No matter how high profile you are, Houston traffic spares no one. The endless bumper-to-bumper traffic on 288 doesn’t deter current Miss Universe R’Bonney Gabriel, though, from frequent visits home to her favorite haunts like Magpies & Peacocks, Segundo Coffee Lab, or State of Grace for its “amazing oysters.” Even though she now lives in New York City, “I’m a real down-to-earth Filipina Texan,” Gabriel says. “I’m not afraid to get down and dirty. I'm all about putting in the work, inspiring others, and, most of all, I love to eat well.”

Gabriel, who turned 29 in March, says she’s considered old in pageant years. Which makes her meteoric rise to beauty queen even more remarkable. Her first brush with crowns and gowns was in 2020, competing for Miss Kemah, where she finished as first runner-up. She went on to win Miss Texas USA in 2022, her final year of pageant eligibility, becoming the first Asian American woman to do so. Just four months later, she had the Miss USA title, becoming the second Houstonian winner following Crystle Stewart in 2008. In January, Gabriel entered the 71st Miss Universe pageant, becoming the first Filipina American to win the title.

To what does Gabriel attribute such rapid success? “Growing up in Houston, I had a really dynamic experience because the city is so diverse,” she says. “Houston gave me a lot of opportunities, and I was very motivated by the city. Beyoncé is from here, I went to school with Travis Scott, so I’ve been constantly inspired by seeing people reach their dreams. I’m thankful for that, because some of it has rubbed off on me.”

Pageantry is the last route Gabriel thought she’d end up taking. Competition is stiff, and many women begin their careers as children or teens. Gabriel, who has three older brothers and grew up a tomboy, entered her first competition at the age of 26. And while she eventually got into modeling, “[pageantry] was never something I saw myself doing, and when I started, I hated doing hair, makeup, and all the girly things,” she says. “You have to speak really well, and I was very shy.”

Where she isn’t reserved, however, is in fashion and giving back to the community. Prior to her pageant pursuits, Gabriel was a sewing instructor at the nonprofit design house Magpies & Peacocks in EaDo, where she taught classes to survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking. Her mother, Dana, a Beaumont native, would take Gabriel to thrift stores when she was young and taught her how to sew. By 15, Gabriel was upcycling her vintage pieces into her own designs, which eventually led to her sustainable fashion label R’Bonney Nola (currently sold out since her Miss Universe win). One of the label’s main causes is to fight pollution in the fashion industry, something Gabriel’s been outspoken about both on and off the stage. “Fashion is the second-largest polluting industry in the world, and I want to be a part of the solution,” Gabriel says. Most of what she’s worn in pageants are outfits she’s designed and constructed from upcycled materials.

The road to the crown might have been swift, but it wasn’t without its struggles. Gabriel has lost multiple times; it took her two tries to win Miss Texas USA. But perhaps most troubling were allegations that Miss USA pageant organizers gave Gabriel preferential treatment, allowing her to win the title. (Her Miss Universe crowning came only three months later.) The rumors were later denied by the organization and deemed false via a third-party investigation. “It is the best feeling in the world,” Gabriel says of being vindicated. “It's like I climbed the highest mountain with all these trials and tribulations, and I made it.”

Gabriel says her resilience stems from her father, Remigio Bonzon "R. Bon" Gabriel. “When my dad immigrated here from the Philippines on a college scholarship, he only had $20 in his pocket,” Gabriel says. “He built his American dream from scratch. He’s taught me hard work. He showed me that you don’t have to be the smartest person in the room to make the best grades, you just have to work the hardest. I applied that to pageants because I didn’t always feel like I was the ‘most qualified’ pageant girl, but I knew I could outwork my competition and I thought I can win, so that paid off.”

While Gabriel has grown to appreciate the grandeur that comes with the role of Miss Universe, she’s still a Houston girl at heart. “When I’m not being Miss Universe, I like to look really low-key without hair or makeup on,” Gabriel says. Her fashion line has taken a backseat to her Miss Universe duties, but she hopes to eventually get back to expanding her business. And as a titleholder of many firsts, Gabriel wants to continue pushing Filipino and Asian American representation to the forefront in the pageant realm.

Only a few months into her Miss Universe reign, Gabriel is creating a fuller and more accurate picture of what’s possible for herself and others like her. But still no luck with that Houston traffic.