Beatrice Luigi Gallarde Gomez (; born February 23, 1995) is a Filipino model,

community development The United Nations defines community development as "a process where community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common problems." It is a broad concept, applied to the practices of civic leaders, activists ...

worker, athlete, military sergeant, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned

Miss Universe Philippines 2021 Miss Universe Philippines 2021 was the 2nd edition of the Miss Universe Philippines pageant. The coronation night of the pageant was held on September 30, 2021 at the Henann Resort Convention Center in Alona Beach, Panglao, Bohol, Panglao, Boho ...

. Making history as the first openly

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

woman who was crowned Miss Universe Philippines, she represented the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

at the

Miss Universe 2021 Miss Universe 2021 was the 70th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Universe Dome in Eilat, Israel on December 13, 2021. At the end of the event, Andrea Meza of Mexico crowned Harnaaz Sandhu of India as Miss Universe 2021. It is India's firs ...

pageant in

Eilat Eilat ( , ; he, אֵילַת ; ar, إِيلَات, Īlāt) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan ...

, Israel and finished as a Top 5 finalist.

Early life and education

Beatrice Luigi Gallarde Gomez was born on February 23, 1995 in

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...

, Philippines. She was raised by a

single mother A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include divorce, break-up, abandonment, becoming wid ...

. She studied at the

University of San Jose–Recoletos The University of San Jose–Recoletos, also referred to by its acronym USJ–R or to its colloquially shortened name San Jose, is a private Catholic research and coeducational basic and higher education institution run by the Order of Augustini ...

and pursued a degree in

mass communication Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large segments of the population. It is usually understood for relating to various forms of media, as its technologies are used for the dissemination o ...

. At the same time, she also played varsity volleyball for the university. As a student-athlete, she was able to study under an athletic scholarship. In 2022, she graduated from the said university.

Pageantry

Miss Mandaue 2015

Gomez's foray into the world of pageantry began in 2015 when she placed second runner-up at the Miss Mandaue 2015 pageant.

Binibining Cebu 2020

Gomez represented

at the Binibining Cebu 2020 pageant and won the title, succeeding Steffi Rose Aberasturi of Mandaue City. She also won the Best in Swimwear, Miss Foton, and Miss Body Worx Medical Spa awards.

Miss Universe Philippines 2021

On September 1, 2021, representing

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas Regions of the P ...

, Gomez was confirmed as one of the thirty delegates in the Miss Universe Philippines 2021 pageant. During the finals on September 30, 2021, Gomez won the Best in Swimsuit, Best in Evening Gown, Miss Cream Silk, and Miss Luxxe ImmunPlus Game Changer awards. At the end of the event, Gomez was crowned by outgoing Miss Universe Philippines 2020

Rabiya Mateo Rabiya Occeña Mateo (; born November 14, 1996) is a Filipino model, host, actress, entrepreneur and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2020. She represented the Philippines at the Miss Universe 2020 pageant and finished a ...

as Miss Universe Philippines 2021. Gomez made history as the first openly bisexual Miss Universe Philippines winner to compete in

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

Miss Universe 2021

Gomez competed at the 70th Miss Universe pageant in Eilat, Israel on December 13, 2021, becoming the twelfth consecutive Philippine delegate to qualify to the Miss Universe semifinals. Gomez concluded her

journey as a Top 5 finalist, becoming the first openly

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

delegate to advance to the Miss Universe finals.

Harnaaz Sandhu Harnaaz Kaur Sandhu (born 3 March 2000) is an Indian model, actress, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe 2021. Sandhu had been previously crowned Miss Diva Universe 2021, and is the third entrant from India to win Miss ...

of India won the said pageant.

Military career

In January 2021, she completed the citizens military course training of the

Philippine Army Reserve Command The Reserve Command (RESCOM; fil, Pangasiwaan ng Panlaáng Kawal, Hukbóng Katihan ng Pilipinas) is a major support command of the Philippine Army. It was created for the sole purpose of reserve force management, organization and Government Arsen ...

Eastern Visayas Eastern Visayas ( war, Sinirangan Kabisay-an; ceb, Sidlakang Kabisay-an; tl, Silangang Kabisayaan or ''Silangang Visayas'') is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region VIII. It consists of three main islands, Samar, ...

which allowed her to be part of the Philippine Navy Reserve Unit, with the rank of

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

. In October 2021, Gomez was promoted to

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

. In May 2022, she was named as one of the honorary members, among the first batch, of the newly-launched ''Friends of Marines'', a civilian organization by the

Philippine Marine Corps The Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) ( fil, Hukbong Kawal Pandagat ng Pilipinas) is the marine corps of the Philippines, a naval infantry force under the command of the Philippine Navy. The PMC conducts amphibious, expeditionary, and special ope ...

Civic involvement and advocacy

Gomez is one of the founders of BEyouthfulPH, an organization that extends assistance in uplifting the lives of disempowered and disadvantaged children in different parts of the Philippines. One of the organization's programs focuses on children in conflict with the law, guiding and inspiring them to become more proactive and law-abiding Filipino citizens. In an interview, Gomez, who identifies as bisexual, also says she "hopes that younger LGBTQIA+ people would be free from bullying and violence:

''Just like what everyone hopes for in the LGBTQIA+, I aspire for acceptance and inclusivity — especially equal rights and protection for the younger generation who oftentimes suffer from bullying and different forms of violence. They are left to fend for themselves, particularly those that are oppressed by their own parents.''"

Gomez also holds the presidency of the

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...

Rotaract Club Rotaract originally began as a Rotary International youth program in 1968 aCharlotte North Rotary Clubin Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, and has grown into a major organization of 10,680 (14 Sep 2022) clubs spread around the world and ...

of Metro Mandaue.

Personal life

Gomez is an openly bisexual woman. She was previously in a relationship with disc jockey and entrepreneur Kate Jagdon. Gomez also does boxing, scuba diving, and mixed martial arts. Gomez is first cousin to the late Rizzini Alexis Gomez, Miss Tourism International 2012–2013 and niece of former

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

player Roel Gomez.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gomez, Beatrice 1995 births Bisexual women Bisexual military personnel Living people Filipino LGBT entertainers Filipino LGBT sportspeople LGBT models Miss Universe 2021 contestants Miss Universe Philippines winners People from Cebu City Cebuano people Visayan people Cebuano female models 21st-century LGBT people Cebuano beauty pageant winners