69-Year-Old Woman Will Be the First One This Age to Participate in Miss Universe Philippines 2024

Embracing a more inclusive definition of beauty in recent years, the Miss Universe competition has done away with restrictions like height and age. Despite this positive shift, Filipino pageant enthusiasts were pleasantly surprised by Quezon City’s introduction of Jocelyn Cubales, a 69-year-old potential Miss Universe Philippines candidate.

Following the Miss Universe Organization’s announcement in September 2023 to remove age restrictions from all its pageants, 69-year-old Joyce Pilarsky Cubales was overwhelmed with supportive messages from friends and family. Those close to Cubales knew that her lifelong dream was to become a beauty queen.

Encouraged by their suggestion to participate in the Miss Universe Philippines pageant, her enthusiastic response was, “Why not?” Cubales is now among the 15 candidates competing to represent Quezon City in the Miss Universe Philippines 2024 competition.

“Meet Jocelyn Cubales. At 69 years old, she believes that the younger generation can learn a lot from her life experiences, most especially grit. See her give light to the universe,” Miss Universe Philippines posted on its Facebook page.

The coronation night for the Miss Universe Philippines-Quezon City title is scheduled for February 5.

Jocelyn’s husband, singer-actor Marc Cubales, shared that her motivation for entering the pageant was, because she wants “to inspire other Filipino women to pursue their passions and achieve their dreams.”

If she wins the crown, Cubales will make history as the inaugural Miss Universe Philippines — Quezon City and the oldest contestant in the beauty pageant.

In a landmark decision, the Miss Universe Organization lifted its age restrictions for all women participating in its pageants starting in 2024. This change applies to the 2024 Miss Universe and all related pageants globally.

While the Miss Universe standards have expanded in recent years to be more inclusive, allowing for diversity in height, size and age, the participants of the contests still face criticism from some quarters. The positive changes are acknowledged, but opinions on the pageant’s evolving criteria remain varied.