Gloria Maria Aspillera Diaz (born March 10, 1951) is an award-winning actress in the Philippines, and the first Filipino to bring home the Miss Universe

Miss Universe

Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. The pageant is the most publicized beauty contest in the world with 600 million viewers....

 crown.

Early Life and Family

Gloria Maria Aspillera Diaz was born in Aringay, La Union

Aringay, La Union

Aringay is a 3rd class municipality in the province of La Union, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 43,438 people in 7,786 households....

 Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. Often referred to as one of the Diaz clan in newspapers, Diaz was one of 12 children. One of her sisters, Rio Diaz-Cojuangco, was also a Filipino actress and beauty titlist, who died after a six year battle with colon cancer.

Personal life

She was married to businessman Gabriel "Bong" Daza with whom she has two daughters, Isabelle and Ava.

1969 Miss Universe

She was approached by an individual who believed she would do well in the Miss Universe competition and groomed the young woman. Díaz was only 18 when she became Miss Universe in 1969 after outsmarting other candidates on the final question. It was about how to welcome the first men that had just landed on the moon -- Neil Armstrong

Neil Armstrong

Neil Alden Armstrong is an American former astronaut, test pilot, aerospace engineer, university professor, United States Naval Aviator, and the first person to set foot upon the Moon....

, Edwin Aldrin and Michael Collins

Michael Collins (astronaut)

Michael Collins is a former American astronaut and test pilot. Selected as part of the third group of fourteen astronauts in 1963, he flew in space twice. His first spaceflight was Gemini 10, in which he and command pilot John Young performed two rendezvous with different spacecraft and Collins...

 -- as soon as they were back on the planet. She was crowned in the international American-owned pageant in 1969 in Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 after their footage was set on the Statue of Liberty

Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...

 in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.

Acting career

Diaz is a well-known actress in the Philippine film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 and TV

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 industry. Her box-office mettle, as well as her acting prowess, was recently honored when she received the most-coveted FAMAS Award (the Philippine equivalent of the Oscars) of the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences for Best Supporting Actress in her role as a spinster adoptive mother in the FAMAS Best Picture Nasaan Ka Man

Nasaan Ka Man

Nasaan Ka Man is a dramatic love story written by Filipino, Ricky Lee. It boasts performances by the country’s young leading dramatic actors Claudine Barretto, Jericho Rosales and Diether Ocampo....

 (2005).

Controversy

In a televised TV Patrol interview shortly after the Miss Universe 2010

Miss Universe 2010

Miss Universe 2010, the 59th edition of the pageant, was held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. on August 23, 2010. It was hosted by Bret Michaels and Natalie Morales...

 pageant on August 23, 2010, Diaz commented on the placing of Miss Philippines

Binibining Pilipinas

Binibining Pilipinas is the organization responsible for sponsoring the annual national beauty pageant which selects representatives of the Philippines to Miss Universe and Miss International, among others.-History:...

 contestant Venus Raj as 4th runner up. She suggested in the interview that perhaps Raj and other Filipinas like would benefit from answering pageant questions via the use of an interpreter rather than in English. She further stated "[because] when you think about a Cebuana can hardly speak English and of course Tagalog

Tagalog language

Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...

. Maybe she should answer in Bisaya

Cebuano language

Cebuano, referred to by most of its speakers as Bisaya , is an Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines by about 20 million people mostly in the Central Visayas. It is the most widely spoken of the languages within the so-named Bisayan subgroup and is closely related to other Filipino...

."

This remark has sparked outrage among many Cebuano

Cebuano people

The Cebuano people , are a Visayan ethnic group in Cebu and form the second largest cultural-linguistic group in the Philippines.-History:...

s who feel that Diaz insulted their English proficiency. Cebuano politicians such as Cebu

Cebu

Cebu is a province in the Philippines, consisting of Cebu Island and 167 surrounding islands. It is located to the east of Negros, to the west of Leyte and Bohol islands...

