R'Bonney Nola Gabriel (born March 20, 1994) is an American beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss USA 2022. Gabriel will represent the United States at

Miss Universe 2022 Miss Universe 2022 will be the 71st Miss Universe pageant, to be held at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States on January 14, 2023. Harnaaz Sandhu of India will crown her successor at the end of the e ...

Early life and education

Gabriel was born in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

to a Filipino father, Remigio Bonzon "R. Bon" Gabriel, and an American mother, Dana Walker. She is the youngest of four children and the only daughter in the family, and has three older brothers. Her father was born in the Philippines and is originally from

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, immigrated to

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

at the age of 25 and went on to earn his doctorate degree in psychology at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

. Her mother is from Beaumont. R'Bonney graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor's degree in fashion design with a minor in fibers. She now works as a designer creating eco-friendly clothing, and as a model.

Pageantry

Miss Kemah USA 2020

Her first foray into pageantry was when she joined Miss Kemah USA 2020, where she placed among the Top 5 finalists.

Miss Texas USA 2021

She competed at Miss Texas USA 2021 as Miss Harris County and placed as first runner-up to Victoria Hinojosa of

McAllen McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States, and the 22nd-most populous city in Texas. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexico–United States border. The city limits extend ...

Miss Texas USA 2022

As Miss Friendswood, Gabriel competed again in Miss Texas USA 2022, where she was eventually crowned by outgoing titleholder Victoria Hinojosa, becoming the first Asian-American

Miss Texas USA The Miss Texas USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state Texas in the Miss USA pageant, and the name of the title held by that winner. This pageant is part of the Miss USA Organization, owned by Texas native C ...

, less than a week after fellow Asian-American Averie Bishop crowned Miss Texas 2022, who is also of Filipino descent.

Miss USA 2022

Winning Miss Texas USA 2022 earned her the right to represent

at Miss USA 2022, where she eventually bagged the Best State Costume award. She roomed with

Miss Wyoming USA The Miss Wyoming USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state Wyoming in the Miss USA pageant. It is currently produced by Future Productions based in Savage, Minnesota since 2005. Wyoming has placed twice in Mi ...

, Morgan McNally, while at the pageant. She advanced to all rounds, including the swimsuit and evening gown portions, and then entered the Top 5. At the Top 5 Question and Answer portion, she picked the judge

Soo Yeon Lee Soo Yeon Lee (born May 22, 1984) is a South Korean former table tennis player, model, actress and coach. Lee started playing table tennis at a very early age and was also trained extensively in the sport by an Olympic gold medalist Jung Hwa Hyu ...

, who asked her the question: "Global studies indicate that women are increasingly seen as more vulnerable to the impact of climate change. You are asked to create a task force to help address this issue. What's your first priority?," to which she responded: At the end of the event, she was crowned as Miss USA 2022 by outgoing titleholder, Miss USA 2021,

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 ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, becoming the first Miss USA of Filipino descent.

Miss Universe 2022

As Miss USA 2022, she will go on to represent the United States at the upcoming Miss Universe 2022 pageant, to be held on January 14, 2023 at the

New Orleans Morial Convention Center The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center is located in Downtown New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The lower end of building one is located upriver from Canal Street on the banks of the Mississippi River. It is named after former Mayor of N ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, United States.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabriel, R'Bonnney 1994 births Living people American beauty pageant winners American people of Filipino descent Miss USA winners Miss Universe 2022 contestants People from Houston University of North Texas alumni American models of Filipino descent Women in Texas