz commented on

contestant

Venus Raj Maria Venus Bayonito Raj-Orillan (; ; born July 7, 1988) is a Filipino actress, model, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Binibining Pilipinas Universe 2010. She represented the Philippines at the Miss Universe 2010 pageant and pl ...

becoming 4th runner-up. She suggested in the interview that perhaps Raj and other Filipinas would benefit from answering pageant questions via the use of an interpreter rather than in English. Díaz further said that: Her remark sparked outrage amongst many Cebuanos, who felt that Díaz insulted their English proficiency by championing the controversial issue of Tagalog imperialist culture in the Philippines. Cebuano politicians such as

Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

Governor

Gwendolyn Garcia Gwendolyn Fiel Garcia-Codilla (born October 12, 1955) is a Filipino politician who has served as the 24th governor of Cebu since 2019. She previously held the position from 2004 to 2013 and served as the representative for Cebu's third distr ...

and Congresswoman

Rachel del Mar Rachel Marguerite "Cutie" Borromeo del Mar (born November 3, 1966) is a Filipino people, Filipina politician. She currently serves as the House of Representatives (Philippines), representative for the Cebu City's 1st congressional district, 1st ...

called on her to apologise. In response to the controversy, Díaz declared there was no need to apologize and instead clarified her remarks: On September 1, 2010, the Vice Mayors' League of the Philippines-Cebu passed a resolution declaring Díaz a ''

persona non grata In diplomacy, a ' (PNG) is a foreign diplomat that is asked by the host country to be recalled to their home country. If the person is not recalled as requested, the host state may refuse to recognize the person concerned as a member of the diplo ...

'' within

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu, is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 964,169 people, making ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz, Gloria 1951 births 20th-century Filipino actresses 21st-century Filipino actresses ABS-CBN people Binibining Pilipinas winners Filipino film actresses Filipino television actresses Filipino television personalities Filipino women comedians GMA Network (company) people Ilocano people Living people Filipino people of German descent Filipino people of Spanish descent Miss Universe 1969 contestants Miss Universe winners Models from Manila People from La Union St. Scholastica's College Manila alumni TV5 Network people Actresses from Manila Comedians from Manila