 Governor Gwendolyn Garcia

Gwendolyn Garcia

Gwendolyn Fiel Garcia , commonly known as Gwen, is the Governor of the Philippine province of Cebu. She was first elected in 2004 and re-elected in 2007. She is Cebu's first woman governor...

 and Congresswoman Rachel del Mar have called on her to apologize. In response to the controversy, Diaz saw no need to apologize and instead clarified her remarks:
On September 1, 2010 the Vice Mayors League of the Philippines-Cebu passed a resolution declaring Gloria Diaz persona non grata

Persona non grata

Persona non grata , literally meaning "an unwelcome person", is a legal term used in diplomacy that indicates a proscription against a person entering the country...

.

Selected filmography

• Glamorosa
  Glamorosa
  Glamorosa is a Filipino drama series offered by TV5 that will set to air for 3 months. It airs Mondays to Fridays after Wil Time Bigtime....
  
   (2011) Claudia Herrera
• 100 Days To Heaven
  100 Days to Heaven
  100 Days to Heaven is a Philippine inspirational family television series previously airing on ABS-CBN starring Coney Reyes and Xyriel Manabat...
  
   (2011) Dolores Bustamante
• Beauty Queen
  Beauty Queen (TV series)
  Beauty Queen is a Philippine drama directed by Joel Lamangan. The series stars Iza Calzado, Katrina Halili and Maggie Wilson as rival Beauty Queens, it premiered last October 18, 2010 on GMA Network replacing Endless Love on GMA telebabad block...
  
   (2010) Madame Yuri Sandoval
• Diva
  Diva (Philippine TV series)
  Diva is a Philippine musical dramedy television series, developed by Don Michael Perez and directed by Dominic Zapata. The series premiered on March 1, 2010 on GMA Network, starring Regine Velasquez, Rufa Mae Quinto, Mark Anthony Fernandez, TJ Trinidad and Glaiza de Castro.It has several cameos...
  
   (2010) Paula Fernandez
• Nagsimula sa Puso
  Nagsimula sa Puso
  Nagsimula sa Puso is a top-rated afternoon drama that aired on ABS-CBN's afternoon block, replacing Kambal Sa Uma. It is a remake of the 1990 film the same title starring Hilda Koronel.-Original film:...
  
   (2009) Pinky Ortega
• Ang Tanging Ina N'yong Lahat (2008) Pres.Hillary Dafalong
• Sakal, Sakali, Saklolo
  Sakal, Sakali, Saklolo
  Sakal, Sakali, Saklolo , a romantic comedy movie released by Star Cinema, is an official entry to the 33rd Metro Manila Film Festival - Philippines. This is the sequel of the 2006 film Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo with Judy Ann Santos and Ryan Agoncillo reprising their roles. There were some scenes filmed...
  
   (2007) Charito
• Sana Maulit Muli
  Sana Maulit Muli
  Sana Maulit Muli is a Filipino primetime soap opera produced by ABS-CBN. It was considered as one of the most watched television shows in the Philippines for 2007. Its name is roughly translated in English: "I Wish It Could Happen Again"...
  
   (2007) Monica Johnson
• Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo
  Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo
  Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo is a Philipino romantic comedy film. It was produced by Star Cinema, and is the official entry of Star Cinema for the 32nd Metro Manila Film Festival. It stars real-life couple, Judy Ann Santos and Ryan Agoncillo.The film had a two-week gross of P139.9 million, becoming the...
  
   (2006) Charito
• Nasaan Ka Man (2005) (FAMAS Awards: Best Supporting Actress)
• Sa Daigdig Ko'y Ikaw (2005)
• So... Happy Together (2004)
• Star Circle National Teen Quest (2004) TV Series
• Sarah: The Teen Princess (2003) TV Series
• Nympha (2003)
• Batang West Side (2002)
• Milagro's Calling (2002)
• Bakit 'di Totohanin (2001)
• Kool Ka Lang (2001) TV Series
• Kung Mawawala Ka
  Kung Mawawala Ka
  Kung Mawawala Ka or A World Without You was an award-winning epic political thriller and love story Philippine drama produced by GMA Network and directed by film director, Joel Lamangan, in his first directed TV series...
  
