Catriona Gray’s winning Miss U look immortalized at Madame Tussauds Singapore

MANILA, Philippines — Catriona Gray is ready for you to meet her “twin.”

On Wednesday, the Miss Universe 2018 presented her very own wax figure at Madame Tussauds in Singapore.

On the wax museum’s social media page, they shared the exact moment when Catriona unveiled her figure via a livestream.

“When I saw her for the first time, I was just stopped in my tracks because it’s a really strange sensation to see a replica of yourself but that’s just a testament of how amazing a job Madame Tussauds did with my figure. I’m so, so happy,” she said.

Catriona couldn’t help but recall her first experience years ago at a Madame Tussauds museum.

“It’s such an honor. I remember being a little girl at around 12 or 13 years old, when I set foot into my first Madame Tussauds experience in London in the UK. And I remember looking up to my idols, Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, and I always had a perception that to be in Madame Tussauds, you had to be an influential, historical figure, a president or an A-list global superstar,” she said.

“And if you would have told the 13-year-old me, ‘Hey, you’re going to have a wax figure of your own one day,’ I don’t know if I would have truly believed you. So to be standing here is really quite surreal and I’m so excited for you guys to see her. I always refer to her as my twin. It’s weird to call her me, but she really looks like me.”

Madame Tussauds Singapore’s general manager Eric Mak said the unveiling marked three milestones for the interactive museum.

He said, “The first being is that Catriona is the first Filipino to have a wax figure at the Madame Tussauds Singapore. The Filipino community has been a strong supporter of tourism in Singapore, and to Madame Tussauds globally.

“The second milestone, this is actually our first side by side (event) since early 2020, the start of COVID. So it makes it extra special for us to have Catriona here today. And finally, of course, the great news that we received is that, as of April 1, Singapore will be welcoming fully international travelers.”

The Fil-Aussie beauty’s wax figure donned the iconic “lava gown” she wore when she won the Miss Universe pageant in Thailand back in 2018. The gown, Catriona noted, was inspired by her mom’s hometown in Albay where the Mayon Volcano is located.

Madame Tussauds had worked directly with Mak Tumang, the original designer of the flaming red gown, to create a bespoke and individual dress just for Catriona’s wax figure.

It was in 2019, when she was still reigning Miss Universe, that Catriona learned she was going to be honored with a wax figure. A team from Madame Tussauds in the UK flew all the way to New York, where she was based then, and did four to six hours of measurement sessions a day. The entire process lasted about nine months.

Recalled the now-host and recording artist: “That’s how long it was because they’re so intricate, to the detail, in creating these very lifelike wax figures. It was a combination of different methods — from normal photography from all angles to a moving camera that captured the 360-perspective, measuring with calipers, they had colorists to match the skin tone.

“(They were) very, very detailed when it came to even the smallest things, including the shoes that my wax figure is wearing — my pair of shoes that I brought to compete. She has the same accessories, a beautiful replica of the lava gown by Mark Tumang… that when you really see it up close… honestly, I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference,” she said.

What also gives Catriona pride about the wax figure is that it showcases Filipino creativity.

“Yes, it is a wax figure of me, but in the dress and the accessories, it was Filipino talent that really allowed me to be at that standard that is so appreciated today,” she said.

Her wax figure is placed at the film and TV section that features an interactive element letting visitors do their version of Catriona’s winning lava walk.

“It’s my hope that when our fellow kababayans walk through these halls, they will feel a sense of pride because that’s really the emotion I carried on to the Miss Universe stage those four, three years ago. And it’s really my fondest memory when I look back on that journey, of representing the Pinoy being elevated to the global stage. That’s really something I look back on with so much pride.”