Ruffa Gutierrez enjoys ‘queenmaker’ role, to support Michelle Dee in Thailand

Ruffa Gutierrez has closed the door on rejoining pageantry, saying she is now more comfortable mentoring younger beauty queens, among them Michelle Dee, who will be joing the upcoming Miss Grand International (MGI) All Stars competition in Thailand this December 12.

In a sit-down interview with reporters following the advanced screening of their new movie together, “Red Crown,” Gutierrez said she wants to pay forward the help that she had received when she herself was vying for a beauty pageant crown.

“I definitely would not do that (return to pageantry) but I’m there to support them. Like Michelle Dee invited me to Bangkok. I think she’s going December 10 to 13, so lahat ng kasama namin sa ‘Red Crown’ ininvite nya. So I already said that I’m going because I want to support Michelle, in the same way that her mom supported me when I was 17,” she said, referring to her first pageant, Look of the Year, which is an international fashion modeling competition and talent search established in 1983.

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Gutierez also represented the Philippines at the Miss World 1993 pageant in South Africa, where she finished as the 2nd Runner-Up and won the title of Miss World Asia & Oceania. On the other hand, Dee’s mother is actress-beauty queen Melanie Marquez, who won the Miss International crown in 1979.

Meanwhile, Dee announced her participation in the second edition of the Thailand-based Miss Grand International (MGI) All Stars 2026 competition.

“So it’s a way of paying it forward, supporting Michelle in her endeavor. And mabait naman si Michelle, she’s always very supportive of our events. So gusto ko naman nandyan ako to support her,” she further said.

“Red Crown” is a film by Dominic Zapata under GMA Pictures. It stars Gutierrez, Dee, Sanya Lopez, Ashley Ortega, Faith DaSilva, Ahtisa Manalo, MJ Lastimosa, Gazini Ganados, Ariella Arida, Herlene Budol, AZ Martinez and Shuvee Etrata.

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Other celebrities and beauty queens also in the movie are Yllana Marie Aduana, Alethea Ambrosio, Skye Chua, Haley Dizon, MJ Encabo, Rein Hillary Carrascal, Maika Kemmochi, Aira Lopez, Vanessa Peña, Sandy Riccio, Jade Tecson, Tarah Valencia, Yna Angela Uy, and Yza Thalia Uy.

Gutierrez said she enjoyed the company of her “Red Crown” co-stars as she feeds off their youthful energy. She said that in this way, she is able to relate to her character in the film, Charito Macapagal.

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“Masaya silang kasama. Its also nice to hang around with young people because you get that energy from them… Ang pagkapareho ni Charito at ni Ruffa, she loves her girls. Makikita mo may soft spot sya talaga. So in real life, people may think that Ruffa is high-maintenance, may pagka mataray, mahirap abutin, hindi sya soft-girl. Pero in reality, I’m really soft and I love helping people. I’m very motherly, and that’s how Charito is also. So tough exterior, but very soft inside,” she said.

The actress said she readily accepted her role when it was offered to her because she loved doing campy films.

“Every time I’m offered a project, it’s either campy, or mayaman or queen bee, boss, mataray, and I love those characters,” she said. “I accepted the offer rightaway kase maganda ang role. Queenmaker ako, I love really mentoring young women, especially those na talagang humihingi ng tulong ko. Hindi lang mga beauty queens.”

She admitted that Stella Marquez-Araneta, the founding chairperson of Binibining Pilipinas Charities which sent her to the Miss International pageant many years ago, was one of her pegs for her role as Charito Macapagal, among others.

Meanwhile, Gutierrez bared that the “Part 2” of “Red Crown” is already in the works.

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“Alam kong may Part 2 na, kasama ako dyan. Nag promise na si Miss Annette (Gozon-Valdes, GMA Pictures president and CEO), kase buhay ako dyan, hanggang ending ng film,” she said.