   (2001) TV Series Czarina Montemayor
• Anna Karenina (1996) TV Series
• Bob, Verushka & The Pursuit of Happiness (2000)
• Dahil May Isang Ikaw (1999)
• Jose Rizal
  José Rizal
  José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda , was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reform in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is regarded as the foremost Filipino patriot and is listed as one of the national heroes of the Philippines by...
  
   (1998) (FAMAS Awards: Best Supporting Actress nominee)
• Miguel/Michelle (1998) (FAMAS Awards: Best Actress nominee)
• Kirot sa Puso (1997)
• Reputasyon (1997)
• Dyesebel (1996)
• Trese (1990)
• Love at First Sight (1990)
• Island of Desire (1990)
• Sagot ng Puso (1990)
• My Pretty Baby (1989)
• Sa Likod ng Kasalanan (1988)
• Working Girls 2 (1987)
• Ang Daigdig ay Isang Butil na Luha (1986)
• Andres de Saya 3 (1986)
• Menudo't Pandesal (1985)
• Sa Totoo Lang! (1985)
• Lalakwe (1985)
• Goatbuster (1984)
• Momooo (1984)
• May Daga sa Labas ng Lungga (1984)
• Andres de Saya 2 (1982)
• Cinq et la Peau
  Five and the Skin
  Five and the Skin is a 1982 French drama film directed by Pierre Rissient. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Féodor Atkine - Ivan* Eiko Matsuda - Mari* Gloria Diaz...
  
   (1982) aka Five and the Skin (International: English title)
• Palabra De Honor (1981)
• Uhaw na Dagat (1981)
• Andres de Saya (1979)
• Ikaw ang Miss Universe Nang Buhay Ko (1979)
• Sinong Kapiling? Sinong Kasiping?
  Sinong Kapiling? Sinong Kasiping?
  Sinong kapiling? Sinong kasiping? is a 1977 award winning Filipino romantic musical drama directed by Eddie Romero.The film picked up two Gawad Urian Awards, Daria Ramirez winning best actress and Lito Legaspi best supporting actress in 1978.-Cast:...
  
   (1977)
• Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon
  Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon
  Ganito kami noon, paano kayo ngayon is a 1976 FAMAS award and Gawad Urian award winning Filipino romantic musical drama set in the Spanish colonization era...
  
   (1976)
• Sa Pag-ikot Ng Mundo (1975)
• Ang Nobya Kong Sexy (1975)
• Ang Pinakamagandang Hayop sa Balat ng Lupa (1974) (FAMAS Awards: Best Actress nominee)

Nominations and Awards

FAMAS Awards
Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s)
2006 Won FAMAS Award Best Supporting Actress
for: Nasaan ka man (2005)

1999 Nominated FAMAS Award Best Actress
for: Miguel/Michelle (1998)

Best Supporting Actress
for: Jose Rizal (1998)

1975 Nominated FAMAS Award Best Actress
for: Ang pinakamagandang hayop sa balat ng lupa (1974)

Gawad Urian Awards
Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s)
2007 Nominated Gawad Urian Award Best Supporting Actress (Pinakamahusay na Pangalawang Aktres)
for: Kasal, kasali, kasalo (2006)

2006 Nominated Gawad Urian Award Best Supporting Actress (Pinakamahusay na Pangalawang Aktres)
for: Nasaan ka man (2005)

2002 Won Gawad Urian Award Best Supporting Actress (Pinakamahusay na Pangalawang Aktres)
for: Batang West Side (2001)

Metro Manila Film Festival
Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s)
1998 Won Festival Prize Best Supporting Actress
for: Jose Rizal (1998)

Star Awards for Movie
Year Result Award
2010 Won Movie Actress for Supporting Role
for: Sagrada Familia

Persona non Grata
Year Result Award
2010 Achieved Persona non Grata for Insulting Cebuano speaking people in her country.
for: Miss Universe 2010 Interview

External links