Kataluna Patricia Enriquez is an American beauty pageant titleholder. In March 2021, she won the Miss Silver State USA pageant. On June 27, 2021, she was crowned

Miss Nevada USA The Miss Nevada USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Nevada in the Miss USA pageant. While Nevada did well in the early years of the Miss USA pageant, they only placed once from 1987 to 2000. This str ...

. With her wins, she became the first openly

transgender woman A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and som ...

to earn the titles and to become qualified to compete in the

Miss USA Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020, ...

pageant. She is also the owner of a clothing line, Kataluna Kouture.

Early life and education

Kataluna Enriquez was born in 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 ...

and emigrated to the United States with her family when she was 10, settling in

San Leandro, California San Leandro (Spanish for " St. Leander") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area; between Oakland to the northwest, and Ashland, Castro Valley, and Hayward to the sou ...

and becoming a member of the San Leandro Academy for Multimedia (SLAM), in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. She is Filipina American and is the eldest of seven siblings. She has spoken publicly about her high school experiences surviving bullying, abuse, and discrimination due to her gender identity, as well as her positive experiences with mental health therapy during childhood. Enriquez later attended school for fashion design at the

Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) is a private college in downtown Los Angeles. It offers degree programs in majors including fashion, entertainment, beauty, interior design, and graphic design. The college was founded in ...

Career

Enriquez began competing in transgender pageants in 2015, while working as a model. She has previously won Queen California, Queen USA 2016, and Super Sireyna WWUSA. When she first began competing, she was unable to afford custom designer gowns, so she designed her own and later started her own fashion line, Kataluna Kouture. She began competing in cisgender pageants in 2020. She has used the platform of pageants to advocate for inclusivity and diversity, and to promote transgender rights and support for LGBTQ+ youth. She also uses her social media to promote the hashtag #BEVISIBLE, in a campaign against hate that includes sharing her life experiences. In March 2021, Enriquez won Miss Silver State USA, which qualified her to compete at Miss Nevada USA 2021, and she was the first openly transgender woman to win the Miss Silver State USA title. In June 2021, she won the title of Miss Nevada USA, which qualified her to participate in the

Miss USA 2021 Miss USA 2021 was the 70th Miss USA pageant, held on November 29, 2021, at the Paradise Cove Theater of River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The competition was hosted by Zuri Hall and Patrick Ta, while Nicole Adamo served as a lounge ...

pageant and made her the first openly transgender woman to compete for the Miss USA title. At Miss USA 2021, Enriquez did not advance to the final stage. Afterwards, Miss USA

Elle Smith Ellen Elizabeth "Elle" Smith (born June 19, 1998) is an American model, journalist, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss USA 2021. As Miss USA, she represented the United States at Miss Universe 2021 where she was placed in the top ...

said it was "an honor" to participate with Enriquez and "she had every right to be on that stage". As Miss Nevada USA, Enriquez plans to engage in public speaking and advocacy on behalf of the LGBTQIA Center of Southern Nevada and Las Vegas TransPride. In addition to her work as a model and fashion designer, she also works as a healthcare administrator with a focus on healthcare needs for LGBTQ+ patients.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Enriquez, Kataluna Patricia 1990s births Living people People from Angeles City People from San Leandro, California Filipino emigrants to the United States Filipino LGBT artists American beauty pageant contestants American fashion designers American transgender artists Transgender female models LGBT fashion designers American models of Filipino descent Filipino expatriates in the United States 21st-century Filipino women 21st-century Filipino artists 21st-century Filipino businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesswomen LGBT beauty pageant winners