Meet the First Full-Blooded Filipina Victoria’s Secret Model

September 7, 2016

Years after her successful stint at the Miss Universe pageant, 2012’s 1st runner-up Janine Tugonon is now beginning to make waves in the international modeling scene as Victoria Secret’s first full-blooded Filipino model.

The Filipino beauty queen’s latest gig with the iconic fashion brand is with Pink, VS’ new line of fashion clothes for college women, reported Cosmopolitan. Featured in a short video celebrating what it is like to be a student, Tugonon stars with three other models who are shown living through the challenges of college life.

Tugonon grew up in the small town of Orion in Bataan, Philippines where her family lived as farmers, according to her Miss Universe bio. Living in a close-knit home, she developed an early passion for cooking traditional Filipino food.

Tugonon, who left the Philippines in 2013 to pursue her pharmacological studies, now lives in the United States and is busy taking up various modeling stints for several brands.

Currently a talent of modeling agency MSA Models, the 26-year-old has also made other endorsements with notable brands such as Wells Fargo and Walmart, according to ABS-CBN.

As a ballet protégé and a budding beauty queen while attending university, Tugonon earned her first pageant titles Miss Pharmacy and Miss Thomasian Personality 2010 at the University of Santo Tomas.

Janine Tugonon had to join Binibining Pilipinas twice after losing to a friend in 2011. She won herself the title of Miss Universe Philippines in 2012 and went on to represent the Philippines at the Miss Universe 2012 pageant.

Tugonon then finished as the 1st Runner-up to American Olivia Culpo at Miss Universe 2012 at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

If Tugonon ultimately ends up walking the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show as an official model for the brand or later becomes a full-pledged ‘Angel,’ she will be the first full-blooded Filipino to do so.

So far there have only been quite a few Asians who have modeled for Victoria Secret, including Sui He, Shu Pei, and Liu Wen from China, Dau Kim from South Korea and Ujjwala Raut from India.

Check out Tugonon’s spot in Victoria’s Secret ad spot below:

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