Filipino-American Averie Bishop has made history in the US.
She is the first Asian-American to win the title of Miss Texas in the 85-year history of the beauty pageant.
“It’s such an emotional feeling because when I was a kid, I never dreamed of becoming Miss Texas because I didn’t think that anyone looked like me as Miss Texas,” she said in an interview with NBC Dallas Fort-Worth.
Bishop, 25, is a Southern Methodist University graduate, who also studied law at the same school.
On her website, she describes herself as a “first-generation law student diversifying the digital space through education and career-based content.” She also lists herself as a marathon runner who has dined with two presidents and is a Dallas council member.
Another important detail she lists on her website is that of The Tulong Foundation, a non-profit organisation she started with her mother. Bishop is the co-founder and current director. The goal of the non-profit is to aid children in third-world countries with affordable education. It currently sponsors more than 45 children in the Philippines.
Bishop is also quite active on social media, where she has more than 65,000 followers on Instagram and 809,000 followers on TikTok. During her week-long participation in Miss Texas, she shared a number of behind-the-scenes posts. They ranged from how she readies her make-up for portions of the competition to showing off her outfits of the day.
However, some of her most popular recent TikToks have included her winning moment, in which she wrote over the video: “I am the 85th Miss Texas. I am the very first Asian-American woman to represent the Lonestar state but not the last. Representation matters.”
Another video after her winning moment has 2.2 million views, in which she writes: "Me at 2am after crowning finally seeing myself in front of the mirror for the first time. Literally in shock I didn't have anything to say. Pure panic."
Bishop will represent Texas in the coming Miss America pageant to be held in Uncasville, Connecticut later in the year. No date has been announced for the competition as yet.
In other beauty pageant news, scroll the gallery below to see the current Miss Universe 2022 beauty queens that have been crowned.
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Miss Universe Turkey 2022 is Aleyana Sirin. Photo: Instagram / Aleyanasirinn -
Miss Universe Italy 2022 is Virginia Stablum. Photo: / Instagram / Virginia.Stablum -
Miss Universe Kyrgyzstan 2022 is Altynai Botoyarova. Photo: Instagram / botoyarova_altynai -
Evlin Khalifa, 24, is the second Miss Universe Bahrain. Photo: Miss Universe Bahrain -
Miss Universe Spain, Alicia Faubel, comes from Alicante and has lived in Dubai and the Philippines. Photo: Instagram / alicia.aliccia -
Divita Rai, 23, winner of India's Miss Diva Universe 2022. Photo: Miss Diva -
Sophiya Bhujel was crowned Oriflame Miss Universe Nepal 2022. Photo: Miss Universe Nepal -
Ndavi Nokeri, winner of Miss Universe South Africa 2022. Photo: Miss South Africa -
Anna Sueangam-iam was named Miss Universe Thailand 2022. Photo: Miss Universe -
Balsam Hussein when she was declared Miss Iraq 2022. Azhar Al-Rubaie for The National -
Yasmina Zaytoun after being crowned Miss Lebanon 2022 at Forum De Beirut. EPA -
Noky Simbani was crowned Miss Universe Great Britain 2022. Photo: Instagram / Miss Universe Great Britain -
Miss Ukraine 2022 is Viktoria Apanasenko, first runner-up from last year's contest. There was no pageant held this year owing to the war in the country. Photo: Instagram / Viktoria Apanasenko -
Nguyen Thi Ngoc Chau has been named Miss Universe Vietnam 2022. Photo: Facebook / Nguyen Thi Ngoc Chau -
Filipino-Italian beauty queen Celeste Cortesi was crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2022 in Manila. EPA-EFE -
Bhutan is marking its pageant debut this year and Tashi Choden is the country's first beauty queen. Photo: Tashi Choden -
Laksmi Suardana took the Puteri Indonesia 2022 crown, becoming the first contestant from Bali to enter Miss Universe. Photo: Laksmi Shari De Neefe Suardana -
Miss Universe Ghana 2022 Engracia Afua K Mofuman was one of the first women to be crowned in 2022, in order to compete in the 71st Miss Universe pageant. Photo: Engracia Mofuman -
Hanna Kim, from Seoul, will represent South Korea in the next Miss Universe pageant. Photo: Hanna Ming -
The first and last time the Seychelles competed in Miss Universe was 1995 and so, after that 27-year hiatus, Gabriella Gonthier, from Mahe, will be representing her home country. Photo: Gabriella Gonthier/ Miss University Africa -
Amelia Tu, from Vancouver, winner of Miss Universe Canada 2022. Photo: Miss Universe Canada -
Miss Universe Jamaica 2022, Toshami Calvin, 26, is the cousin of Miss World 2019 Toni-Ann Singh. Photo: Instagram / officialmissuniversejamaica
