Karen Juanita Boyonas Gallman-Garton (born September 27, 1992) is a Filipino model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Intercontinental 2018. The first Filipina to win Miss Intercontinental, Gallman was previously crowned Binibining Pilipinas Intercontinental 2018 and competed in Binibining Pilipinas 2012, placing in the top 12 and winning Miss Photogenic.

Early life and education

Karen Juanita Boyonas Gallman was born in

Bohol Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol (; ), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region, consisting of the island itself and 75 minor surrounding islands. It is home to Bohola ...

, Philippines, to Gavin Gallman Sr., an Australian

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

veteran and Editha Boyonas, a Filipino school teacher. Speaking both Bisaya and Tagalog, Gallman and her family moved to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Australia, in 2000. She finished her secondary education at

Olivarez College The Olivarez College (), also known as simply Olivarez or OC, is a private, nonsectarian college along Dr. A. Santos Avenue, Parañaque, Philippines that offers academic programs in basic education, junior and high school, undergraduate, gradua ...

. She obtained her bachelor's degree in Business Management majoring in International Business at the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

. Upon graduating, Gallman secured a graduate role with a management consulting firm in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, United Kingdom.

Pageantry

Binibining Pilipinas 2012

Gallman was a candidate at the

Binibining Pilipinas 2012 Binibining Pilipinas 2012 was the 49th edition of the Binibining Pilipinas pageant, held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, on April 15, 2012. At the end of the event, Shamcey Supsup crowned Janine Mari Tu ...

competition, representing

and finishing in the Top 12.

Binibining Pilipinas 2018

Gallman competed in the

Binibining Pilipinas 2018 Binibining Pilipinas 2018 was the 55th edition of the Binibining Pilipinas pageant, held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, on March 18, 2018. At the end of the event, Rachel Peters crowned Catriona Gray a ...

competition held at the

Araneta Coliseum The Araneta Coliseum, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Smart Araneta Coliseum, is an indoor multi-purpose arena, sports arena that is part of the Araneta City in the Quezon City#Cubao, Cubao area of Quezon City, Philippines. ...

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, Philippines, where she was crowned Binibining Pilipinas Intercontinental 2018 by the outgoing titleholder, Katarina Rodriguez.

Miss Intercontinental 2018

Gallman represented the Philippines in the Miss Intercontinental 2018 pageant held at the

Mall of Asia Arena The SM Mall of Asia Arena, also known as the Mall of Asia Arena or the MoA Arena, is an indoor arena within the SM Mall of Asia complex, in Bay City, Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines. It has a seating capacity of 15,000 for sporting events and ...

, Manila, on January 26, 2019, where she was crowned Miss Intercontinental 2018 by outgoing titleholder Veronica Salas Vallejo of Mexico. Competing against more than 80 other contestants, Gallman became the first Filipina to win the Miss Intercontinental crown in the pageant's 47-year history. During the final question and answer portion, all remaining contestants were asked the same question by the host: "How do you define success?" She answered:

"For me, success is not just about winning in life but setting goals, smaller goals, and achieving your dreams and working hard for everything you want, and always looking up to God and being thankful for everything. For me, that is success."

Following her victory, former

president of the Philippines The president of the Philippines (, sometimes referred to as ) is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-ch ...

and then-

mayor of Manila The City Mayor of Manila (, sometimes referred to as, ''Alkalde ng Maynila'') is the head of the executive branch of Manila's city government. The mayor holds office at Manila City Hall. Like all local government heads in the Philippines, the m ...

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor, who served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 until his resignation in 2001. ...

personally congratulated Gallman in a courtesy call at the

Manila City Hall The Manila City Hall () is the official seat of government of the City of Manila, located in the historic center of Ermita, Manila. It is where the Mayor of Manila holds office and the chambers of the Manila City Council is located. It was or ...

. She was also congratulated by

Arthur C. Yap Arthur "Art" Cua Yap (; born November 10, 1965) is a Filipino politician who is the former governor of Bohol from 2019 to 2022. He was the secretary of the Department of Agriculture under the Arroyo administration from 2004 to 2005 and from 2 ...

, the

governor of Bohol The Governor of Bohol () is the local chief executive of the provincial government of Bohol, Philippines. The governor holds office at the Bohol New Provincial Capitol in Tagbilaran City and its official residence is at the Governor's Mansion (B ...

and Constantino Reyes, the mayor of her hometown

Ubay, Bohol Ubay, officially the Municipality of Ubay (; ), is a fast growing municipality in the province of Bohol, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 81,799 people. Ubay has an uncontested area of 258.132847 square kilomet ...

Personal life

On March 3, 2020, Gallman married her longtime boyfriend Ian Garton. On December 9, 2020, she gave birth to her first child.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallman, Karen 1992 births Australian people of Filipino descent Australian female models Binibining Pilipinas winners Filipino emigrants to Australia Filipino female models Filipino people of Australian descent People from Bohol People from Brisbane Living people University of Queensland alumni