Kisses Delavin is a woman who has set out to live the most of her life.
At the young age of 22, Kisses is both the thriving actress and beauty pageant queen that many young girls have dreamed of becoming. In a few hours, she also hopes to be crowned a title that would allow her to inspire that younger generation and create a meaningful impact on the world.
“I think that I’m beautiful because I am me. And I think if I could show a girl that she can feel like that as well, [then] that’s something that I would be proud of for the rest of my life,” answered Kisses during the preliminary interviews of Miss Universe Philippines 2021.
Classy and elegant, it’s no surprise that Kisses Delavin is one of the top 28 finalists of the prestigious beauty competition — one of the favorites to win for this evening’s final round! So far, Delavin has racked an impressive list of achievements in the national beauty pageant, bagging the introduction challenge and the fan vote category with relative ease.
It’s only fitting then that this favorable situation also answers the interview question that she was previously asked: “If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, in whose eyes are you beautiful?”
Source: Miss Universe Philippines 2021
In response to this, Kisses smoothly delivered a reply that emphasized self-worth and confidence, with herself as the answer. However, it is obvious that the eyes of the beholder, in this case, also belong to the adoring public. Not only has she accumulated more than 2.4 million followers on Instagram and over 730,000 followers on Twitter, but she has also been listed as one of the top ten most-tweeted accounts in the Philippines.
With such a massive presence on social media, you might wonder what else is there to this amazing woman. From her miraculous beginnings to her path to stardom, here are five facts that you should know about Kisses Delavin:
1. She is a miracle baby
Although Kisses Delavin once had a younger sister named Keithleen, the latter, unfortunately, passed away at the age of one due to complications from being born prematurely at six months. Out of her mother’s eight pregnancies, Kisses is the only Delavin child to have survived and grown into adulthood.
In addition to this, Kisses also contracted viral encephalitis when she was six years old and was comatose for less than a day. At the time, she just had a five percent chance of living but was able to recover from the condition unscathed.
Because of this, her mother described her to be a true miracle baby!
2. She is half-Chinese
Kisses inherited her Chinese heritage from her mother Carrie Tan-Delavin. Because of this, she was able to grow up with some Chinese traditions that have been passed down to her.
During the New Year, for example, Kisses eats fried tikoy with egg and round fruits for good luck. The Delavin family also makes it a point to not spend money on January 1 since having money exit the household does not make for a very auspicious start to the year. In this case, they make sure to purchase their necessities ahead of time.
3. She is the runner-up to Pinoy Big Brother: Lucky 7
Kisses started her showbiz career by working as a catalog model at the tender age of six. The opportunity was handed to her when she was scouted by a modeling agency while vacationing in Manila with her family.
Although Kisses’ first onscreen acting role was as a bargirl in the Kapamilya primetime series Pangako Sa ‘Yo in 2015, her break into mainstream success came nearly two years later by finishing as the runner-up for the popular reality competition series Pinoy Big Brother: Lucky 7 behind Maymay Entrata.
Afterward, Kisses signed up with ABS-CBN’s talent agency Star Magic. She has since taken part in a multitude of TV shows and movies to public acclaim. During this time, she was associated with love teams such as KissMarc (paired with PBB housemate Marco Gallo), KissTon (unofficially paired with Tony Labrusca), and DonKiss (paired with Donny Pangilingan).
In June 2019, however, Kisses announced that she was no longer associated with any love teams for the time being.
4. Her self-named album Kisses is platinum-certified
Continuing her journey as an artist, Kisses successfully released her self-titled debut album on November 6, 2017, selling more than 15,000 units the day prior to the album’s release. This earned the album the highly coveted platinum certification.
The sold-out album launch, dubbed as #NationalKissesDay, was held at the SM North EDSA Skydome to the delight of excited fans, who were treated to not only Kisses’ vocal performances but also to a dance number with the G-Force!
5. She is a veteran pageant queen
It’s no surprise that Kisses has made it this far, as a fan favorite of this year’s Miss Universe Philippines 2021. Before this, Kisses was already an experienced pageant queen, having been crowned as Miss Teen Campus, Miss Junior MNCHS, and Miss Alma Mater during her high school years. On the regional level, Kisses won the titles of Miss Teen Masbate, Miss Masbate, and Miss Kaogma. She was also a finalist of Miss Teen Earth Philippines.
Now representing Masbate in the country’s most renowned beauty pageant, Kisses’ current achievements include being the fan-favorite winner of the competition’s introduction challenge, as well as one of the fan vote winners selected from the top 30 contestants.
Source: @kissesdelavin, Instagram (Left); @rapyuphotos, Instagram (Center, Right)
As of this writing, Kisses is, at the very least, projected to enter the top 16. The winner of the event will represent the Philippines in this December’s Miss Universe 2021 pageant held in Eilat, Israel.
The remaining 28 contestants will vie for the Miss Universe Philippines 2021 crown tonight at the Henann Resort Convention Center in Alona Beach, Bohol, with the coronation live-streamed by ABS-CBN via KTX.ph. A delayed telecast on GMA Network is also scheduled for October 3.
