Rachel Louise Obregon Peters-Villafuerte (born 20 October 1991) is a Filipino model, host, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2017. She represented the Philippines at the

Miss Universe 2017 Miss Universe 2017 was the 66th Miss Universe pageant, held at The AXIS at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on November 26, 2017. At the end of the event, Iris Mittenaere of France crowned Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters of South Af ...

pageant and finished as a Top 10 semifinalist.

Early life and education

Rachel Louise Obregon Peters was born on October 20, 1991 in

Manama Manama ( ar, المنامة ', Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 200,000 people as of 2020. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is home to a very d ...

, Bahrain, to a British father, Nigel Peters and a Filipino mother, Annie Obregon. She has a younger brother named Daniel. Their family manages a concert promotion company that caters to shows across

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

. Peters graduated from the

British International School, Phuket The British International School, Phuket (BISP, , ) is an English-medium, co-educational, day and boarding school, established in 1996. The 44 acre (99 rai) campus includes eight boarding houses, primary and secondary schools, and sports facilitie ...

with an

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB D ...

degree, and earned her bachelor's degree in Business, Tourism, and Events from

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria a ...

Pageantry

Miss World Philippines 2014

Peters started her pageantry stint when she competed at

Miss World Philippines 2014 Miss World Philippines 2014 was the 4th edition of the Miss World Philippines pageant. It was held at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, Philippines on October 12, 2014. At the end of the event, Megan Young crowned Valerie Weigmann as Miss Wor ...

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, an ...

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 populated ...

on October 11, 2014. She placed as the 4th Princess and lost to eventual winner Valerie Weigmann. She also bagged the ''Yahoo Readers' Choice'' and ''Miss Alluring'' awards.

Binibining Pilipinas 2017

On April 30, 2017, Peters joined

Binibining Pilipinas 2017 Binibining Pilipinas 2017 was the 54th edition of Binibining Pilipinas. It took place at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines on April 30, 2017. At the end of the event, Maxine Medina crowned Rachel Peters as ...

held at the

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

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

. During the question and portion round of the pageant, she was asked: "If you get to speak in front of the ASEAN leaders, what would be your message to the leaders?" She responded:

''"I believe that one of the biggest problems that our country faces today is divisiveness in politics, in religion and also in culture. And I believe that it is something that is the same across the world. And that is something I would want to address. I believe that when people can learn to tolerate each other's differences and respect each other's opinions, then we will just be a stronger nation and world."''

By the end of the event, she was crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2017 by

Maxine Medina Maria Mika Maxine Perez Medina (; born May 10, 1990) is a Filipino designer, actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2016. She represented the Philippines at the Miss Universe 2016 pageant and f ...

along with the ''Best in Swimsuit, Miss Photogenic'' and ''JAG Denim Queen'' awards. On March 18, 2018, Peters crowned

Catriona Gray Catriona Elisa Magnayon Gray (; born 6 January 1994) is a Filipino-Australian model, singer, beauty queen, television personality, youth advocate and arts ambassador best known for having been crowned Miss Universe 2018. She is the fourth Fi ...

as her successor at the Binibining Pilipinas 2018 pageant held at the

, Philippines.

Miss Universe 2017

Peters represented the Philippines at the

pageant. At the national costume competition, Peters wore a

Sarimanok The Sarimanok (Pronunciation: sá·ri·ma·nók), also known as papanok in its feminine form, is a legendary bird of the Maranao people, who originate from Mindanao, an island in the Philippines, and part of Philippine mythology. It comes from ...

-inspired golden one-piece swimsuit—complete with wings and a headpiece which is a symbol of good fortune for the Maranao people. Val Taguba created the costume and Jojo Bragais designed her gladiator-style boots. At the preliminary competition, Peters shows off her 'infinity walk'. She donned her black Yamamay two-piece swimsuit at the preliminary swimsuit competition and wore a golden evening gown designed by Dubai-based Filipino designer, Val Taguba at the preliminary evening gown competition. At the coronation night, she wore a blue two-piece Yamamay bikini at the Top 16 swimsuit competition and was dressed in a silver long gown with intricate details and sparkly beadwork designed by Val Taguba at the Top 10 evening gown competition. She entered the Top 16 as the fan vote in the wildcards. Peters concluded her Miss Universe journey by finishing as a Top 10 semifinalist, continuing the streak of the Philippines at 8th-straight finalist placement.

Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters Demi-Leigh Tebow (née Nel-Peters; born 28 June 1995) is a South African model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 2017. She was crowned Miss South Africa 2017, and is the second Miss Universe winner from South Africa, following Ma ...

of South Africa won the said pageant.

Personal life

The British-born Peters became a

Filipino citizen Philippine nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national of the Philippines. The two primary pieces of legislation governing these requirements are the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines and the 1939 Revised Natural ...

in 2015. On November 11, 2019, she was engaged to

Governor of Camarines Sur The governor of Camarines Sur is the chief executive of the Philippine province of Camarines Sur. Previously located in Naga, Camarines Sur, Naga City, the seat of the Governor has been located in Pili, Camarines Sur since 1955, after the transf ...

, Miguel Luis Villafuerte. Their wedding was supposed to be held in Indonesia, but postponed due to quarantine measures imposed in the country to curb the spread of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

. On May 18, 2021, Peters announced on Instagram that she was 18 weeks pregnant. In July 2021, she married Villafuerte in a civil ceremony. On October 11, 2021, she gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Kaia Rose.

References

External links

Profile at Bb. Pilipinas website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Rachel 1991 births Living people Binibining Pilipinas winners Filipino female models Miss World Philippines winners Miss Universe 2017 contestants People from Manama People from Camarines Sur Filipino people of British descent Filipino expatriates in Bahrain Filipino expatriates in Thailand Filipino expatriates in Australia La Trobe University alumni Bicolano people