Silvia Celeste Rabimbi Cortesi (Tagalog: [tʃeˈlɛstɛ kɔɾˈtɛsɪ]; Italian: [tʃeˈlɛste korˈteːzi]; born December 15, 1997) is a Filipino actress and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2022. She represented the Philippines at Miss Universe 2022 in the United States where she was unplaced. Cortesi was previously crowned Miss Earth Philippines 2018 and represented the Philippines at Miss Earth 2018, where she finished in the top eight.

Celeste Cortesi
Cortesi in 2022
Born
Silvia Celeste Rabimbi Cortesi

(1997-12-15) December 15, 1997 (age 26)
Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines
EducationLyceum of Alabang (Real Estate Management)
OccupationActress
Height1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[citation needed]
Beauty pageant titleholder
Title
Hair colorDark Brown[citation needed]
Eye colorBrown[citation needed]
Major
competition(s)

Early life

Silvia Celeste Rabimbi Cortesi was born on December 15, 1997, in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines, to a Filipino mother, Maria Luisa Rabimbi, and an Italian father who was born in Venezuela.[1][2][3][4] Her mother was from Camarines Sur, Bicol and was also of distant Spanish and Chinese descent. Her parents met at an Italian restaurant in Manila which her father owned and her mother worked at. Cortesi grew up in a multicultural household, exposed to both her Filipino and Italian ancestries.[5][6][7][8]

Cortesi was initially brought up in a neighborhood in Pasay. When she was six months old, her family moved to Parma, Italy, where she spent most of her upbringing. After her father died of a heart attack when she was ten years old, her mother raised both her and her sister as a single parent. As a teenager, Cortesi worked as a model and store cashier in Parma.[8][9][10][11] She would also join several pageants in secret, which her mother discovered and allowed as long as she maintained good grades in school.[12]

Cortesi became interested in pursuing pageantry as a career and exploring her Filipino roots after being informed by her mother of Pia Wurtzbach's win representing the Philippines at Miss Universe 2015, and watching her performance during the event. At 18 years old, she was motivated by Wurtzbach's win to go into pageantry. She moved back to the Philippines in hopes of representing the country in Miss Universe despite only knowing her native Italian and not being fluent in English or Filipino; she eventually learned both languages her own. She stated that she faced discrimination in both Italy and the Philippines because of her heritage and upbringing.[13][14]

Pageantry

Miss Philippines Earth-Italy 2018

Cortesi is the inaugural winner of the Miss Philippines Earth-Italy pageant in Rome. She joined the pageant as she was encouraged by her mother.[3][15]

Miss Earth Philippines 2018

Cortesi represented the Filipino community of Rome, Italy at Miss Earth Philippines 2018.[16]

On May 19, 2018, she was crowned as Miss Earth Philippines 2018 by the outgoing titleholder Karen Ibasco.[17]

Miss Earth 2018

By winning Miss Earth Philippines 2018, she gained the right to represent the Philippines at Miss Earth 2018.[18]

At the end of the competition, she finished as a top eight finalist.[19][20] Nguyễn Phương Khánh of Vietnam won the said pageant.[21][19]

Miss Universe Philippines 2022

On April 6, 2022, representing Pasay, Cortesi was confirmed as one of the 32 official contestants for Miss Universe Philippines 2022.[22]

At the end of the competition, Cortesi was crowned by outgoing Miss Universe Philippines 2021 Beatrice Gomez as Miss Universe Philippines 2022.[23][24]

Miss Universe 2022

Cortesi represented the Philippines at the 71st edition of the Miss Universe competition but was unplaced, officially ending the Philippines' twelve-year streak of consecutive placements in Miss Universe, from 2010 through 2021.[25][26] R'Bonney Gabriel of the United States won the said pageant.[27][28]

Personal life

Cortesi is in a relationship with Philippine Football Federation player Mathew Custodio, of United City F.C..[3][29][30] She has residences in Taguig and Pasay.[10]

Cortesi is concurrently completing her degree in real estate management (Bachelor of Science in Real Estate Management) from the Lyceum of Alabang,[9][31] and pursuing her Philippine real estate license.[29][32][33]

Acting career

On February 10, 2023, Cortesi made her acting debut in the finale episode of Philippine superhero television series, Darna, as Queen Kevnar of Marte.[34][35]

On July 20, 2023, she signed a contract with Sparkle GMA Artist Center, joining the roster of GMA Network's talents.[36]

Filmography

Television

Year Title Role Network Note Ref.
2023 Darna Queen Kevnar Guest role [35]
Pepito Manaloto: Tuloy Ang Kwento Bianca [37]
2024 Walang Matigas na Pulis sa Matinik na Misis Diana "Diamond Ricci" Mondejar [38]
Encantadia Chronicles: Sang'gre Hera Juvila

