Rio Díaz Cojuangco (; born Rosario Aspillera Díaz; August 14, 1959 – October 4, 2004), was a Filipino

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 ...

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people ...

, actress and politician. The sister of former

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 ...

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

Gloria Díaz, she was diagnosed with stage four

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

and died in the United States in 2004. She was an aunt of Georgina Wilson, through another sister Aurora who is Wilson's mother.

Biography

Born in Manila, Díaz was the youngest of twelve children born to Jaime Díaz and Teresa Aspillera. A ramp and commercial model, she was crowned Mutya ng Pilipinas in 1977 and won Fourth Runner-up in the

Miss Asia Pageant ATV Miss Asia Pageant () is an annual Hong Kong–based beauty pageant organized and broadcast by Asia Television (ATV). Originating in 1985 as a local Hong Kong pageant, the contest went on a hiatus from 2000 through 2003, and was re-branded as an ...

that same year. Díaz began a relationship with musician

Hajji Alejandro Angelito "Hajji" Toledo Alejandro (; December 26, 1954 – April 21, 2025) was a Filipino singer and actor who was a major pop star in the 1970s and 1980s. One of the first original Pilipino music (OPM) icons, Alejandro's singing career start ...

, and together they

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where they operated a small restaurant along

Melrose Avenue Melrose Avenue (sometimes referred to simply as "Melrose") is a shopping, dining and entertainment destination in Los Angeles, California, starting at Santa Monica Boulevard at the border between Beverly Hills, California, Beverly Hills and W ...

. They had a son named Ali Alejandro. After separating from Alejandro, Díaz returned to the Philippines and resumed her career in entertainment. She co-hosted ''

Eat Bulaga! ''Eat !'' (; stylized as ''Eat... Bulaga!'') is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine television variety show broadcast by Radio Philippines Network, ABS-CBN, GMA Network and TV5 (Philippine TV network), TV5. Originally hosted by Tito S ...

'' in 1991 and stayed for a couple of years before meeting Charlie Cojuangco on a

blind date A blind date is a romantic meeting between two people who have never met before. Both parties arrange a date with little to no information about each other, hoping for the possibility of making a lasting impression. Typically, a family member or ...

in 1993 and marrying him the following year. For the greater part of the 1990s, Díaz worked for television and starred in several films. They had 2 children, Jaime Diaz Cojuangco and Claudia Diaz Cojuangco.

Politics

Diaz, similar to her first husband Hajji Alejandro, was a supporter of former President

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

, even after his deposition in the

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, were a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...

. She was elected

vice-mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor and assistant mayor) is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many local governments. Duties and functions Many elected deputy mayors are members of the loca ...

Pontevedra, Negros Occidental Pontevedra, officially the Municipality of Pontevedra, is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 54,502 people. ...

, in the 1998 elections, while her husband won a seat in

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

. Díaz later became president of the vice-mayors' league of

Negros Occidental Negros Occidental (; ), officially the Province of Negros Occidental (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Negros, Negros Island. Its capital is the city of Bacolod, of which it is geographically s ...

Illness and death

During a routine checkup in December 1998, her American doctors informed her of a small growth in her left abdomen. After a six-hour surgery, they found a

malignant tumour Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

in its fourth stage, and Díaz was given three months to live. She underwent another operation, and received

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

for three months. In 1999,

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

oncologist Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''� ...

Dr George Fisher, declared she had been cured. When the cancer cells returned in May 2000, Rio travelled back to Stanford for an eight-hour surgical procedure and another round of chemotherapy sessions. Díaz stopped the sessions in 2002, citing her body's inability to cope further, but her physicians later that year said she had no recourse but to continue treatment. Six years after the original diagnosis, Díaz died on October 4, 2004, at

Seton Medical Center Seton Medical Center (originally Mary's Help Hospital) is a 398-bed hospital owned by AHMC Healthcare. Founded in San Francisco, the current facility is located in Daly City, California, United States.

Daly City Daly City () is the second-most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, and immediately south of San Francisco (sharing its northern border with almost all of San Francisco's southern ...

, at the age of 45. Her remains were cremated and inurned at the Cojuangcos' Hacienda Balvina in

. These were later moved to the columbarium of Mount Carmel Shrine in

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

Filmography

Film

*''Sísingilín Ko ng Dugo'' (1990) *''Sam & Miguel (Your Basura, No Problema)'' (1992) as Mila *''Tunay Na Magkaibigan, Walang Iwanan...Peksman'' (1994)

Television

*''

'' (1992-1996) *''Sarap TV'' (1998-1999) *''

Maalaala Mo Kaya (, abbreviated as ''MMK'') is a Philippine television drama anthology series broadcast by ABS-CBN and Kapamilya Channel. Hosted by Charo Santos-Concio, its first iteration was aired from May 15, 1991 to December 10, 2022. It is the longest ...

'', "Pictures: The Rio Díaz-Cojuangco Story" - as herself (in a part of her story; mostly played by

Eula Valdez Maria Julia Amorsolo Valdes (born December 11, 1968), professionally known as Eula Valdez (), is a Filipino actress and singer, best known for her prominent role as Amor Powers in the original version of ''Pangako Sa 'Yo'' (2000) and as Janice ...

; 2003)

References

External links

Rio is Safely Home
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz, Rio 1959 births 2004 deaths Actresses from Manila Cojuangco family Deaths from colorectal cancer in California Filipino film actresses Filipino Roman Catholics Filipino television actresses Filipino television personalities Ilocano people Mutya ng Pilipinas winners Nationalist People's Coalition politicians People from Ilocos Norte Politicians from Negros Occidental Beauty queen-politicians Filipino actor-politicians