Catriona Gray was crowned Miss Universe 2018 on 17th December 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand by the outgoing Miss Universe 2017 Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters. Catriona is a Filipino-Australian model, singer, and beauty pageant titleholder. She is the fourth Filipina to win the Miss Universe competition.
In the final question and answer portion, she was asked, “What is the most important lesson you’ve learned in your life and how will you apply it to your time as Miss Universe?" as she answered, “I work a lot in the slums of Tondo, Manila and the life there is very... it's poor and it's very sad. And I’ve always taught myself to look for the beauty in it; to look in the beauty in the faces of the children, and to be grateful. And I would bring this aspect as a Miss Universe to see situations with a silver lining, and to assess where I could give something, where I could provide something as a spokesperson. And this I think if I could also teach people to be grateful, we could have an amazing world where negativity could not grow and foster, and children will have a smile on their faces.”