References

  1. ^ Adina, Armin P (May 8, 2022). "Miss Universe PH Celeste Cortesi: 'I'm not part Venezuelan'". Lifestyle Inquirer. Retrieved January 31, 2023. I remember one day I said my mother is from the Philippines and my dad is Italian, born in Venezuela. So he was just born there, but his parents are both Italian. It doesn't mean I'm part Venezuelan
  2. ^ Melliza, Patricia (May 1, 2022). "9 Things You Need To Know About Miss Universe Philippines 2022 Celeste Cortesi". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Ramos, Neil (May 3, 2022). "Getting to know Celeste Cortesi". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  4. ^ Lim, Ron (June 20, 2022). "Celeste Cortesi remembers father on Father's Day". GMA News. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  5. ^ Romanillos, Shennah (May 2, 2022). "Filipino Italian Celeste Cortesi crowned Miss Universe-PH". The Manila Times. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  6. ^ Severo, Jan Milo. "Pasay's Celeste Cortesi wins Miss Universe Philippines 2022". Philstar.com. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  7. ^ "Who is Celeste Cortesi, Miss Universe Philippines 2022?". The National News. May 1, 2022. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Lo, Ricky (June 25, 2018). "Buona sera, Celeste!". Philippine Star. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  9. ^ a b "10 juicy details you may not know about Miss Universe Philippines 2022 Celeste Cortesi". Manila Bulletin. May 7, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  10. ^ a b Alpad, Christina (May 17, 2022). "The relationships that matter to Celeste Cortesi". The Manila Times. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  11. ^ "Stand by, universe! Is Celeste Cortesi ready to represent the Philippines?". Rappler. May 11, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  12. ^ Rivas, Erica Wine (November 22, 2022). "From Bambina to Crowned Filipina". Empire Philippines. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  13. ^ Arcano, Nicole (July 20, 2022). "Did You Know? MUPH 2022 Celeste Cortesi Joined Beauty Pageants Because of Pia Wurtzbach". Preview.ph. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  14. ^ "How Fil-Italian Celeste Cortesi found herself first, and then won the Miss Universe PH crown". ABS-CBN News. May 2, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  15. ^ Reyes, Shiela (May 20, 2018). "New Miss Earth PH talks about biggest challenge in joining pageant". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  16. ^ Gabinete, Jojo (May 21, 2018). "Kontrobersiyal na Fil-Italian beauty queen, kinoronahang Miss Earth Philippines 2018". Philippine Entertainment Portal (in Tagalog). Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  17. ^ Pata, Danny (May 20, 2018). "LOOK: Fil-Italian wins Miss Earth Philippines 2018". GMA News Online. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  18. ^ Ilaya, Felix (October 12, 2018). "Meet Celeste Cortesi, Philippine bet for Miss Earth 2018". GMA News Online. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  19. ^ a b "PH bet Celeste Cortesi finishes in Miss Earth 2018 Top 8". Rappler. November 3, 2018. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  20. ^ "PH bet Celeste Cortesi settles for top 8 finish in Miss Earth 2018". ABS-CBN News. November 3, 2018. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  21. ^ "Vietnam's Phuong Khanh Nguyen hailed Miss Earth 2018". pep.ph. Archived from the original on November 6, 2022. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  22. ^ Viernes, Franchesca (April 6, 2022). "Miss Universe Philippines reveals top 32 finalists". GMA News Online. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  23. ^ "IN PHOTOS: Miss Universe Philippines 2022 swimsuit segment". Rappler. April 30, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  24. ^ "Michelle Dee wins 6 special awards at Miss Universe Philippines 2022 preliminaries". GMA News Online. April 27, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  25. ^ "Philippines' Celeste Cortesi finishes Miss Universe 2022 journey early". Rappler. January 15, 2023. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  26. ^ Iglesias, Iza (January 15, 2023). "Celeste Cortesi fails to make it to Miss Universe Top 16". The Manila Times. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  27. ^ "Miss USA 2022 Winner: R'Bonney Gabriel — Miss Texas Wins". TVLine. October 4, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  28. ^ "R'Bonney Gabriel, first Filipino American to win Miss USA, is crowned Miss Universe". CBS News. January 16, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  29. ^ a b Viernes, Franchesca (May 1, 2022). "Who is Miss Universe Philippines 2022 Celeste Cortesi? 5 things to know". GMA News Online. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  30. ^ Napoles, Jimboy. "Meet Mathew Custodio, the trending boyfriend of MUPH 2022 Celeste Cortesi". www.gmanetwork.com. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
  31. ^ "Getting to know Celeste Cortesi". Manila Bulletin. May 3, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  32. ^ "Pasay's Celeste Cortesi crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2022". ABS-CBN News. April 30, 2022. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  33. ^ "Miss Pasay Celeste Cortesi wins Miss Universe Philippines 2022". SunStar. April 30, 2022. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  34. ^ "Celeste Cortesi is Queen of Marte in 'Darna' finale". ABS-CBN News. February 10, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  35. ^ a b Mallorca, Hannah (February 12, 2023). "Will the Queen of Marte in 'Darna' be the start of Celeste Cortesi's acting career?". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  36. ^ "Isko Moreno, Celeste Cortesi join Sparkle GMA Artist Center". PEP.ph. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  37. ^ Santiago, Ervin (January 29, 2024). "Celeste Cortesi ayaw nang mag-join sa beauty pageant: 'It's not for me'". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  38. ^ Gabinete, Jojo (January 27, 2024). "Celeste Cortesi "first time to get into acting" in Walang Matigas na Pulis season 2". PEP.ph. Retrieved March 28, 2024.


Awards and achievements
Preceded by Miss Universe Philippines
2022
Succeeded by
Preceded by Miss Earth Philippines
2018
Succeeded by
Janelle Tee
(Pasig)