R’Bonney Gabriel (Miss Texas): 5 Things To Know About 2022’s Miss USA Winner

R’Bonney Gabriel had everyone’s attraction connected Oct. 3, erstwhile she was crowned the 2022 Miss USA during the unrecorded broadcast of the popular pageant. The 28-year-old beauty, who represented Texas, looked gorgeous successful a sparkly golden gown and dangling earrings arsenic she accepted the apical grant with a crown and bouquet of flowers. She looked shocked and thrilled arsenic she walked down the runway of the amusement and waved and blew kisses to the excited crowd.

R’Bonney Gabriel being crowned Miss USA. (Courtesy of FYI)

So, conscionable who is R’Bonney and however did she enactment her mode to the iconic relation of Miss USA? Find retired much astir her below.

R’Bonney is the archetypal Asian American pistillate to correspond Miss Texas USA.

She made past erstwhile she stepped retired connected the signifier the nighttime of the Miss USA pageant and present that she’s won, she volition spell connected to marque past astatine the Miss Universe pageant. R’Bonney was crowned Miss Texas USA this past summer, which tin beryllium seen successful the video above, and it qualified her to correspond her authorities astatine this year’s Miss USA. Averie Bishop, an Asian American from Dallas, TX, besides made past arsenic the archetypal Asian American pistillate to beryllium crowned Miss Texas America and volition spell connected to vie successful the Miss America pageant successful Dec. The ladies’ achievements are a large woody and amusement however acold the state has travel since determination was a constituent successful clip erstwhile “non-white” women were banned from competing successful pageants.

She is Filipina.

Due to her descent, R’Bonney said she feels a “big responsibility” to stock her inheritance and promote others to bash the same. “My dada moved to America from the Philippines connected a assemblage assistance with astir $20 successful his pocket,” she told ABC News’ section affiliate successful Houston. “He wanted to pave a caller beingness for himself. He met my ma in Texas, who is simply a state pistillate from Beaumont. I’m a precise arrogant Filipina Texan.”

R’Bonney’s authorities costume for Miss USA was a practice of the Texas authorities flower.

The rival looked unthinkable successful a agleam bluish bodysuit with metallic sequins that honored the Texas bluebonnet. She besides wore matching boots and a headpiece with the look, and took to Instagram to stock respective photos and video of the epic costume. “I was truthful excited to find retired Miss USA had a authorities costume portion! I knew I wanted to beryllium the Texas authorities flower, a bluebonnet, but with a glamour twist. Thank you @patrick_isorena for bringing the imaginativeness to beingness 💙,” she wrote successful the caption.

She makes immoderate of her ain costumes.

The talented gal often shares video clips of herself helping to make what she’s going to deterioration successful beforehand of nationalist audiences, and there’s ever peculiar meaning into what she comes up with and the cloth she uses. In July, she posted a video of her Miss Texas opening formal being made and revealed she loves to “re-use aged pieces” of covering to assistance debar the contamination that the manner manufacture tin cause.

“Re-constructed a reddish overgarment from @magpiespeacocks to marque my Miss Texas USA opening fig dress. With manner being 1 of the largest polluting industries successful the world, I emotion to re-use aged pieces to marque thing caller and fabulous to chopped down connected discarded ✨❤️ #sustainablefashion #ecofashion #handmadecouture,” she wrote successful the caption.

R’Bonney teaches sewing for a bully cause.

The caller victor teaches sewing astatine the Magpies and Peacocks manner location successful Houston, TX. In the classes, she shows students however to marque antithetic pieces utilizing fabrics and textiles from remnants. The classes are portion of the nonprofit’s MAKR Collective program, which offers antithetic beingness skills to trauma victims, including home unit survivors, with the hopes that they tin larn a caller skill.