Catriona Gray picked out the final gown she wore in the 2018 Miss Universe pageant based on something her mom told her when she was 13. Apparently it worked, because the 24-year-old Miss Philippines was crowned Miss Universe 2018 on Monday in Bangkok.

Catriona Gray was crowned Miss Universe 2018 wearing a red gown. (Photo: Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images)

Gray explained that she wore a sparkly red gown because her mom had a dream a decade ago that she would win Miss Universe in a red dress, according to the Associated Press. “So when I saw her earlier, she said, ‘I dreamed this,’ and she had tears in her eyes,” the newly crowned Miss Universe told reporters after her win, per the Philippine Star. Gray said her gown was inspired by the Mayon Volcano in the Philippines, which was last active in January.



Her mom was in the audience wearing a red dress too. A video posted to Twitter of Gray’s parents hearing that she won the pageant shows her dad jumping out of his seat and her mom crying.



I sat next to Catriona Gray’s parents, and this was their reaction when their daughter, Miss Philippines, won Miss Universe. pic.twitter.com/1Wu9ysdhEA — MikeinCambodia (@MikeInCambodia) December 17, 2018

Gray beat runner-up Tamaryn Green of South Africa to become the latest Miss Philippines to win the global competition since 2015, when Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach of the Philippines was crowned. If runner-up Tamaryn Green had won, she would have been the second Miss South Africa in a row to win the title.

“My heart is filled with so much gratitude,” Gray said afterward, per the AP. “There were moments of doubt where I felt overwhelmed and I felt the pressure.”

The singer and model grew up in Australia, where her father is from, but she has competed in pageants in the Philippines for a few years. In 2016, she won Miss World Philippines.

Miss Universe 2018 is… PHILIPPINES! pic.twitter.com/r2BkN8JpXh — Miss Universe (@MissUniverse) December 17, 2018

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